Delegates at the National Conference were of divergent opinions yesterday on the effectiveness, workability and continued existence of the 1999 Constitution. During the continuation of debate on President Goodluck Jonathan’s inauguration speech, some delegates felt that the current constitution has failed the nation and should be replaced with a new one that can be called a people’s constitution.
Others, on the other hand, saidthe document was not flawed, that there was no need for a new constitution. Those in this school of thought claimed that the conference should not attempt to arrogate powers it lacked to itself on issue of drafting a new constitution.
Alani Akinrinade, former chief of defence staff, discussing the President’s speech, said he has no apologies on behalf of the military. His reason is that politicians assisted the military in all the coup d’états that have taken place in the country. According to him, it is true that the military in government was responsible for the present situation the country has found itself.
While he apologised to the youths for not being part of the current state of the country, Akinrinade said the conference has provided an opportunity to do away with the current constitution and come up with a new one that will meet the yearnings and aspirations of Nigerians, old and young.
Dr. Akiyode Abiola supported the call for a new constitution, adding that the extant laws have taken power away from the people. She said the current constitution has failed to guarantee citizens’ access to basic rights. Others such as Mrs. Ankio Briggs, an activist, said the 1999 Constitution is no longer relevant or acceptable to the people of Nigeria. Reiterating that no one in the conference was there to canvass for the breakup of the country but to answer questions on how to build it, she added, “We are not here to keep the status as it is because it has not worked for Nigeria.”
However, protagonists of the 1999 Constitution argued that the political will to implement the letters of the Constitution was the problem that should be addressed. They also argued that the conference lacked the powers to draw up a new constitution. One of them is Prof. Jubrin Aminu, who said he hoped the on-going conference would be the last the country would ever convene for the resolution of its differences. Advising that time and opportunity should not be wasted developing the country the elder statesman added, “The Constitution is very good, we should not rubbish it but try to make it better by looking at items that should be removed and insert new ones. We should look at clauses like immunity, local government administration, and others that should be in tune with the reality of our time.”
Senator Iyorchia Ayu said the conference should be aware of its mandates as related to the constitution, “We may be taking ourselves too seriously if we think we can solve all the problems of this country, like some of us saying we can write a new constitution.
“Most of our recommendations would go into policy making or presented as legislation for those responsible for what is right to do with it. It’s not for us to draw a new constitution, but it is a joint responsibility of the President and others,” he added.
Former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) women leader, Josephine Anenih, who said women and youth need more political and economic space in the current dispensation, pointed out that the efforts of the conference might come to naught without the input of the National Assembly. She said rather than calling for a new constitution, the National Assembly should be involved to prevent the conference report from being dumped. “We should not usurp the role of the National Assembly,” she added.
Senator Iyabo Anisulowo claimed that the foundation of the country should be addressed, saying, ”When the foundation is destroyed, what do we do? Let us review our foundation and those structures responsible for disunity and discord. The National Assembly should rather help us so that the conference report will get a legal backing.”
Aisha Aliyu, noted that attitude and not the constitution is the problem facing the country. Pastor Bosun Emmanuel said there were too many inconsistencies in the constitution that must be reviewed. He said Section10 prohibits government from adopting any religion as a state religion but in another section made provision for religious courts. He also cited the mention of some religious terms in the constitution to the exclusion of others, like Sharia mentioned 73 times; Islam 28 times; and Muslims 10 times, while Christians and churches were not even mentioned once. He ended his submission by saying that there is no problem with the constitution, but its implementation.
“We should look at what is wrong in the constitution and the imbalances smuggled into it that have led to bad blood among Nigerians. Unless justice, equity and fairness is brought to all, what we are doing here is futile. We should respect the sanctity of the religion but whatever is done to one should be done to the other.”
He called for neutrality of government on religious matters and that if the constitution permits, it should be amended to create court on the level of customary and Sharia law for the other religion.
Pastor Tunde Bakare however warned that if the expectations of President Goodluck Jonathan, who convoked the conference, were not met, the conference might as well be a jamboree for the delegates. He expected the conference to deliberate and come out with strong and proactive recommendations on the critical issues of form and structure of government. “Let’s tackle it once and for all, as Nigeria has not practised true federalism since the advent of military coup in the country,” he added.
Senator Ahmed Mohammed Aruwa however generated some reactions from his colleagues when he refuted a previous argument by a delegate on the unity of the country. He started his review of the President’s speech with comments that were contrary to general commendations showered on the President. He noted that some parts of the inauguration speech were rather from someone who was under severe pressure and who gave straight warnings to the delegates. The senator added it was baffling that some delegates want to re-write the constitution, while some delegates that were supposed to be impacting knowledge on students across the country were distorting history in the conference. “It is baffling that Professors sit here and tell us stories about Sarduna of Sokoto and Nnamdi Azikwe that many of us cannot believe. That is the garbage with which they feed our students with,” he said.
The comment drew murmurs from the floor and Haruna Yerima raised a point of order on the use of foul language. The Vice Chairman Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi sustained the point of order, but another delegate wanted the submission expunged from records, having been ruled out of order. “It means the word was not spoken,” he said.
Several voices shouted disagreement and Prof. Akinyemi intervened, saying that proceeding should continue unless the violation was repeated after which the leadership would be forced to take action.
Former Governor Adamu Aliero said the conference has provided an opportunity to redress the issue of too much power concentrated in the center. But former chairman, Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Amodu Ali commented on the population disparity between the North and the South, saying the North has always been more in number that the South.
He said, “We must put Nigeria in the first burner in anything we are doing. Since amalgamation, there has never been equality from the time of regions to the provinces to the present arrangement. We should always have that in mind when we are thinking of creating states and local government. We know that it was the West that didn’t have as much States as the rest of the country during the regional era.
“The whole of the North put together had more states than the South. So that inequity started early on. At amalgamation, the Northern Region had over nine million in population without Kano, while the South had just over eight million.
“The North, out of all the regions at that time, was a place that has no limit to the number of wives. So the population cannot be rigged. So it’s a fabrication that figures are being inflated in the North. Let us stop all these useless talk, it will carry us nowhere. We should remember that as a nation we came together and should live together.”
