Back door constitution substitution.
By Bolaji O. Akinyemi.
You got the name (Fapohunda) translation wrong…
It is the exact opposite of your translation- Yinka Quadri.
Reactions of friends and the public to the article titled; “Constitution Review Confusion; Fapohunda’s name, our worries”, have been in torrents of interesting, educating and equally challenging reactions. I have picked out few of the many, for my respect for the writers and the lessons in their opinions, YQ is one, and I will come back to him on the name Fapohunda.
There wouldn’t have been any need for follow up on this topic, but for courtesy of dignifying the call of Dr Akin Fapohunda. He had called me twice, while I was at the event organised by the 15th Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yoruba land, Iba Gani Abiodun Adams and the Oodua People’s Congress to commemorate June 12 as Democracy day. I was there charging the Aare that if there is a land called Yoruba land, it exists in the public space as and appelenge of his title regarding the territory of his authority. No one but he should lead the restructuring and regionalism of his ancestral homeland. I had missed his calls at 12:11 and 12:12. Of course as expected, June 12 should be a busy day for any patriotic mind in service for a greater and better nation. I left there to join my friend and brother CJ whose rare privilege it was to be born on June 12. It was while I was returning home, that I attended to all calls missed. I called back an unregistered number on my phone, it wasn’t picked, but the call was returned almost immediately. The voice introduced himself as Dr Akin Fapohunda. He was crossed with me at the desecration of his ancestral nomenclature. The education wasn’t different from what YQ had called my attention to the day before his call. While I take responsibility for the error of interpretation of his name, for which I will not hold back my apologies publicly, the ideology of holding a different view at different times on the same constitution under different government remains his query before the public, it is his to answer!
From my constituent of faith, and a man of no mean reputation came another response, the Special Adviser to the CAN Chairman in Lagos and the Director of DPG, whose assignment as DPG director has the best of me whichever my perspective of DPG project; is it in the interest of our faith and then general public? Notwithstanding of my swing, he has tolerated me and stuck with me like a brother in the bond of Christ. A man whose love and respect for my person I may never be able to reciprocate; Bishop Theophilus Taiwo Ajose.
His opinion:
CONSTITUTION IS NOT THE PROBLEM OF NIGERIA!!
Dear Dr. Bolaji O.Akinyemi, your write up on “Contitution Review Confusion: Fapohunda’s name, our worries,” makes an interesting reading. Great, good and interesting write up sir and thanks for your explosion on “name.”
However, your juxtaposition of Christian theology, Ifa mythology and republican constitution resuscitation is a mixup of different narratives each of which can stand on its own discourse for better understanding.
Before I continue my brief comment, let me pause here to say that Jesus Christ is the Deity of “Wisdom and intellectual development,” and not IFA, which is a creation of God [the Bible says God is the sole creator of everything and all things(!)], as you already know as an Apostle yourself sir.
On the republican constitutional rigmarole debate and postulation, I believe 61 years timeline, and with all the waters that have passed under that bridge of the republican constitution, resuscitating the republican constitution with the repeal of all the succeeding constitutions and acts of parliament, will create a catastrophic constitutional and legal confusion that will make all the efforts not worthwhile.
Modern and current political evolution and contemporary social development will automatically make the 1963 republican constitution obsolete! Even if a return to a Republic is desirable, a new Republican constitution which can accommodate modern and current realities, vis a vis international conventions and treaties, should be considered.
Although, as you know and also insinuated in your discourse, going back to that is a veiled murder and burial of Nigeria as a federation and a backend creation of different countries from same; the end is a further “Balkanization” of the resultant republics. We might as well have over two hundred republics as other ethic nationalities will not stand and be counting the number of bridges in the new republics!
In the final analysis, you will discover that nothing is wrong with NIGERIA but NIGERIANS!!
