The Patriots, a group of eminent Nigerians and elder statesmen, have restated its insistence on a new constitution to save the country.
Responding to concerns over its meeting with President Bola
Tinubu on August 9, the Chief Emeka Anyaoku-led body, said a new grundnorm is
needed because the 1999 constitution is too undemocratic and flawed to be
amended.
Agreeing with the statement credited to Mallam Tanko
Yakassai about the need to consult
widely on the initiative to give Nigeria a new, truly federal constitution, The
Patriots said a combination of the provisions of the 1963 constitution and
recommendations would yield the desired new constitution.
In a statement by its Secretary, Comrade Wale Okunniyi, told
Yakassai that the submission made to the President was “a product of concerted
and painstaking consultations, including a National Dialogue (Colloquium) in
March 2024, where participants drawn from all parts of the country resolved to
push for a new constitution to mitigate the many flaws in the present military
decreed Constitution which has hampered the good governance and stability of
our Federation.”
Lamenting that Mallam Yakasai, after due process and
consultations with the Patriots’ Secretariat could not attend its colloquium,
the group urged “all Nigerians to offer their views freely on the
Proposed Constitutional Conference because
“it is patently clear that Nigeria has a flawed, unitary and
undemocratic constitution which has made proper governance and cohesion in a
highly diverse nation as our own very problematic.”
The Patriots continued: “Most Nigerians are aware of the
country’s leadership deficit at all levels as a nation, and the lack of
discipline and commitment at all levels to make sacrifice for the country.
However, it’s the considered view of Stakeholders at the last National Dialogue
(Colloquium ) that the problems of good and effective governance in Nigeria go far
beyond the conduct of the operators of the constitution and that the failures
and impunity of the operators of the constitution is aided by the fundamental
flaws in Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution.
“The need for our leaders and citizens to work on our values
and commitment to good governance at all levels is self evident. But a
coherent, democratic and workable federal constitution that guarantees and
takes into account our pluralism and peculiarities as a nation is a sine qua
non to the unity, stability, security, orderly governance and rapid development
of Nigeria.
“As many experts and
opinion molders have pointed out, the Republican constitution of 1963 and the
summation of the 2014 National Constitutional Conference offer a possible pathway to arriving at a truly
federal constitution which should be negotiated by all the peoples of Nigeria
and approved in a referendum as is the case in all democratic federations
around the Word.
“The argument by some
other commentators that there is nothing wrong with the present constitution,
and that all the problems of Nigeria come from the operators is self serving
and far from the truth. Our difficulties as a nation come from both the
operators and from the various military imposed constitutions, including the
present one, foisting unitary autocratic system of governance on the country
instead of democratic federalism which Nigerians desire.
“A new democratic people’s Constitution of Nigeria will, no
doubt, inspire and encourage a wave of patriotic values and commitments from
our leaders and citizens at all levels to make our country work again. So, Let
the debate go on without the normal blackmail and that often distracts our
nation from normal, healthy national conversations.”
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