Some notable Nigerians including Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido, Professor Pat Utomi, Chief Olu Falae, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, will among others, convoke a two-day national summit in Lagos next week.

Addressing journalists in Lagos Wednesday, the convener, Utomi, said the summit was aimed at bringing eminent Nigerians together with a view to deliberating on the way forward for the nation in view of the precarious situation in which Nigeria has found itself at the moment.

According to Utomi who chronicled how he has lived to witness various stages that Nigeria has gone through since independence, concerned minds can no longer fold their hands and watch Nigeria descend into the abyss as he recalled how Nigeria took off at independence with promises of a great society.

He said the summit, billed to hold on Monday and Tuesday next week at the Lagos Sheraton Hotels and Towers, would host the Chairman of Constitution Review Committee, Justice Alfa Belgore, as the group brainstorms on how a new constitution that is people-oriented can be evolved.



Utomi who was accompanied by former presidential aide, Mr. Tony Uranta, said the summit would also deliberate on how all Nigerians can live together, which he described as the ground norm of the constitution adding that it would also decide on how to choose who to lead Nigeria and how Nigerians want to be led.

He said it had become imminent to deliberate on the way forward for Nigeria now in view of the precarious security situation which has resulted in people leaving some parts of the country for their states of origin, regretting that this was not the dream of the founding fathers of Nigeria. He said the forum would also take a stance on fuel crisis which has ravaged the nation in the past one week.

Utomi added that the summit would “enable us to build a strong and united country where there are possibilities for all to realise their own potentials.”

He disclosed that Minister of Finance, Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, National Security Adviser, Gen. Andrew Azazi Owoye, Mallam Adamu Ciroma, Obong Victor Attah, Nasir el-Rufai are also among those expected at the forum.