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| Patriot Adebukanla Jamiu |
Although, government has set up a joint
national assembly committee to review the constitution, the process is yet to
elicit the confidence of Nigerians due to its narrow and exclusive projection
based on the restrictive provisions of section 9 of the 1999 constitution,
which will not allow for a popular and all inclusive constitution review.
To this end, the urgent challenge before
this national consultation is how to draw up a popular framework and strategy that
will build a broad engagement of the rot in the Nigerian system. The various
political stakeholders in Nigeria must also speedily abandon their mushrooms
and cocoons to be profoundly weaved into a grand alliance for positive impact. The
frontiers of the narrow spectrum of activism separately been pursued at the
moment by political leaders in the country should be immediately jettisoned for
a more formidable broad national political movement. It is only through this
that the Nigerian masses and stakeholders can regain their democratic power
stolen by the hawks in the country.
Nigerian democracy has become so endangered
and the federal union colonized by a few who have continually positioned
themselves in power by fault because we have not been able to organize
correctly. For posterity sake, we as the conscience of the nation must arise to
navigate a roadmap to the restoration of the peoples’ power that can make their
voices to be heard and their votes to count. We must at this point of our
national history stop lamenting the woes but to act more constructively and
cohesively. History will not forget us if we fail to rise up to this occasion.
While not doubting the fact that the
current constitution review process has the capacity to become an entry point
for national reconciliation, as it may open a new vista for democratic
bargaining and national consensus, any attempt to amend the 1999 constitution
without first taking the review to the people, through a truly representative constituent
assembly, will only amount to building Nigeria’s
legal framework n illegitimacy because
unlike the United States that could afford to tinker with sections of its
constitution given stakeholders consensus on its constitution from the ouster, Nigeria
does not have the same opportunity at the moment given the imposition of the
1999 constitution by the military under the command of General Abdusalami Abubarkar
through the force of decree 24 of 1999.
To what extent, the national assembly
will have to first amend section 9 of the 1999 constitution, so that its
proposed constitution review process can accommodate a holistic and fundamental
review of the defective Nigerian constitution. except the Nigerian stakeholders
are allowed to drive and own the reform
process initiated by the national assembly, it is most likely going to fall
short of the yearnings of Nigerians for a profound restricting of the country.
Conclusion
What Nigeria needs now is a constitutional
review process that can be explored as a conflict resolution mechanism in
bringing about a new structure which can be freely negotiated by stakeholders
of the diverse federating units and sectors of the country. However, to get the
above on the table, the Nigerian political stakeholders must be prepare to
shelve their minor differences to organize well than before in the interest of
the toiling mass of our people. To this end a national political summit of all
stakeholders becomes inevitable to x-ray the state of Nigeria and move the
country out of hands of the oppressors of our people.”
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