The calls for the promulgation of a brand-new Constitution for the Federal Republic of Nigeria are growing.
Our 1999 Constitution has never been a darling of the more progressive sections of our society because it is seen essentially as a military decree imposed on Nigerians by the departing transitional regime of General Abdulsalami Abubakar.
Some constitutional experts even describe it as “a lie” because contrary to its claim of “we, the people”, it was not drafted by an elected Constituent Assembly or Constitutional Conference saddled with the people’s mandate to draw up a new constitution to guide their democratic future.
Apart from the highly popular 1963 Constitution, no other constitutional document has been drafted under an elected government in Nigeria.
The 1963 Constitution granted full republican status to Nigeria, created the Mid-Western Region and affirmed the full autonomies of the Regions which empowered them to develop competitively.
Unfortunately, further efforts made during the Olusegun Obasanjo elected government were neutralised by the Senate due to Obasanjo’s alleged manipulation of the Conference to obtain tenure elongation in 2006.
Also, the document of the National Conference of 2014 called by President Goodluck Jonathan was contemptuously sidelined by his successor, Muhammadu Buhari.
The clamour for a new constitution has always been zealously countered by the conservative class which always argues that our problem is not the constitution but the crooked nature of the current crop of Nigerian leaders.
They argue that through continuous amendments, the 1999 Constitution can be brought into alignment to the needs of the generality of Nigerians.
“It is becoming obvious that there is a sense in the growing consensus of agitation for a new constitution.”
A mere amendment to the existing Nigerian Constitution 1999 seems unsatisfactory to several citizens and continues to throw up strong sentiments of the lack of legitimacy of the present legal document that was imposed upon the country’s over 200 million population by the military.
Critics of the constitution consistently argue that there is an urgent need for a comprehensive and participatory approach to the drafting of a fresh guiding legal document for the country that reflects and addresses the diverse aspirations of the citizens, the fundamental issues of true federalism as well as the nation’s governance structure.
On Friday, August 9, 2024, President Bola Tinubu received a fresh request from The Patriots, a prominent group of nonpartisan eminent Nigerians at the Presidential Villa, Abuja led by a former Commonwealth Secretary-General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, where they made a strong appeal for the convening of a national constituent assembly with the mandate to draft a new constitution for the country.
In the opinion of The Patriots, President Tinubu must act swiftly to send an executive bill to the National Assembly, proposing the convening of a national constituent assembly with at least three individuals directly elected on a non-party basis from the 36 States of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory.
Anyaoku and his group are not alone in such recent demands from the government. A human rights activists and legal luminary, Femi Falana, SAN, for instance, is among several public commentators and human rights advocates in the forefront insisting that the 1999 constitution remains a decree (Number 24) signed into law by the last military dictatorship of General Abdulsalami Abubakar for the country.
It is becoming obvious that there is a sense in the growing consensus of agitation for a new constitution.
The Federal Government may need to begin to consider some of the reasons being put forward such as the question of legitimacy, the present constitution’s inability to unify the nation, as well as its inadequacy in addressing key national issues.
In the views of The Patriots group, for any pluralistic society such as Nigeria to thrive, the country must take the issue of diversity and sincerely address it, as failures to do so have the consequences of possible disintegration. The cases of Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, and Sudan readily come to mind.
The argument is that, if Nigeria is indeed a pluralistic society, it then must be seen as drafting a “people’s democratic pluralistic constitution” to effectively manage its diversity and challenges.
There have been past efforts in this direction. President Goodluck Jonathan convened the 2014 National Constitutional Conference hoping strongly that an open discussion could foster unity and resolve conflicts arising from ethnic, political, and economic disparities while aiming to create a platform for various stakeholders to propose constitutional reforms and recommendations that could enhance governance and national cohesion.
Although it is widely believed that the 2014 national conference’s output of over 600 resolutions and a 10,335-page report had a significant impact on the country’s political landscape with its key recommendations for restructuring Nigeria’s political system, ranging from abolishing the existing 774 local authorities to creating 18 new States, and modifying the revenue allocation formula, it was also largely criticised.
President Jonathan himself failed to pursue the vision of the delegates of the conference as recommended in their report, maybe, due to his failure to return for a second term after his defeat in the 2015 presidential election.
With the latest call by The Patriots, the question on the lips of many Nigerians is whether or not President Tinubu would truly yield to the current demand and begin another round of a constitutional reform exercise as all attempts in the past by the National Assembly in this regard have only been about amending some sections of the 1999 constitution.
Both the Senate and House of Representatives recently voted on 68 bills seeking to amend the Constitution, but there are doubts whether these piecemeal changes can ever have any far-reaching impact.
In advising President Tinubu on the need to consider a bill for a new constitution, Anyaoku, and his group explained that deliberations at the next possible constituent assembly should take into full account the 1960/63 constitutions, as well as the recommendations of the 2014 National Conference and indeed of the various national conferences that considered the Nigerian constitutions.
What is however, certain from President Tinubu about the fresh clamour for constitutional reforms is that he is not in a hurry, given the amount of pressure his government faces as a result of humongous economic challenges including hunger and high cost of living which must be tackled immediately to save lives.
However, the President acknowledged that the fresh push for constitutional reforms is a longstanding issue in Nigeria’s national discourse.
The general feeling is that no matter how long it takes to await the presidential action, millions of Nigerians remain eager to witness the bold initiative of a historic political and constitutional change capable of resetting Nigeria towards a much expected brighter future.
