Former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth of Nations, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, has reiterated the urgent need for Nigeria to adopt a new pluralistic constitution, rejecting the 1999 Constitution (as amended) as a military-imposed document incapable of delivering national progress.
Speaking in Abuja on Wednesday at the opening session of a three-day Emergency National Constitutional Summit, Anyaoku said the current structure does not reflect the diverse nature of the country and cannot meet the aspirations of its people.
The summit, themed “Actualising a Constitutional Democracy That Works for All in Nigeria,” was organised by The Patriots in collaboration with the Nigerian Political Summit Group (NPSG).
The elder statesman argued that Nigeria’s 36-state federal arrangement has failed to replicate the developmental gains experienced shortly after independence in 1960, lamenting that 65 years later, the country now holds the unenviable title of the world’s poverty capital.
Anyaoku stated, “It is important to state the following indisputable facts that are recognized by all our citizens—except, of course, those who want to continue to live in denial,” as he underscored the need for a people-driven constitution in line with those of other pluralistic nations.
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“First, Nigeria is a pluralistic country, and like all successful pluralistic countries around the world, for its stability and maximal development, its constitution must address its own problems.
“Second, it must address its pluralism by being formulated by elected representatives of its diverse people.
“Our present 1999 Constitution, as amended, is not such a constitution. It was not democratically formulated. It was instead imposed on the country through a decree by the military administration.
“And the governance system derived from it is not only non-inclusive, but also induces over-expectation of the nation’s resources on administration rather than on capital development. As a result, what we see is our nation’s need for a new constitution. This is the need for a new constitution, but this is a matter to be made by the people of our country.”
Bemoaning the increasing wave of insecurity in the country, especially in the middle Belt and north east areas of the country, Anyaoku said, “There are also equally incontrovertible facts about the current state of the art crisis and the political situation in Nigeria. First, there is serious insecurity of life and property, with kidnappings and killings happening virtually every day in most parts of the countryespecially in the Middle Belt, the Northeast, and the Northwest regions where not only huge numbers of lives and property are regularly lost, but also farmers are no longer able to go to their farms, thereby impacting adversely on the country.
“Secondly, Nigeria has become the poverty capital of the world, with the levels of poverty and suffering among the citizens rising rather than diminishing. And thirdly, the development of poverty in the country has become a source of poverty in the country.
“The country’s infrastructure is generally lagging behind, including especially in health and education facilities, which in many cases are no longer fit for purpose. Importantly, there is an eroding sense of national unity. We are a pluralistic country that is still struggling to become a nation. Again, there is a palpable mood of hopelessness and lack of confidence in the future among the growing population of our young people. And overall, the President’s 36 Federation Units are obviously incapable of generating and sustaining the pace of national development achieved in the early years of our independence under the 1963 Constitution.”
He added, “In organizing this National Summit, the Patriots are of the view that any controversial fact that I have mentioned can be more effectively reversed if our pluralistic country is given a more credible and truly better Constitution, democratically made by the Nigerian people.
“A Constitution that would be in sync with the Constitution of the United States a Constitution of successful pluralistic countries around the world.
“To those who say that the fate of a country depends primarily on its leadership, I say that the Constitution from which the system of governance is derived largely determines the character of the people who get elected or appointed to govern the country from the three arms of the government.
“It is therefore my hope that the deliberations of this Summit, which has in attendance so many leaders of thought and representatives of the country’s managers and geo-cultural groups, as well as representatives of the important women and youth sections of our society, will produce recommendations on the key elements of the desired new Constitution and the process of its actualization.
“The key elements, I hope, that will be discussed should include such questions as: presidential or parliamentary system, tenure and rotation of the heads of government at the national and subnational levels, unicameral or bicameral legislature, normative federating units, powers of the national and the subnational governments, structure of the security agencies, political parties and their organization, management of the country’s resources, and indeed other important features of the constitution.
“And in considering the process of actualizing the new Constitution, I hope there will be new emphasis on ensuring that it is consolidated by representatives specifically elected for that purpose by the Nigerian people who, in order to give it legitimacy, would have to endorse it in a national referendum.”
He noted that town hall meetings preceded the summit in the six geopolitical zones, which provided ideas that have been fed into the 3-day deliberations
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