Elder statesmen and intellectual luminaries affiliated with The Patriots stated on Thursday in Lagos that President Bola Tinubu has the historic chance and duty to correct Nigeria now by paying attention to stakeholders’ calls for a real federalist system.
The leaders, who gathered at the Lupeju, Lagos Chamber of the organization’s founding chairman, the late legal luminary Chief FRA Williams, included Chief Emeka Anyaoku, the current chairman of the body and a former Secretary General of the Commonwealth of Nations; prominent nationalist Chief Ayo Adebanjo, secretary; Dr. Kalu Idika Kalu, former Minister of Finance; Chief Tokunbo Williams, representing the Williams family; and Madam Nene Nwabueze, representing the late Professor Ben Nwabueze family.
They referred to the current constitution as a fake instrument and demanded the holding of a constituent assembly to draught a new one that reflects the desires and goals of the people.
A replay of such a scenario might compound the “current dangerous decline,” the leaders cautioned the president, warning him not to repeat the mistakes of the previous administration, which they claimed prevented bringing about the fundamental transformation that would result in a people’s constitution.
In addition, Chief Anya-oku, the Chairman of the Patriots, discussed the status of the country, saying, “We want President Bola Tinubu to take the initiative to convene constituent assembly on a nonpartisan basis.”
“Once the new constitution is approved by the majority of our citizens, it should be drafted by the Constituent Assembly and signed by the president.”
“It has to be acknowledged that the 1999 Constitution is not a constitution of the people. The military enforced it on Nigerians.
It is not a federal concept but rather a unitary one. The state seeks allocation from Abuja, where the federal government resides. A truly federal constitution, in our opinion, will devolve authority.
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“The 1999 Constitution is false and not a people’s constitution, which is why we are not requesting a review of it.
A really Nigerian people’s constitution is what we are promoting.
The ruling of our nation’s highest court regarding the 2023 national elections confirms the legitimacy of President Ahmed Bola Tinubu’s administration, which we also embrace as truth.
“We are deeply troubled by the appalling conditions that currently exist in our nation, which include the deteriorating feeling of unity within the nation, the increasing risk to life and property, and the rising rates of unemployment and poverty that affect our people, particularly the younger generation.
Experience over the past 30 years has demonstrated that Nigeria’s economy, internal security, and unity have continued to deteriorate in spite of the administrations’ professed best intentions. From our perspective, the cause is that our governments
have not addressed the core problem of the governance structure that arises from the nation’s constitution, but rather have only been able to scrape the surface.
We think that the administration of President Tinubu has a historic chance and a duty to address this important issue. If he, like the past governments, commits the error of failing to enact a new people’s constitution to bring about the essential fundamental change, Nigeria would unavoidably continue its current, perilous fall. Nigeria’s founding fathers agreed that a truly federal constitution is the only way the nation will be able to successfully address its current problems.
In addition, Pa Adebanjo acknowledged that the 1960 Independence Constitution was written by the country’s founding fathers and offered his support to the demand for a new one.
“The 1999 Constitution is a false constitution, according to our leader, the Patriots’ founding fathers. Though the people did not write the constitution, it does say “we the people.” That’s what he told us at the time. According to the constitution, we are the citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, but are we still federal if all of our power is centralised in one place? All I want to do is point out that all we are doing is repeating what those in the know—and those who used to know—have spoken time and time again throughout the years. “The 1960 Constitution was drafted by our founding father, Chief Rotimi Williams,” he said.
