‘Why Nigeria needs a new constitution’

A constitutional lawyer, Dr Olatunji Abayomi, has said Nigeria needs a new constitution to solve the imbalance, poverty and other myriads of problems confronting it as a nation .

According to him, the United States of America Constitution has only had very few amendments since 1776, when it became independent.

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According to him, Nigerians had no input in the 1999 Constitution because it was forced on Nigerians by the military.

Dr Abayomi said, “The Military government only gave itself Decree 1 of 1984, which is the power to make laws equal to that of the National Assembly NOT the power to make a Constitution. In making the Constitution without legal authority, the Military acted unlawfully.

“The Military government recognized quite clearly that only “the people” can give to themselves a Constitution. That was precisely why it began its Constitution though falsely and fraudulently claim that “WE THE PEOPLE of the Federal Republic of Nigeria: DO HEREBY MAKE, ENACT and give to ourselves THE FOLLOWING Constitution

“A nation should be strong enough to review her past, assess it properly and sincerely, cast honest and proper judgment that will compel proper decision and action for her future happiness. Such review often helps to redeem the past by freeing today from its burden ordeals, harshness and pain.

“In short what Nigeria needs is a Constitution of the people, by the people and for the people. It is certainly reasonable and sensible that we should have a consensus on how to manage Nigeria our collective inheritance instead of allowing the Military to force its will, way and choice on us, if we truly aspire after peace, order and good government.”

He further said “it is important to recognize and take into consideration the realities of Nigeria.

According to him, Nigeria unlike the United State is separated by ethnicity, religion, region, culture, language, space and emotion.

He said, ”We are not one people in Nigeria. We are many peoples wanting to unite to form a nation.

”A more remarkable, result oriented approach should necessarily be for our peoples, made divinely diverse by language and location to come around a conference or convention table in loyalty to building a great nation from different people to agree on the terms of their togetherness, that is to agree on a Constitution.”

He said to unlock the great potentials of Nigeria, “what is now needed is for the National Assembly as a Public duty to learn the lessons of change that the political leaders of other nations have learnt by bringing about a law to enable the people of Nigeria to truly give to themselves a Constitution.

He said the rational, the legal and legitimate basis for the National Assembly to give Nigerians a brand new constitution is that the National Assembly derives lawmaking power from the electors more like the United Kingdom that has no written Constitution.