Picking up the Gauntlet of the Senate Committee on Constitution Review.

Picking up the Gauntlet of the Senate Committee on Constitution Review.

By Bolaji O. Akinyemi.

“Wobble and fumble”, became part of our lexicon in Nigeria after one of our participating teams in the Under-17 World Cup competition wobbled and fumbled and made it to the final. Nothing best describes the administration of President Bola Tinubu since its inception; the wobbling and fumbling of the economy and the consequent plunging of the naira is no longer a heartbreak to Nigerians who seem prepared for the worst policy impact on their everyday life. Many Nigerians have given up hope on the renewed hope agenda exponent, particularly regarding the economy. But living with the possibility that PBAT will make up for his loss to the economy by creating political stability through restructuring the federal structure of the country. In this regard, the Senate Committee on Constitution Review had gathered in Kano to activate the discussion and create a direction. The take-home from the Kano retreat is more of a committee in confusion without conviction.In what seems like the throwing of the gauntlet, the Movement for National Reformation, chaired by Professor Igho O. Natufe, had risen to the occasion through a press release. Beginning with its historical profile, MNR asserts that it was “created in 1992 and has been a leading advocate for good governance and true federalism in Nigeria. As a non-partisan, non-profit, pan-Nigerian institution, MNR strives to offer the best advice on governance and federalism to governments in Nigeria. In the current national discourse on restructuring, we have submitted Memoranda to both the Senate and the House of Representatives, wherein we called for the restoration of the 1963 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (CFRN) for amendment with current realities. It is imperative to reiterate that, the call for the restoration of the 1963 CFRN is essentially for the tenets of federalism contained therein, and not for a reversion to the defunct four (4) federating units that were referred to as regions”.Without apology, MNR was frontal with its conviction; “A restoration of the 1963 CFRN will be adjusted to suit the present realities of the existing 36 states to be the federating units.The 1963 CFRN is the only existing federal constitution in Nigeria that emerged through a bottom-top process that fits the mantra of “We the People” in its preamble. It was only suspended but never abrogated when civil governance in the first republic was truncated in January 1966. Thus, its restoration will address the national clamour for restructuring which is consuming public debate across the country”. The confusing document called the CFRN 1999 was interrogated by the MNR, and they submit thus; “The 1999 Constitution that derived from the Schedule to Decree No 24 of 1999 is a document fully encrusted in unitary tenets, even though it is christened a federal constitution. MNR strongly believes that a federation exists because federating units agree to federate. This is a universally accepted principle in the formation of a federal polity, as exemplified by the practice in USA, Canada; and, in Nigeria where the erstwhile three (3) federating units (the Eastern Region, Northern Region, and Western Region) negotiated the terms of federalism and decided on the powers to concede to the central government. This was how the Founding Fathers of Nigeria agreed on the 1954, 1960 and eventually the 1963 constitutions during the period of decolonization”. The 1963 CFRN was enacted on 1st October 1963 when Nigeria attained self-rule as a Republic and included the Midwest Region that was created in August 1963 as the fourth federating unit.“Since the collapse of the First Republic on January 15, 1966, constitution making in Nigeria has deviated from the universally accepted principle of the federating units negotiating and agreeing on the terms of federalism. For example, the military government usurped the functions of the federating units by foisting its Decree No 24 of 1999 as a ”federal” constitution that is devoid of the basic iota of the tenets of federalism”. As a result, “the states that ought to be rightly adjudged as the federating units are mere administrative branches of the central government. A Nigerian politician describes the current governance structure of Nigeria as a ”feeding bottle federalism”. We need to restructure the country and restore the tenets of federalism by lifting the suspension on the 1963 CFRN”.The MNR disagreed with any attempt to have a pre-burial poster performed on the CFRN 1963, insisting that suspension of the document cannot be admitted as abrogation of it. Reacting to the Senate Committee, MN stated; “At their retreat in Kano on September 28, 2024, Nigerian Senators sang discordant tunes on the restructuring of Nigeria. It was reported that they differed “over the agitation for a return to a regional system of government”. (Kayode Lawal, “Nigerian Senators clash over regional government proposal”, proposal – Daily Post Nigeria, September 29, 2024). It is unclear what the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele meant when he allegedly “assured Nigerians that the issue of regionalism was not part of the ongoing constitution review”. …Who is afraid of regionalism? It is vital that Nigerians embrace regionalism as a vibrant ideological principle in the articulation of federalism. Regionalism recognizes the power and self-determination of federating units in a federal polity, especially in a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-religious polity. (Meadwell, Hudson (1991). “A Rational Choice Approach to Political Regionalism”, Comparative Politics 23 (4), p. 401-421). This core principle explains the resilience of federalism in Canada, the US, India and Switzerland, for instance. Nigerians benefited from the concept of regionalism until the military intruded in civil governance and politics in Nigeria. To discard regionalism and pretend to construct a federal polity is tantamount to extinguishing the rights of federating units that