By Benson Nnoli
SIR: In his Second Treatise On Government, the great English political theorist John Locke contends that sovereignty resides with the governed. Any government that does not seek and obtain the consent of the governed is illegitimate.
Our constitution does not meet this requirement. The military oligarchy in connivance with some elites imposed it on us in 1999. There was never any constitution drafting conference involving the various nationalities of this nation that was convened. The views and consent of these various nationalities were never sought and obtained in 1999.
The clamour for restructuring has dominated our political space in recent time. Attempts are also being made to amend our constitution by Senator Ovie Omo-Agege and other members of his panel. The amendment panel is holding public hearings in the six geo-political zones. It is also accepting suggestions through written memoranda.
With all due respect, that committee is wasting its time. How can you amend something that lacks legitimacy? Nigerians never created this constitution and had no input whatsoever in its creation.
This document is the cause of the instability of our political system today. Our politics is crises-oriented, elite-driven and elite controlled. Ordinary Nigerians find it nauseating and disdainful.
On account of these, patriotism is totally lacking in our political milieu. INEC figures show nothing but a pathetic voting record in the past four presidential elections. The general perception of our people is the unfairness of the current system. Only very few individuals are really benefiting from it. Nigerians do not have any stake in it.
It is this negative perception that has stimulated cultism, banditry, kidnappings and other crimes. The youths make up 60% of our population and most of them are unemployed or under-employed. This system alienates them!
The lack of accountability inherent in this system did not start today. The police acts of brutality which had given rise to EndSARS protests had always been there. Nothing has changed.
The summary extra-judicial execution of Mohammed the leader of the Boko Haram hardened the group and escalated insurgency. It demonstrated the dysfunctionality of a system that applies force when proximal negotiations could have yielded better results in that conflict.
How far can we go without convening a sovereign national conference in our country? Not very far!
In the Southeast, IPOB) is making threats, its membership increasing. The Niger Delta militants are issuing orders to their members. The Yorubas are not happy. The Middle Belt is dealing with the explosive issue of herdsmen versus farmers killings.
In the U.S, the 50 states are autonomous, each state has its own state police, state prisons are for persons that commit state crimes. There are also federal prisons for persons that commit federal crimes like bank robberies, financial crimes etc. In the US, the states are self-sustaining economically, control and harness resources within. In Nigeria all the resources are controlled by the centre, our police is federal and our prisons are federal also.
Almost all our states except Lagos and Kano cannot sustain themselves with their internally generated revenues (IGRs). At the end of every month, the governors race to Abuja, hands out-stretched like beggars with bowls collect federal allocations which are promptly mismanaged and looted.
The EFCC is over-tasked, fatigued and faces very tough challenges in prosecuting corruption cases against corrupt elements that are well-financed and defended by senior advocates.
Finally, our bureaucracy in Abuja is too massive. There are too many ministries, very expensive to run. Too many senators and federal house members who have assigned themselves huge salaries, the wastage is pathetic!
We are groping in total darkness! Nothing is working. Covid-19 plague has exacerbated the economic situation. Too many Nigerian are totally disillusioned with the system! Too many are starving!
A sovereign national conference involving all the nationalities making up our country must be convened immediately. If not, a revolutionary change may occur very soon.
- Benson Nnoli, Aba, Abia State.
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