Nigerians move against sleeping delegates

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.”