Eminent Nigerians, including a former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth of Nations, Chief Emeka Anyaoku; former Minister of External Affairs, General Ike Nwachukwu (rtd), Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili, and Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi, have stressed the urgent need for a new constitution for Nigeria which will accommodate the nation’s diversity to save the country from imminent collapse.
The patriots, who spoke at a colloquium on June 12 Democracy Day held in Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos on Wednesday, titled “Securing the future of Nigeria through a new democratic People’s Constitution,’’ noted that the Nigerian project was not working because the country operates a constitution that does not suit its numerous peculiarities.
The chairman of the event, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, noted that Nigeria from the onset has been facing the challenges of managing its diversity, noting that the 1960 and 1963 constitutions were drafted to address the challenges until the military came in January 1966 and truncated the process.
He added that unless a courageous action was taken to give the country a new constitution, the country would continue to move towards disintegration.
Chief Anyaoku explained that some countries that failed to address their diversity have disintegrated, giving examples of countries like Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia and Sudan.
He explained that their failure to address their diversity made them break into two independent states.
He maintained that other pluralist nations that addressed their diversity still remained intact, citing examples of countries like Canada and India.
Anyaoku explained that even the 1999 Constitution as amended lacked the legitimacy to address the nation’s diversity, saying: “the 1999 constitution, even as amended lacked the legitimacy to address the diversity, therefore, we need to get a new legitimate constitution that will tackle the challenges facing the country.”
He suggested that, to arrive at the new constitution, a Constituent Assembly can be set up, which will comprise of people democratically elected, and not on a political party basis, adding that membership of the Constituent Assembly should also put into consideration the 1960 and 1963 constitutions and the recommendations of the 2014 National Conference, and if all those were put into consideration, the nation will eventually have a legitimate constitution.
For his part, General Nwachukwu noted that attempts have been made in the past to return Nigeria to a true democracy, adding that Nigerians should pray that the country have a constitution that can accommodate the wishes of the people.
He said what Nigeria needed now was a true federalist constitution that accommodates its diversity as a nation, adding that the time to make the change is now.
“We must all be committed to democracy. We should make good promises made by our founding fathers and promises made by our leaders reflect on our diversity,” he stated.
In her remarks, Dr. Ezekwesili said Nigeria was still struggling to have a democracy, stressing that the journey to have a democracy is premised on the rule of law, but Nigeria does not have that, noting that political freedom correlates to economic freedom and leads to productivity.
She said lack of democracy made Nigeria to be backwards, adding that what Nigeria has was monopoly democracy.
She added that Nigeria needed to be rescued immediately from experimentation.
Dr. Ezekwesili said it was time the people have a new Nigeria and not the one the whites will dictate what the country should do to.
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