Prelude to the resumption of the 10th National Assembly from their mid-year recess, the ongoing amendment of the 1999 Constitution is expected to be a top priority, as stated by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio GCON, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas GCON. Meanwhile, during the recess, some ad hoc committees of both chambers of the National Assembly have been actively undertaking consultations with various stakeholders, while public hearings on some of the Bills are already underway. It is also worthy of note that both the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on the Constitution Amendment have created inclusive platforms that engage citizens, civil society, political parties, professional groups, and traditional institutions in the amendment process.
Therefore, as citizens, we have the opportunity of ensuring that the amendments like the State Police, devolution of powers, Local Government Autonomy, etc, are well thought-out, articulated, debated, and legislated.
Meanwhile, it is a consensus in Nigeria that we are not happy with the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. This is because it was not created with the inputs and acceptance of the majority of Nigerians, which is not in line with what is stated in the opening statement of the 1999 Constitution, that “WE the people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria: … HAVING firmly and solemnly resolved:”. However, if citizens do not engage, debate and ensure that their representatives at the National and State Assemblies include what they consider the critical issues to be part of the amendment of the Constitution, it means that we have abdicated our responsibilities for the political class to continue doing as they wish which in most cases may not be in the best interest of the citizens of Nigeria. We will also lose the moral right to challenge “faulty” or “unfair” provisions if they are added to, or not removed from, the Constitution.
Indeed, some well-meaning Nigerians, including the group of eminent Nigerians – the Patriots, led by Chief Emeka Anyaoku, a former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, are of the opinion that there is a need to overhaul the 1999 Constitution, as part of a much-needed wider and deeper political, structural, and systemic reform for a more united, progressive, and better Nigeria.
Another school of thought is of the opinion that it will be more prudent, expedient, and efficient to harmonize the recommendations of the late Justice Mohammed Lawal Uwais-led Electoral Reform Committee (ERC) of 2008, and the recommendations of the late Justice Idris Lebo Kutigi-led 2014 National Conference.
What is important from all the discussions going on in this matter is if we truly love Nigeria, then we should agree that the overhaul of our constitution is a critical success factor to the progress and development of Nigeria.
I believe that the amendment of a constitution is NOT a destination, but a process and journey to the “ideal” or “desired” political and socio-economic destinations of a nation, a country or society. But I also agree that the “peace meal” annual ritual of “amendment of the 1999 Constitution is reducing the importance of fundamental amendments to the Constitution and may deny Nigerians the opportunity for a robust overhaul of the Constitution.
Therefore, because we already have an entrenched Legislature, i.e., National Assembly and State Assemblies, whose members are elected to represent all the peoples and regions of Nigeria, it will be somewhat complicated to create a parallel body with quasi-legislative powers to amend the constitution. In my view, what will be more proper, prudent, expedient, and efficient is that the elites of this country, including groups like “The Patriots”, engage the respective members of their constituencies, collectively and individually, to ensure that the key and relevant recommendations from the Justice Uwais Committee and the Justice Kutigi Conference recommendations are presented/sponsored for legislation. Indeed, the wider objectives of Patriots remain relevant and germane to our political evolution in Nigeria.
Let us be part of the process
The political landscape is broadening, and the political consciousness of Nigerians has heightened over time, with citizens demanding good governance and increasingly knowing the power of their votes and other fundamental rights.
Therefore, it is against the background of the aforementioned developments that I find it necessary to speak to all well-meaning Nigerians, particularly the elites, on the importance of citizens participation in the legislative process as a crucial value-addition to the enactment of sound, far-reaching, practical, relevant and impactful amendment of the Nigerian Constitution that will further unify Nigeria and ensure delivery of good governance. By “elites”, I mean the middle-class citizens, who are mostly educated, gainfully employed, and part of the governance and leadership structure of Nigeria in the Civil Service, Public Service, and Private sectors. We are mostly employees or employers of labour as professionals, businessmen/women, entrepreneurs, academics, craftsmen, etc, within the organized and informal sectors.
In my opinion, good governance is not just about waiting for politicians to do as they wish while we lament about how things have been going worse in the past 24 years since the return of Nigeria to democracy. But good governance is the outcome of a process which includes the citizens not just making demands, but actually setting the parameters/ standards of the kind of leadership and the accountability and performance framework that we want, based on which we will measure leaders at all levels and hold them accountable.
We must not leave the entire thought processes and actions of legislation to politicians who, in most cases, do not consult their constituents but rather push their agendas to the detriment of the people. If these continue to happen, we should all have ourselves to blame, and importantly, we will actually continue to live the brutal consequences of not paying attention and participating in our political process, or die as a result.
As citizens, we should also be very aware and fully engage in sectoral reform legislation to ensure that our individual and collective skills, competencies, and capacities add value to the process so that our various areas of profession or interest are supported for our collective good as a people and as a Country. I believe that active and more robust stakeholders engagements and citizens participation will not only strengthen our democracy but, more importantly, it will ensure good governance and consistent delivery of the dividends of democracy in all sectors and strata of our Country.
We should please note that not participating in the political process is also a vote of confidence on the status quo. And if we do not participate, then we lose the moral ground to challenge and hold our leaders accountable because we would have a really failed ab initio in our roles as citizens. Hence, I urge us to actively and consistently engage the leadership of this country at the national and sub-national levels so that we can all “own” the outcomes or collectively “disown” the outcomes of our political processes in the overall interest of Nigeria.
Meanwhile, I recognize and commend the efforts of a few elites who have ventured to speak truth to power in trying to put the Government on its toes, those efforts are impressive and highly commendable. But to demonstrate sincerity of purpose, we should remain consistent. We have a lot of work to do in order to make Nigeria great.
Other points to note
I humbly submit an action plan to guide our thoughts and conversations:
•Going forward, we should Mainstream group discussions by articulation, lobby, advocacy, participating in public hearings, and submitting papers to relevant arms, and institutions of government at state and sub national levels
•Leverage technology and social media to raise awareness and galvanise support for very crucial provisions to be made or included in the constitution amendment. All these can be done in an organized manner. WhatsApp groups, other conventional community interest groups, and societies could articulate and refine their thoughts and positions on the various topics of review and submit them as proposals to the respective Constitution amendment Committees, and also fully participate in the legislation process through follow-ups and performance reviews.
•These engagements should not stop only with the Amendment of the Constitution, but to also include other subsequent legislations to introduce new Acts/ laws or for the review of existing laws.
•We should also please note that the “process” is the most important part of our political evolution. Because the process will determine the quality of the outcome and its impacts.
I will leave us with a food for thought to reflect on: The achievement of the national growth and development that we dream of will continue to elude us, until we all actively participate in the political process of the evolution of Nigeria.
