FRANK UKONGA LECTURE 15: NIGERIA CONSTITUTIONAL REVIEW AND SOVEREIGN NATIONAL CONFERENCE- A REALISTIC PERSPECTIVE.


 FRANK UKONGA LECTURE 15:  NIGERIA CONSTITUTIONAL REVIEW AND SOVEREIGN NATIONAL CONFERENCE- A REALISTIC PERSPECTIVE.
Preambles: The constitutions of Nations are perhaps the most important document of that Nation where the entire do’s, don’t, and guidelines for the greatness of that Nation are spelt out in black and white. The constitution also Endeavour to spell out relationships among citizens, institutions, States, Regions etc and a road map is roughed out enabling the various colligating aspects of the activities of the  Nation addressed to jockey that Nation towards acceptable social, cultural and economic eudemonia. Whence the important and imperatives of a constitution cannot be over emphasized as it is the sum total of the aims, objectives, vision, mission, anxieties, ambition as well as frame work for Nations and organizations to fashion out a harmonious orthogeniety which subsequently evolve  into laws when ratified by all the governing body of that institution or Nation after due deliberations, consultations and exhaustive research into the yearning of all stake holders  and members of that institutions or a nationwide open policy thrust of consultations in the case of countries.
The Nigerian Constitution: The Nigerian constitution of today was a product of the 1999 constitution that was adopted at the instance of ushering into being the current democratic dispensation which is about 13 years old and it has been very instrumental to forging out a level playing ground for all and sundry in the Nigeria state albeit not without complains from various stakeholders in the Nigeria project. To address these numerous complains and perhaps what can be described as constitutional oversights or under sights, the Present Administration of President Jonathan and the 7 th Assembly are warming up to amend, tinker and alter the constitution addressed to suit the prevailing yearnings of Nigerian citizens at least in their own streams of consciousness.
To this effect the National Assembly has held several constitutional review retreats and today the 9th October 2012, Hon. Tambuwal Honorable Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Senate president of the 7TH Republic, Hon David Mark has commenced active deliberations addressed to tinker with the Nigerian constitution.
 Warnings, the Soviet Union Brake Up as consequential of Constitutional Review: It is important to remind all and sundry involved in this constitutional review exercise of the Nigerian constitution the great importance of that document and to be extremely careful in what they do to the constitution as it may either make or break up the Nigerian Nation state. It was the constitutional amendments of Mikhail Gabachev’s Government that led to the breakup of the Soviet Union, a world Super power and one of the greatest Nation on earth into 15 Republics as at today; whose world significance and importance has become portable in comparable to that of the Soviet Union. And many people hold the view that the brake up of the Soviet Union was the greatest catastrophe and tragedy of the 20th century. And till today there are lots of civil insurgences, fighting and turmoil among the various small Nations that came out of the Soviet Union; most of whom have become minuscule and irrelevant in the schemes of things of world political, cultural and economic glories, and many of these Countries are regretting it today. As history repeats itself we must be extremely careful before we thinker with the Nigerian constitution. The Nigerian Project is similar to that of the former Soviet Union as regards it large composition in the aspects of being multinational with many nations and tribes .So what ever amendments that are to be made must put in the centre theme and focus the inalienable imperatives of the unity and progress of the Nigeria state. In this regard a number of issues are pertinent and should be looked into critically before the constitution is signed into law:
 
