The Patriots: Why we insist on new constitution
The Patriots, a group of eminent Nigerians and elder statesmen, have restated its insistence on a new constitution to save the country.
Responding to concerns over its meeting with President Bola Tinubu on August 9, the Chief Emeka Anyaoku-led body, said a new grundnorm is needed because the 1999 constitution is too undemocratic and flawed to be amended.
Agreeing with the statement credited to Mallam Tanko Yakassai about the need to consult widely on the initiative to give Nigeria a new, truly federal constitution, The Patriots said a combination of the provisions of the 1963 constitution and recommendations would yield the desired new constitution.
In a statement by its Secretary, Comrade Wale Okunniyi, the group told Yakassai that the submission made to the President was “a product of concerted and painstaking consultations, including a National Dialogue (Colloquium) in March 2024, where participants drawn from all parts of the country resolved to push for a new constitution to mitigate the many flaws in the present military decreed Constitution which has hampered the good governance and stability of our Federation.”
Lamenting that Mallam Yakasai, after due process and consultations with the Patriots’ Secretariat could not attend its colloquium, the group urged “all Nigerians to offer their views freely on the Proposed Constitutional Conference because “it is patently clear that Nigeria has a flawed, unitary and undemocratic constitution which has made proper governance and cohesion in a highly diverse nation as our own very problematic.”
The Patriots continued: “Most Nigerians are aware of the country’s leadership deficit at all levels as a nation, and the lack of discipline and commitment at all levels to make sacrifice for the country. However, it’s the considered view of Stakeholders at the last National Dialogue (Colloquium ) that the problems of good and effective governance in Nigeria go far beyond the conduct of the operators of the constitution and that the failures and impunity of the operators of the constitution is aided by the fundamental flaws in Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution.
“The need for our leaders and citizens to work on our values and commitment to good governance at all levels is self-evident. But a coherent, democratic and workable federal constitution that guarantees and takes into account our pluralism and peculiarities as a nation is a sine qua non to the unity, stability, security, orderly governance and rapid development of Nigeria.
“As many experts and opinion moulders have pointed out, the Republican constitution of 1963 and the summation of the 2014 National Constitutional Conference offer a possible pathway to arriving at a truly federal constitution which should be negotiated by all the peoples of Nigeria and approved in a referendum as is the case in all democratic federations around the World. The argument by some other commentators that there is nothing wrong with the present constitution, and that all the problems of Nigeria come from the operators is self-serving and far from the truth.
Our difficulties as a nation come from both the operators and from the various military-imposed constitutions, including the present one, foisting a unitary autocratic system of governance on the country instead of democratic federalism which Nigerians desire.
“A new democratic people’s Constitution of Nigeria will, no doubt, inspire and encourage a wave of patriotic values and commitments from our leaders and citizens at all levels to make our country work again. So, Let the debate go on without the normal blackmail that often distracts our nation from normal, healthy national conversations.”
