On Wednesday, more pictures of some delegates sleeping during the
ongoing national conference circulated online. The pictures, which have since become
Internet sensation, further attracted public criticisms as many were
quick to ask if the delegates were being paid to sleep at the
conference.
The concerned Nigerians, in their posts
on various social networking sites, said it would be a great disservice
to the citizenry if their representatives at the conference would resort
to sleeping while the future of the nation is being deliberated upon.
Expressing his fears on Twitter, a
worried Nigerian, Edex Afor, argued that there was no way a sleeping
delegate would make any meaningful contribution. Afor wrote, “Seeing
National Conference delegates sleeping on duty, I hope it will not end
up a futile exercise, wasted effort and resources.”
While also decrying the situation,
Akure-based Bode Olasusi posted a picture of one of the sleeping
delegates on his Twitter page and asked, “Is this one of the people
deciding the future of over 160 million people?”
To register his protest, he tweeted the message to the Presidential Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati.
Also, Doyin Mojisola said on Twitter that
any delegate caught sleeping on the floor of the conference venue
should be asked to return home. “Some delegates should be sent home for
sleeping,” she stated.
Political blogger, Japheth Omojuwa, who
described the confab as a “national sleeping conference,” said with the
number of pictures he has seen online, it may not be out of place to
organise a sleeping competition for some of the aged delegates.
“The delegates should not forget to
deliberate on a plan to have ‘sleeping’ as a competitive sport at the
2024 Olympics,” he added.
For Peter Orya, no positive results will
be achieved from the conference, going by the way the old delegates were
falling asleep during deliberations just as he tagged their sleep as
“N12m nap.”
Orya quried, “See how national conference is being conducted. How can we get positives out of N12m nap?”
In view of the development, some
Nigerians have called for the live streaming of the conference
proceedings on the official confab website.
According to them, doing so will afford
them the opportunity to closely monitor the delegates with a view to
further identify those who are failing in their responsibilities.
Blogger, Babtunde Rosanwo, while calling
for the live streaming of the conference online, maintained on Twitter
that circulation of pictures of sleeping delegates should not be deemed
offensive.
He argued that the live streaming of the
conference would keep citizens informed about the way decisions that
affect them will be reached.
“This is a national conference of the
‘ayes’ and ‘nays.’ We just don’t want to do anything the right way.
Absolute reporting of delegates who were sleeping at a national
conference is now offensive?
“Are they paid to sleep? What happened to
public opinion over a national conference? How do you keep citizens
informed if the national conference is not live-streamed? he asked.
But the principal officers of the national conference appear to have resolved to carry Nigerians along.
Checks by iPUNCH on Wednesday showed that the leadership of the confab has created presence on major social networking sites.
Although the followership strength of the
official accounts of the confab on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Google+
and on the popular online forum, nairaland.com is still weak, the platforms have since been regularly updated.
Announcing its readiness to engage
Nigerians on social media, the confab, in a message on Facebook, stated,
“Hook up with us to get credible updates on proceedings at the national
conference. Please, share with your friends and loved ones so that we
can have a robust engagement and vibrant interactions with the delegates
representing us at Nigeria’s National Conference 2014.”
Meanwhile, more Nigerians have been
visiting the national conference’s official Facebook page, which
currently boasts of a following of a little over 500 fans. The majority
of those who dropped messages on the Facebook page urged the conference
to help find a lasting solution to the rising cases of corrupt practices
in the country.
Addressing the delegates via the Facebook
page, one Oluwole Awowale wrote, “Our distinguished delegates, as you
are making history, remember the wrong foundation of this country. Our
value system has been eroded and replaced by corruption. Let’s look
inward and develop ourselves, especially the youth, in order to have a
better tomorrow.” Culled From Punch
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