By Sunday Isuwa Abuja
The Movement for National Reformation, (MNR) has elected Sen Cornelius Olatunji Adebayo as its National Chairman.
Also, HRH Sam Onimisi emerged Vice Chairman; Dr Philip Idaewor emerged General Secretary; Professor Igho Natufe is Director of Research and Strategy; Mr Taiwo Akinola is Director of Mobilisation & Organisation, Comrade Faruq Chukwumah is Director of Public Relations amongst others.
It was gathered that when the movement was formed in 1992, the newly elected chairman was its first General Secretary while the founders; Papas Alfred Rewane and Abraham Adesanya, Chiefs Olaniwun Ajayi, Ayo Adebanjo, Alhaji Ganiyu Dawodu, Dr Olu Onagoruwa elected Chief Anthony Enahoro as its founding chairman.
National and State leaders mainly from Mid-West, South-South, South-East, joined the movement at its official launching in Benin.
Following the demise of its founding Chairman, Chief Anthony Enahoro on the 15th December 2010, the organisation became less active for some time.
But in his acceptance speech, the new chairman, Adebayo, eulogised and celebrated the memory of the founding leaders who had the foresight to start the movement, “and many others who joined later, but who, sadly, are no longer with us today.”
Adebayo said the founders of the movement were ‘the architects of change who set out to plant a tree and not grass’.
“We are a non-partisan, non-governmental Think-Tank whose aims and objectives are to conduct in-depth analysis of and research into, the socio-economic and political problems facing Nigeria, its ethnic nationalities and citizens and actively mobilise the people and work towards the resolution of the identified challenges. Work for the Convocation of a People’s National Conference (PNC) to address the National Question and for a National Referendum on the Recommendations of the Conference.”
“Propagate the ideals and practices of democracy and the promotion of a democratic culture in Nigeria. Work for the integration of the best values of indigenous cultures with the ideals and process of democracy, “Adebayo said.
While reiterating the achievements of MNR for championing and achieving some success in these areas, Adebayo reminds the members whom he called the “Apostles of change” that quite a lot are still left undone.
“ Nigeria as a country was making very minimal developmental gains by the day. But today, any conscious political observer would realise that we have moved further dangerously towards a fragile state status.”
“The urgency and scope of Nigeria’s unfinished political liberation were aptly captured by Chief Enahoro in his remarks made at the send-off banquet organised in his honour in New York City on the 11th of November 1999, when he said:
“In my time, our country has been liberated from direct external rule, but the liberation of our people is as yet incomplete. We of the MNR believe that the next step in the true liberation of our people is the recognition and empowerment of our nationalities, the establishment of true democracy within the nationalities, and the prescription of equitable relationships between the nationalities which choose to live under one flag.” Chief Enahoro went on to call on MNR members:
“Let us dare to conceive, let us dare to contrive and strive and let us dare to hope. That is the spirit of the MNR movement. It is this realisation that has motivated this revival of the MNR with the hope that we can re-energise the vision, mobilise the manpower and the organisational capacities to catch-up with the lost time more so as the problems have worsened, ”
Adebayo said while calling on members to “work and stay tenacious and undistracted by political short-term gains or losses and ensure that our undertaking on restructuring can become a topical and mainstream issue in Nigeria’s politics starting from debates and discussions during the 2023 election campaign.