NIGERIANS are the real problems of NIGERIA, from the ELECTED, or is it SELECTED, political leaders to our deceitful and unspiritual religious leaders who profess judgment but are aliens to justice! “A people can exist without religion but they cannot exist without justice.” (Sheikh Othman Dan Fodiyo)
From our ever resourceful and intellectual youths, who could not stand up in their generation like Daniel, Shedrach, Meshach and Abednego, to our women who have decided to “join them if you can’t beat them.”
I once heard the late legal icon, Gani Fawehinmi say, “To cooperate passively with an unjust system makes the oppressed as evil as the oppressor.”
From our “primus inter pares” intellectuals, who would rather relocate to clean corpses and toilets abroad instead of developing our natural resources for technological advancement like those in Asia and Russia, to our civil service which frustrates the materialization of great policies into workable developmental frameworks through teaching politicians the loopholes in the system.
CONSTITUTION is NOT the problem of NIGERIA. NIGERIANS are the problem of NIGERIA!
Dr. Theophilus Taiwo Ajose
drttajose1@gmail.com”
On your claim of my missing up Christian theology, Ifa mythology and the republican constitution in my bid to resuscitate the republican constitution, though each as you pointed out can stand alone but justice to a constitution accused of allegiance to Islamisim shouldn’t be considered without assurance to other religions alieniated from the constitution. My drift of course was deliberate, the review must recognise the social diversity of tribes and tongues I represent and of the religion I hold dear with the intent of protecting the secularism of the Nigerian state. On our 61 years of experimenting with republican constitution and the presidential constitution. Our hope is brighter with a constitution suspended by a military by a decree. The constitution was the instrument of authority from 1st October 1963 to 14th January 1966, a period of 2 years, 3 months and 14 days. According to Da Jonathan Sunday Akuns in his presentation to the National Christian Elder Council, we must take cognisance of the fact that the 1963 CFRN was suspended and never abrogated. And we must equally bear in mind that Chapter 11 of the constitution made provision for transition which the Military could have leveraged on.
And in Chapter 1, it stated unequivocally that amendment can only be by parliamentary action only.
Under the 1963 CFRN our country witnessed tremendous development, as against a military decree called a constitution that has held us down to “dem all crazy, demonstration of craze, crazy demonstration”! Apologies to the Abami Eda, Fela Anikulapo Ransom Kuti.
Sir, there is a burden of conscience we all must clear, Pieter Botha in the days of the negotiation to end Apartheid in South Africa alleged that black people are not capable of leading themselves. The challenge is not just find a way to perpetuate our political class in power, but the need to prove to the descendants of Pieter Botha that we are capable of leading ourselves to make progress.
Dapo Douglas, a mathematician and old neighbour of mine also didn’t hold back his reservation to my misinterpretation of Fapohunda! He wrote; “The foundation of the write up which is predicated on the meaning of the name “Fapohunda” in Yoruba Cosmology is utterly in error. An infantile thought process is at play.
“Ifa o pa ohun da” is correctly rendered as the Ifa Oracle has not changed its voice. That is it.
It implicitly means that no matter how repeatedly Ifa Oracle is consulted, the outcome is immutable. Ifa Oracle is consistent.
It follows that Akin Fapohunda is consistently consistent. Nigeria is obviously on the way to fiscal ruin. So, it must be saved from the debacle of arrested development. A Restructured polity along the lines contemplated and embodied in the republican Constitution of 1963 is the ultimate way forward.
Fewer viable regions, devoid of bloated overreach in recurrent expenditure catering to the fancy of the political class, has to be fought for.
It is citizens who fight for self survival. For goodness sake, we have to win”. I agree with him that this fight is our fight, exactly my reason for reaching out to Iba Gani Abiodun Adams on the components of my being as a Yoruba while in alliance with National Christian Elders Council for the components of my being as a man of faith to be represented and protected till Christian Association of Nigeria will wake up from its slumber.
The consistency of claim of Dapo Douglas about Dr Akin Fapohunda remains a fluke until the changes in perspective between is first coming and second coming are harmonized.
