‘99 CONSTITUTION TO BLAME FOR NIGERIA’S WOES — PATRIOTS
Read Time:2 Minute, 31 Second
By Oduola F.A.
A group of eminent Nigerians under the aegis of the Patriots, Thursday, called for a new constitution, blaming Nigeria’s current socio-economic challenges on the 1999 Constitution on which the country is being run.
Chairman of the South-West Patriot Advocacy and Mobilisation Committee, Mogaji Adejumo, who faulted the 1999 Constitution, described it as unworkable, invidious and bequeathed to Nigeria by the military.
Adejumo spoke at the Patriots’ South-West Town Hall Meeting on Charting the Pathway for Good Governance in Nigeria through Constitutional Reforms and attended in Lagos by delegates of various South-West groups.
Addressing newsmen, he said: “We are committed to bringing about a new constitution, a people’s constitution that will work. Not this unworkable, very invidious constitution, called the 1999 Constitution, which is not the people’s constitution, which the military bequeathed to us.
“The only problem we have, that has cost so much in terms of economic strife, insecurity, terror and every other thing that you see, is all attributable to the obnoxious 1999 Constitution, which must go. Why are we insisting that we must have a new Constitution?
“You will see all manner of ideas that the Constitution be reformed, but you cannot reform what is bad. This Constitution is like a very bad tyre, that has suffered no less than 20 punctures. It is too flawed. So, how many amendments do you want to make? The American Constitution, in all of its glory, made in 1776, has only had 18 attempts in 250 years to affect reforms and amendments.
“And they only succeeded in having eight. And that is a society that is safe, with people who are ready to sit down, they are mostly homogeneous and they are more reasonable. But look at Nigeria. Way back in 1963, we had a constitution that gave even the South-West, as at that time the Western region, their own constitution. They had their own flag. They had their embassies everywhere. They could simply take control of everything around them, inclusive of security. We had local government police. But as of today, what is the strength of the police? In all the villages and the forests, where is the police to tackle the menace of terrorists?”
On when the group would hold its National Summit on a new constitution in Abuja, he said: “We wanted to have this National Summit on May 28 and 29. However, we were reminded that May 29 is the handover date, so we are working towards June 10, 11, 12 to coincide with the June 12 Anniversary to see what we can bring to the fore. Either as a reminder of how we got it wrong on June 12, 1993, to hit the people and reset their brains or perhaps to finish on June 11 because it is going to be about two or three days. Then maybe on June 12, submit what we need to submit to the authorities and then await any further development.”
Happy
0 %
Sad
0 %
Excited
0 %
Sleepy
0 %
Angry
0 %
Surprise
0 %
0
0