are generally the indigenous ethnic nationalities in a multi-ethnic country like Nigeria. Sir Ahmadu Bello recognized the imperative of Regionalism during the debate on federalism in pre-independence Nigeria. He opined: “We must aim at a looser structure for Nigeria while preserving its general pattern – a structure which would give the Regions the greatest possible freedom of movement and actions; a structure which would reduce the power of the [government at the] Centre to the absolute minimum and yet retain sufficient national unity for practical and international purposes”. (Sir Ahmadu Bello, MY LIFE, London, 1962, p.136). The then three (3) federating units accepted the Bello thesis as a vital ingredient in the building of a federal political system in Nigeria, an acceptance which led to the 1960 (and subsequently 1963) Federal Constitution. A supposedly federal political system that negates the basic principle of federalism and cruises on a unitary order cannot claim to be federalism compliant.A federal political system cannot be a prison of nationalities. The demise of the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia provide vivid consequences of the denial of regionalism in their respective “federal” political systems. An important issue that must be understood in constitution making is that the Constitution of Nigeria does not belong to the Federal Government or the National Assembly. Therefore, to state that “The only people that are given this mandate to look at the Constitution and amend it are, of course, members of the National Assembly” (Kayode Lawal, “Nigerian Senators clash over regional government” proposal, – Daily Post Nigeria, September 29, 2024) is a complete disregard of the rights of federating units, the 36 States, in this process. In fact, the States, as the federating units, are the ones to decide on the powers to concede to the central government. A contrary process is anti-federalism. The question of regional (or State) police is in a federal political system. States that are ready and able to establish their state police should do so immediately. Those that are not ready can elect to retain the Federal Police via their respective bilateral agreements with the Federal Government. To delay the states that are ready and able is a denial of their rights as federating units. Asymmetries in governance recognizes the regional variances in a federal polity. Thus, we cannot asphyxiate asymmetry and hope to build a vibrant federal political system. To reject regionalism is an end of federalism.It is necessary to point out that the unitary tenets of the 1999 CFRN (as amended) are bedeviled with undergirded structural problems that are perceived or warped as mere operational problems! The overbearing ethnic cum religious balance of power breeds political and moral corruption as well as economic and social problems that stifle manpower development. It was colonial “force” that “integrated” the territories of diverse ethnicities into Nigeria as a single territorial entity by war, law & praxis of settler colonisation. As a result, colonialism incubated federalism in Nigeria as a framework for diversity management of the forced integration; which makes the diverse ethnicities the federating units of the federal republic of Nigeria. The clamour for restructuring is to make the ethnicities the bedrock and basis of the federating units, of which some would be homogeneous (major tribes) or heterogeneous (minor tribes) units. In the era of decolonisation from March 1953 to September 1963, the diverse ethnicities had two options; (1) to sustain Nigeria as a single entity based on the framework of federalism for diversity management or (2) to revert to ethnic boundaries of statecraft that predated colonialism.The choice of the first option in the decolonization process by the founding fathers of Nigeria was rooted and guided by (i) the experiences gained from colonial administration; this started from 1861 by the unilateral conversion of the ethnic territories of Lagos to a colony, as well as the territories of other ethnicities from 1900 to 1906 leading to the ultimate territorial unification in 1914 including Constitutional conferences in London and in Nigeria; (ii) negotiated agreements of ethnicities at the Lagos constitutional conference of 25-26 July 1963 that led to the enactment of the 1963 republican CFRN on 1st October 1963 by the FHR; the 1963 CFRN that emerged from a bottom-top approach that fits the mantra of its preamble of “We the People” as well as the (iii) acceptance of federalism as a framework of managing the diversity of the heterogeneous territories that were integrated into a single one named Nigeria.To inspire the future of the nouvelle FRN, the founding fathers of the federation honored the colonial past that eventually crystallized into self-rule on 1st October 1963 by replicating a two-tier federal system that reflects the best global practices of governing a multi-plural polity with the enactment of the bottom-top 1963 republican CFRN; lift it from suspension and amend it with current realities”.While the right of the Senate and by extension of its Committee on Constitution Review is not in contest, universal adult suffrage is the ground upon which their mandate is standing. Nigeria, many will say is a scam, this may not be far from the truth as there is no basis upon which a country can stand on the confusion pieced together as a constitution. It is important for the Senate and its Committee to note that power belongs to the people and mandate as a compound word, of man and dates, makes them men empowered by the people’s vote to champion the course of the people within a duration in dates. Will the 10th senate as holder of the people’s mandate lay the foundation of a better and greater Nigeria between 13th June 2023 and 13th June 2027 or will they leave the nation with uncertainty and insecurity that can only be a bye product of their sentimental attachment to an annexure dubbed 1999 CFRN for no reasonable or justifiable reason?

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.

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