A New Nigerian Constitution
By
Almost two years ago, democratic governance was
ushered into the country after a military interregnum
that lasted for sixteen years. The departing
military administration bequeathed unto our nation a
hurriedly made document dubbed the "1999
Constitution." The shortcomings of this document were
apparent to the discerning observer right from the
onset. However, in the collective zeal of our people
to see off the military, we accepted this constitution
as a working document on our transition to popular
democracy.
With the enthronement of democratic governance in all
tiers of government, the deficiencies of the 1999
Constitution became even more apparent. There was a
general outcry from all sections of the Nigerian
society. An analysis of the commonest areas in
dispute pointed to such issues as the definition and
extent of federalism as practised in Nigeria, the
relationship between the tiers of government, revenue
allocation, the judicial system, the role of religion
in society, system of local government administration,
political parties and the electoral system, tenure of
office for political office holders, human rights and
its enforcement, resource control, etc.
There was unanimity of opinion on the need for an
urgent review of the constitution. Since the military
dabbled into the process of constitution making, they
have engaged in window-dressing Nigeria's structural
problems. The many short-lived constitutions they
have foisted on Nigeria have been wrongly inspired by
the belief that the apparent lack of nationality
spirit in Nigerians, beyond their parochial ethnic
origin, can be reversed by titling the power sharing
formula (between the central authority in a supposedly
federal structure units) indiscriminately in favour of
the central authority and federal structure.
Furthermore, the belief has also been that if the
ruling elite could be forced together into a political
party or into as few political parties as possible,
cutting across ethnic divide, then the sense of ethnic
identity and loyalty will disappear, Nigeria will
survive, and democracy will thrive. The goals are
obviously right but the means designed for their
attainment have proved repeated failures.
The 1999 Constitution is the latest example of a
constitution based on this erroneous appreciation of
what is required to encourage the formation of a
nationality spirit in Nigerians as a sine qua non for
building and sustaining a virile Nigerian nation of
which all its citizens could be proud. The 1999
Constitution is not the product of a democratic
process, rather, it is an imposition by a cult of
military elite who had plotted their way to power by
subverting the popular will. It is significant that
while on May 29, 1999, the current elected civilian
officials were swearing to their oaths of office on
the basis of the 1999 Constitution, none of them had
seen it before that day. This underlies the great
secrecy that surrounded the fashioning of the current
constitution. In fact, rather than being an
expression of the common weal of the people, the 1999
Constitution is the weal of the secret cult of army
generals that promulgated it, without any pretence at
popular consultation. It is therefore not surprising
that the constitution has proved unsatisfactory to the
generality of Nigerians in many respects, hence the
popular agitation for its review.
Our country has had a chequered experience in
constitution making especially during the military
era. The first attempt by the military was by the
Murtala-Obasanjo regime. It set up a constituent
assembly under the chairmanship of the late Justice
Udo Udoma. The body was partly elected and partly
appointed. The work of that august body resulted in
the 1979 Constitution. Unfortunately, the on-set of
military dictatorship led to the abrogation of the
constitution before it was fully tested.
The Babangida regime, as part of its transition
programme, also inaugurated a constituent assembly
that was partly appointed and partly elected. The
work of that body gave rise to the 1989 Constitution.
That document was not put in use as a result of the
derailment of the Babangida transition. The annulment
of the June 12, 1993 election, and the attendant
crisis brought Nigeria to the brink of disintegration.
The Abacha regime that followed, in its attempt to
find a lasting solution to the problems of our
federation convened a constitutional conference.
However, to the dismay of Nigerians, the elected
members of that body was almost at par with the
appointed members.
Nigerians had expected that the ork of that body would be respected by the regime as
being the true feelings of our people. That was not
to be. The document produced by the 1994
Constitutional Conference was further re-written by
few members of the then Provisional Ruling Council
(PRC). The 1995 Constitution is, at best, one man's
attempt to mould Nigeria in his own image. That
document naturally died with its moving spirit.
The Abdulsalami Abubakar regime bequeathed the present
1999 Constitution which was largely drafted by a few
hand-picked persons. Like I pointed out earlier, we
accepted it in anxiety to see off the military.
However, in response to the yearnings of our people,
and in furtherance of its constitutional role, the
National Assembly set up a Joint Committee on the
Review of the Constitution. The committee has been
serving as the engine room of the National Assembly
initiative expected to mid-wife a constitution that
would truly be ascribed to "we the people of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria."
It is very instructive to note, that in the entire
political history of this nation, this is the first
time a wholly elected representative body of the
Nigerian nation is embarking on the task of fashioning
out a constitution for the country. It is equally
important to note that for the first time in our
history, the outcome of this exercise would not be
subjected to any vetting or tampering by any external
body.
In pursuance of this mandate, the committee has
embarked on a nationwide tour, designed to collate the
views of Nigerians on all aspects of our political
life. Meetings are being held with all stakeholders,
including the executive, the traditional institution,
the labour movement, the youths, the organised privat
sector, religious bodies, etc. The memoranda from this exercise would be exhaustively analysed by six specialised sub-committees already set up by the Joint
Committee of the National Assembly on the Review of
the 1999 Constitution. The outcome of this exercise
would be a draft constitution, that would be subjected
to further debate by Nigerians before being enacted
into a constitution, which we hope, would satisfy the
yearnings and aspirations of our people.
According to the provisions of 1999 Constitution, the
review or amendment of our constitution is purely a
legislative matter. Section 9 (1) of the constitution
states that:-
The National Assembly may, subject to the provision of
this section, alter any of the provisions of this
constitution.
And section 9 (2) maintains that:
An Act of the National Assembly for the alteration of
this Constitution, not being an Act to which Section 8
of this Constitution applies, shall not be passed in
either House of the National Assembly unless the
proposal is supported by the votes of not less than
two-thirds of majority of all the members of the House
and approved by resolution of the House of Assembly of
not less than two-thirds of all the States.
As can be deduced from the above quoted excerpts,
constitution making and/or alteration is the only
aspect of law making that does not require executive
assent. Nigerians are thus assured that whatever form
of government they decide on would be enacted into law
by their elected representatives without alterations.
Hon. (Prince) Chibudom Nwuche is the Deputy Chairman,
National Assembly Joint Committee On Review of the
1999 Constitution.