Despite hundreds of
millions of Naira and incalculable human energy dissipated on the exercise that
began in 2003, the 6th Assembly for instance, made only three alterations, the
most salient of which was the self-serving clause that fetched financial
autonomy for the same federal legislature. Not many Nigerians can remember the
benefits of all three alterations, as they are neither prominent nor
significant to the survival of the nation.
The last session of the
same National Assembly also completed another set of alterations in a Bill that
was sent to the then President, Dr. Goodluck
Jonathan, for his assent. This failed as President Jonathan declined to
sign the document. Now, the 8th and current National Assembly has begun another
effort to pursue an unnecessary constitution amendment process. This idea
should be jettisoned and time should be devoted to what Nigeria really needs: a
genuine overhauling of political architecture and governance structure.
At the inauguration of the
House of Representatives Committee on the amendment the other day, the Speaker,
Hon. Barrister Yakubu Dogara, said
the specific objective of the current pursuit of the review is to complete the
amendment started on the 1999 Constitution by the 7th Assembly. This
explanation is not persuasive.
A nation’s constitution is
not a document to be amended at every session of the National Assembly. More
importantly, this constitution amendment bid is coming at a time the nation
expects both the executive and the legislature to get more serious by either
making a new constitution or amending the current one within the context of the
2014 Constitutional Conference Report. Despite some imperfections in the
contents of the Conference Report, there is a sense in which the
recommendations are remarkable – and far-reaching – enough to correct the
anomalies that currently bedevil Nigeria.
No doubt, the current
constitution is an imposition by the military government with which a
federation of 36 states and 774 local governments are run in a flawed unitary
system dubiously paraded as a federal one. There have, therefore, emerged from
this grand national deceit too many iniquities that threaten the peace, harmony
and unity, and above all, prosperity of the country. Certainly, the 2014
Constitutional Conference Report has enough recommendations to deal with most
of these anomalies that have limited national development; and the time to
start their implementation is now.
Oil revenue that has
conveniently cobbled Nigeria together for monthly sharing at the centre is no
longer a reliable stream of income. The country has deceived itself for too
long with the idea of federal police, federal roads, federal electricity,
federal energy corporations and other federal appurtenances that are not only
ineffective but actually fraudulent.
Restructuring the unwieldy
federation is, therefore, an idea whose time has come.
That is why it is
disturbing that the current leadership at both the executive and the
legislative arms are pursuing a parochial mission of constitutional amendment
without considering or even adopting the 2014 Conference Report.
The government should not
play the ostrich with the Constitutional Conference Report and the President in
particular, should not be deceived into signing any amendment that does not
include all the clauses that are capable of enhancing the ideal Nigeria as
recommended by that Conference. The amendments being relentlessly pursued by
legislators contain some noble issues such as separating the office of the
accountant-general of the federation from the one of the federal government,
among others, no doubt. But Nigeria needs more than such cosmetic adjustments.
Therefore, the president
and indeed the governing party should treat the 2014 Constitutional Conference
Report as a national document in which all Nigerians are interested and should
be given priority attention now. Unless Nigeria is primed into practicing true
federalism as dictated by its nature and history, there cannot be justice,
equity and development, let alone unity. (Guardian)
No comments:
Post a Comment