A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mike Ozekhome, has said that
only a new people-driven constitution could guarantee Nigeria’s progress.
Ozekhome made the remark in a lecture with the theme, “2023
General Election: The Nigeria Project and the Media,” during the 2022 Media Week
of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Cross River State Council in Calabar.
The keynote speaker said Nigeria could not continue to amend
its constitution because continuous amendments would only give birth to a bad
constitution.
“Whoever becomes Nigeria’s president in 2023 will fail
abysmally if he does not tackle the issue of restructuring through a brand-new
people’s constitution, done by Nigerians themselves.
“This constitution must be subjected to them through a
popular referendum and plebiscite, without this, Nigeria will be going around
on a journey without a destination,” he said.
The constitutional lawyer disclosed that the nation needed a
constitution that would make ethnic groups see themselves as Nigerians and not
belong to a contraption they could not relate with.
He said Nigeria needed to return to the era when it had
regional governments with their own constitutions standing side-by-side with
the national constitution which only prevailed in the regions whenever there
was a clash in constitutional provisions.
He maintained that in the constitution of the 1960s each
region took 50 per cent proceeds of its production, gave 20 per cent to the
Federal Government and shared 30 per cent among other regions.
“This system ensured that huge developments like the cocoa house
in the Western Region, and Obudu Cattle Ranch in the Eastern Region.
“The Northern Nigeria Development Corporation in the
Northern region, Okpela cement factory in the Midwest region among others, were
established and effectively ran,” he said.
While calling on journalists to educate the masses on the
need to get their Permanent Voter Cards and vote for leaders of their choice,
he said the 2023 elections would be challenging but would not destroy Nigeria.
He, however, added that according to the late Moshood
Abiola, Nigeria needs peace imbued with social justice, equity, a good
conscience, and egalitarianism and not the peace of the cemetery.
NAN
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