Constitution Review: Let’s Avoid Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia Mistakes – Patriots

The Eminent Patriots of Nigeria, the nation’s foremost group made up of elder statesmen and women, intellectuals and civic leaders, have warned that Nigeria should avoid the mistake that led to the disintegration of Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia.

The group which held a two-day National Constitutional Summit on the future of the country, in collaboration with Nigerian Political Summit Group (NPSG), noted that experience all over the world has shown that pluralistic countries that have survived as political entities are those that operate truly federal constitutions.

Chairman of the summit, Chief Emeka Anyaoku who presented communique issued at the end of the summit, said the pluralistic countries that disintegrated failed to operate operate truly federal constitutions.

\

Anyaoku who was former Secretary General of the Commonwealth of Nations, stated that his group, the Patriots are very concerned about the state of affairs in the nation’s pluralism.

Former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo had said the nation’s problem is not the constitution but operators of the constitution.

Obasanjo in a goodwill message to the summiters, told them that “No matter what you do to Nigerian Constitution, if the operators of the Nigerian Constitution for the past one decade and a half remain unchanged and continue in the same manner, the welfare and well-being of Nigerians will continue to be sacrificed on the altar of selfishness, self-centeredness, corruption, impunity, and total disregard of the Constitution, decency, morality, integrity and honesty.

“At this crucial time, the operators matter more and the searchlight should be on them.

“When we get the right operators, they will give us the amended or new Constitution close to what we need to make every Nigerian a proud stakeholder in the Project Nigeria.”

But Anyaoku blamed the root cause of Nigeria’s current problems on the constitution she operates.

He contended that Nigeria is a pluralistic country, and “Like all successful pluralistic countries around the world, for its political stability and maximal development its constitution must address its pluralism by being formulated by elected representatives of its diverse peoples.”

The former Commonwealth Secretary General said Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia disintegrated because they failed to operate truly federal constitutions.

“But those that operated truly federal constitutions and survived are India and Canada,” he said.

The elder statesman argued that the present Nigeria’s 1999 constitution is not suited to the needs of a pluralistic country like Nigeria.

He said the summiters recommended formulation of a new constitution for the country, to address her multifaceted problems.

The new constitution, according to him, will be a product of a Constituent Assembly while its product will be subjected to national referendum.

“They agreed that after the summit, these recommendations would be communicated to the presidency and the National Assembly, and that the president would be asked to send an executive bill to the National Assembly.

“The executive bill should decide to have the National Assembly legislate for the creation of a Constituent Assembly, the appointment of a Constituent Assembly in which all parts of the country will be represented.

“This Constituent Assembly would have as its primary task the formulation of the new constitution for the country.

“After it has formulated the new constitution, it should be submitted to the people of Nigeria in a national referendum, and it is the endorsement of the new constitution in a national referendum that will confer legitimacy to the new constitution, as against the 1999 constitution which lacks legitimacy because it was not drafted by the representatives of the people of the country, nor was it endorsed by the Nigerian people,” Anyaoku stated.

According to him, The Patriots consulted widely before the summit, and explained that the summit “discussed a whole range of Nigerian affairs guided by the single wish to make Nigeria work better, to make Nigeria more united, make Nigeria develop its potentials.”