No part of Nigeria is happy with Nigeria

From Monday to Thursday, I was at the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, serving as a rapporteur at the National Summit on the Future of Nigeria’s democracy organized by The Patriots and the Nigerian Political Summit Group (NPSG) and held at the Transcorp Hilton and Nicon Luxury hotels. In that role, I had distinguished company: a member of the Editorial Board of The Guardian, Mr Francis Abayomi, Saturday Tribune editor, Dr Lasisi Olagunju; Dr Aminu Idris of the Federal University, Gusau, and the duo of Drs Keyinde Oyetimi and Rita Okonoboh-Fagbayi, both of the Department of English, University of Ibadan. I am in fact writing this piece at my lodging at the Nicon Luxury, Garki. As Solomon Asemota, SAN, observed, the kind of exercise organised by The Patriots was first conducted by the British. The summit, as the ex-Ogun helmsman Gbenga Daniel observed, is a citizen-driven constitutional intervention whose report will be presented to both the National Assembly and the Presidency.

On Tuesday, a brother and professional colleague, Dare Adekanmbi of the FIRS—the FIRS boss, Zach Adedeji,  is, by the way, one of the soothing balms in the current government, as is Interior Minister Tunji-Ojo—took Dr Oyetimi and I on a tour of the capital city, which I had last visited 15 years ago, and I couldn’t but notice the sheer beauty and orderliness in the city even as the phenomenal outfits called Amala Iya Oyo, Yakoyo and kilishi joints facilitated greater understanding of national issues. It turns out that Nyesom Wike, although quite garrulous and impulsively rude, is actually doing a lot to turn things around at the FCT. But back to the summit.

At the summit were some of the brightest and biggest names you will find anywhere in Nigeria: Emeka Anyaoku, Ike Nwachukwu, Mike Ozkhome, Wole Olanipekun, Femi Falana, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, Sam Amadi, Pat Utomi, Oby Ezekwesili, Ann Kio Briggs, etc. There were representatives of the various geopolitical zones, religious groups, women’s groups, students, etc. As speaker after speaker spoke, it became quite evident, like former YCE Chief Dr Kunle Olajide has said on many occasions, that no part of Nigeria is happy with Nigeria. For one, the terms of the country’s foundation, its sustenance and governance architecture bear lucid imprints of forgery and illegality. The country should have been re-negotiated in 2014 and efforts were in fact made in that direction, but feudal overlords truncated them. Hearing Chief Anyaoku and the representatives of the various regions speak at the strictly non-partisan summit, it was quite evident that for stability and maximal development, the Nigerian constitution must address Nigeria’s pluralism.

As the speakers argued, the 1999 Constitution, which is really a cut and paste version of the intensely subversive 1979 Constitution, was imposed through a military decree and has taken Nigeria down the drain. Per Anyaoku, Nigeria is the world poverty capital and suffering is rising rather than diminishing, the development of infrastructure is lagging behind and there is eroding sense of national unity within our pluralistic country. That is why in his address, the Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Nnaemeka Achebe, called for a constitution that will enable Nigeria to address basic challenges, including poverty and insecurity, and prioritize the wellbeing of Nigerians.

Among the speakers at the event, I found Obong Victor Attah’s analysis quite pungent. As he observed, this is a defining moment, our democracy is in disrepute, the 1999 Constitution is fraudulent because Nigerians were not consulted and our sovereignty was stolen, and our union is fractured but not beyond repair. As he observed, quite pointedly, what Nigeria is currently practicing is not democracy but elite authoritarianism. Trust in the government is dead and unless we act now, the country is bound to go into disintegration. Sovereignty must return to the people. On this question, the Middle Belt Forum surmised that we are on the right road in trying to forge a constitution that will serve all Nigerians, which is why the recommendations of the 2014 Conference must be revisited. And as PANDEF observed, it is incumbent on us to keep discussing and fine-tuning the constitution. There was unanimity on the fact that Nigeria should operate a two-tier system of government, that ethnic minorities should be able to decide where they want to be, that the two best constitutions so far are the 1960 and 1963 constitutions, and that it is not the length of tenure but weak institutions that undermine governance. The real issue, then, is not tenure but poor democratic practice, as Dr Otive Igbuzor, Founding Executive Director of the African Centre for Leadership, Strategy & Development (Centre LSD), was keen to point out. Participants also harped on the fact that there must be a strong electoral umpire.

To Olanipekun, we must not judicialise our democracy. The 1999 Constitution is not amendable, and you have to first amend the preamble to the Nigerian constitution which falsely claims to have been made by “We the people of Nigeria.” Baba-Ahmed was keen to stress the fact that if we are going to rebuild Nigeria, we must focus on citizens, and that citizenship must not be determined by ethnicity. On electoral reform, Falana, SAN, opined that the Supreme Court is currently opposed to electronic voting, and that the National Assembly should amend electoral act 2022 to allow for BVAS. As canvassed by Ene Obi and supported by other speakers, all elections must be held on the same day. The need for a Social Inclusion and Social Integration Commission was canvassed, as was the need for more rigorous conversations before constitution amendments are undertaken. This was Sam Amadi’s position. To him, the 1999 Constitution has been “over-amended”, and Nigerians must define what kind of society they want to create. Ann Kio Briggs argued that the 1999 Constitution is both anti Niger Delta and anti-Nigeria. Speakers from the North-East, North Central and North-West all harped on the need for a people-centred constitution, increased women’s participation in politics, and the overhaul of Nigeria’s security architecture.

On this last point, I find the position of Colonel Tony Nyiam (retd) quite fascinating. In place of the current one-tier structure of fighting insecurity through the armed forces, Nyiam recommends a three-tier structure, including a. a border force distinct from Immigration and manned essentially by locals, like in India b. a national security outfit like the National Guard in the US and c. the conventional armed forces.

Among other points, the summit resolved that there should be a new, democratic and inclusive people’s constitution; that a constituent assembly made up of members elected on a non-partisan basis should be set up to debate and draft a new constitution; that there should be a special force in charge of borders and coastal highways to complement the conventional forces; that the constitution should make it mandatory for defectors to lose their seats, that there should be a framework to make Nigerians in the Diaspora to participate in elections, and that there should be a constitutional provision that makes it mandatory for all electoral matters to be concluded before swearing in ceremonies.

Nations are works in progress. Although, as Falana, SAN, observed, NASS members in their jamboree are likely to ignore this week’s summit, there is no harm in trying. I think that The Patriots and NPSG deserve plaudits for bringing Nigerians together to ventilate their grievances. Kudos to Chief Anyaoku, Professor Ozekhome, Dr Baba Ahmed and others for charting the way forward for Nigeria. President Bola Tinubu can make history by taking a hard look at the recommendations and enabling Nigerians to have a better constitution.

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