The Nigerian Multinational Statehood and the Nigerian Project: The fundamental structural question: The Nigerian Nation state came to being in 1914 through the amalgamation of the Southern and Northern Protectorates of the British colonial assets in Sub Saharan Africa into one big Nation by Sir Lord Lugard the British Governor General of that Region and his wife christened it Nigeria about 100 years ago. Nigeria is made up of above 250 Nations and tribes in various colligations and arrangements with the Hausa, Yoruba , Igbo, Ebira, Ijaw, Kanuri Fulani, etc being the most populous tribes Nations in that other. Today the official population of Nigeria is estimated as at 150 million but in real terms it is above 250 million people. Nigeria emerged after the 1960 independence with 4 Regions of the Northern Region, Western Region, Mid West Region and Eastern Region.
General Gowon’s fundamental Restructuring: In 1966, at the times of Biafra war, for war administrative purpose General Yakubu Gowon abolished the Regional model adopted the State structure and created 12 states of the Four Regions. Other military Governments in Nigeria created more States and Local Government and today Nigeria is governed under the structure of 36 States and 774 local Government under one sovereignty of the Federal Government of Nigeria headed by an Executive President with Executive Powers. The question is; do we continue with this system or go back to the former Regional system, do we dump the Presidential system and go back to Regional Parliamentarian systems. If we must retain the Presidential system how do we correct the anomaly of the number and spread of States and Local Government as being more in some Regions while other Regions are marginalized. Do we create more States and Local Governments, what shall be the new criteria of State and Local Government creation, do we constitutionalize the six zonal system permanently or create new zones as the Mid West Region have been shortchanged and marginalized in the zonal system. The Mid Western Region is a member of the original 4 Regions only for it to be lumped up into the South -South Zone with only two States and less than 40 lgas, were as other former Regions have more above six States and above 200 lga.. , and would this justify the geo political spread of State creation and not marginalize others …These are the fundamental structural questions and we must think properly before we leap.
Marginalization and National restiveness: There have been   cries of marginalization among the various colligating tribes ranging from local government creation, state creation, presence of federal and state government in the regards of infrastructural and economic developments, job opportunities, location of industries, federal and state statutory allocations, mineral rights, revenue sharing formula, state , federal and local government powers  autonomy and devolution of power, state police, resources control, leadership  questions and electoral reforms, restive youth, infrastructural and real sector decay, privatization, national restructuring of either Regional systems or   state government structures of 3 tier of governance etc. Before we begin full scale analysis of the above vexations causing restiveness in the polity it is important to view the opinion of some other sectors and pressure group that holds the view that a sovereign National conference would have been ideal to discuss and map out plans for the Nigerian state.
Sovereign National conference: The agitation for a sovereign National conference has been on for the past 20 years by many pressure groups and stakeholders in the Nigerian Project who share the opinion of an urgent need to hold a Sovereign National Conference of all colligating Nations and other stakeholders of the Nigerian Project to discuss the fundamental issues of restructuring the Nation to reflect the contemporary realities and to solve the question  of one nation or tribe dominating others in the federalism. The issue of resource control and electoral reforms in the context of how leaders evolve are also pertinent reasons why many peoples are agitating for the sovereign National conference. Oil resources from the Niger Delta are plundered to fund and finance the entire federation while the peoples of the Niger Delta are left in ruins, underdevelopment and abject poverty. Coupled with a number of numerous reasons a number of observers holds in highest passion that what Nigeria needs most is the issue of fundamental restructuring which can only be manifested through an independent National Sovereign Conference.
The Position of the National Assembly: But on the other hand the elected members of the joint Federal Assembly are of the opinion that it would be a duplicity of purpose since they have been duly elected by the people to represent them de facto , they take it upon themselves that they are bonafide representatives of the majority of Nigerians with the prerogatives to discuss issues that will hitherto be ascribe to new appointed representatives of the various colligating units/ tribes in the case of a Sovereign National Conference which becomes a kind of slight or affrontation to members of the Assembly, by those agitating for such a sovereign National conference ,which manifest from the fact that the process in which current elected member of the Assembly evolved have not been given a clean bill of health by those agitating for a fresh sovereign National Conference as competent enough to evolve a long lasting solution to the Nigerian restructuring  and problems that will be marketable to the majority of Nigeria people as such they are beneficiaries of the present order and status quo, it is suspect that they would like to continue to protect and maintain this status quo anti bellum. Which is natural as one does not expect them to abolish and bite the fingers that made them. While this justifies the protagonists of the Sovereign National Conference, it also some how indicts the present crop of leadership in Nigeria and Africa as patronizing and self seeking.
 Issues and Matters Arising: The next stage is to discuss some of the vexing issues quickly with a view to contributing to the evolution of a functional constitution for the Nigeria State. Some of the most pressing issues to be addressed are:
1.       The fundamental restructuring of the Nigeria Nation – Regionalism vs States
2.       Political reforms: Presidential vs Parliamentary.
3.       Human status in Nigeria: state of Origin status vs state of Residence status. Here we need to be extremely cautious and not to fall into the trap of the odyssey of madman in a china shop nor that of the witch’s apprentice. Perhaps it is best not to tinker with this aspect.
4.       Creation of States, Regions and Local Government Areas: with the evolution of new pragmatic criteria for creation. We should not turn state government into Local Government in status whence it is important not to proliferate states because people are agitating for more states. State creation must be very frugal. Even many States are not economically viable right. Then what is the rational to create more.
5.       Devolution of powers from Federal to States and Local governments
6.       Local Government Reforms: Autonomy for the Local Government and separation of account of Local Government from State Government. Political and financial autonomy to Local Governments.
7.       Mineral rights and resource control plus review of the activities of major multinational partners
8.       News National Revenue sharing formula between Federal, States and Local Governments.
9.       The issues of Rental country Status vs the issues of Taxed state status. New enabling laws to transform Nigeria from a Rental state to a mixed economic state of Tax and Rentals
10.   IGR – Internal Generated Revenue:, Taxation and new enabling laws spelling the pros and cons putting down punitive measures for tax evasion and miss management of tax money by state and federal executives and all other tax related offenses and establishing a constitutional Tax Force.
11.   National Security: State Police vs Federal Police Structure: State police is premature for now and may not be advisable.
12.   Autonomy for the electoral body- INEC , Financial and policy governance autonomy
13.    Education , women and youth :A new pragmatic paradigm shift in the aspect of women and youth development
14.   Corruption and frauds: News enabling framework of functional punitive measures to curb corruption and frauds through a pragmatic legal reform system
15.   Legal and prison Reforms: The need to put in place new pragmatic judiciary that will remove the bottlenecks in quick delivery of justice.
16.   Terrorism, arson, Murder, public lynching: News laws to ban terrorism, arson, public lynching and punitive measures put in place for offenders
17.   Land Ownerships and Land use decree: In the constitution the federal and state Government is the real owners of the Land. Citizens are mere tenants and leasers validated by the issuance of Certificate of Occupancies of 99 years. These perhaps need a review.
18.   Environment and ecological  changes and degradation :
The above and many more are some of the questions of the constitution causing public anxieties that will need a review but as I have warned earlier we have to be extremely careful as not to pursue a radical review which may plant the seed that will eventually break up Nigeria.
LONG LIVE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA.
Prince Frank Onaivi Ukonga
Governorship Candidate
Edo 2012 election




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