Rife suspicion in the public of the influence of the Presidency is in Dr. Fapohunda’s Draft Bill are unmistakable.
(1) Notice the completeness of the Draft, making it look as if it has been professionally prepared.
(2) Notice his ‘illegal’ use of the Nigerian Cote of Arms in a purely private document boldly without fear. Or is this practice allowed? I don’t know.
(3) Notice that a reliable tabloid like the Guardian has published that President Tinubu will receive a Bill (or this particular Bill) next week that collapses the 36 States into regions.
(4) Notice that Fapohunda is not some rabble rouser but a PhD holder and a retired Director from the Fed Govt.
(5) Notice he announced during a TV interview a few days ago that he intends to hand it over to his Representative in the HoReps next day.
(6) Notice that the change of the National Anthem to the old one for no clear reason could be a precursor to greater restructuring steps to come, like those contained in the Draft Bill.
If my view is blurry by limited education and my position is greased in legal illiteracy, the warning of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria for me to shine our eyes is enough for a fight of a lifetime on this all important issue that has kept Nigeria down. What Fapohunda will be presenting to the President as an executive bill fails the DNA test of “we the people”. And it is null and void. Follow who know road is a political street vibe, I have chosen to follow NCEC. Every attempt to millitarize another constitution and force it on us in a democracy will be resisted by the people of Nigeria. A credible constitution will not be a draft of Fapohunda, gifted to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and forwarded to the National Assembly. Without the signature of “we the People”. It shall not stand!!
Dr. Bolaji O. Akinyemi is an Apostle and Nation Builder. He’s also President Voice of His Word Ministries and Convener Apostolic Round Table. BoT Chairman, Project Victory Call Initiative, AKA PVC Naija. He is a strategic Communicator and the C.E.O, Masterbuilder Communications.Email:bolajiakinyemi66@gmail.comFacebook: Bolaji Akinyemi.X: Bolaji O AkinyemiInstagram: bolajioakinyemiPhone: +2348033041236
First, a Bill can be proposed by anyone who represents as Interest or a Group of people or interest. So Dr Fapounda approach must respected. Secondly he has a Legislator representing is local electoral base so he qualifies to send such to the House of Representatives. The Question remains, Why should a Draft be sent to the House of Representatives through the President. Or why does it have to be publicized that the President is sent a Copy? The third Onservation is that a return to the 1963 Constitution is the most reasonable of all because it is the last operational constitution that has the capacity to assist Nigeria rejig a clearer future: for one important reason; it remains the only credible Constitution untampered with by the military who represented an hegemonic feature disguised in anti- people Decrees and Edicts. Let us help Nigeria Arise!
I think d procedure should be. Call a plebiscite first of ethnic nationalities as already identified. About 450 sub nationalities… Each sub Nationalies should send 3 people. Adjustment should be made for d larger sub ethnic groups like d Yorubas, ibos and Hausas like additional 6 people each….. The Agenda is to propose an acceptable system of government.. The 2014 Confab tried to do that, but lacked credibility of congloromation… Funding for d assembly should be Minimal.. If d gathering agrees on d system of Govt then a public Referendum should be conducted based on a YES OR NO VOTE.. international and local observers must be present in every local Govt. If passed, then d main ingredients required to give d referendum result will now follow and erudite constitutional lawyers, Elders, major stake holders, political parties representatives of labour and TUC representatives of Traditional rulers, representatives of Youth, Disable people, NANS, Technocrat such as Social engineers, Doctors, ASUU etc should be in d drafting committee.. All said and done, d proposed bill can then be presented to d President for forwarding to d NASS… If passed, adequate time frame must be given for inplemention.. A kind of buffer
period say 5 years or more.. Then it can be said… WE THE PEOPLE DO PESENT TO OUR SELVES THIS CONSTITUTION…
There is no doubt, our constitution has a lot of bobby traps and so it has to be reworked. Who will Bell the cat?