A former Ambassador to Philippines, Dr. Yemi Farohunbi, has called for a total rebirth of Nigeria that will have its own written constitution.
The former Ambassador spoke at the opening ceremony of 2020 NUJ Press Week of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, Osun State Council, Osogbo, Monday.
He described the 1999 constitution as a donation by the military insisting that Nigeria must sit down and write its own constitution afresh.
“I call the 1979 constitution a donation by the British. In 1999, General Abdusalami Abubakar setup a 27-member committee for the constitution. It was pre-ambled “we the people of Nigeria enact for ourselves this constitution. Even in a constitutional government, there is not even a constituent assembly. So, I called that also a donation by the military.
“From 1940 till now, excluding the 1963, there is no constitution written by ourselves. Nigeria needs a new constitution.
“It is not that they have failed on restructuring, they are just being dishonest because they are not genuine Nigerians, they are not committed to this country.
He submitted that only patriotic Nigeria would consider having a new constitution for the country, saying “some of the past leaders are not patriotic enough and committed to rewriting the restructuring system.
“It is in our better interest to restructure. If we restructure Nigeria, it will be better for those who think that they will lose anything to restructuring. If you give more money to the state, is it only Southwest that will collect more? If government reduce the money they spend on bureaucracy, is it only southwest that will be affected? It will benefit everyone. This country is not being run to the full advantage of all.”
The spokesman of the Nigerian Senate, Dr. Ajibola Basiru, who is the guest speaker at the occasion, called for devolution of powers and adoption of parliamentary system of government, creation of state police to solve security problem and economic productivity to encourage diversification of the economy and implementation of pragmatic policies to stimulate economic growth.
The Senator representing Osun Central who spoke on “Tackling Ethnic Agitations and Dichotomy in Nigeria,” Basiru opined that the failure of the present system of government to address the needs of each ethnic groups has been the major reasons for the agitations by ethnic nationalities.
He said, “the recurring agitations by ethnic nationalities, particularly for political restructuring, clearly demonstrate the failure of current “federal” system enshrinedin the1999 Constitution to adequately address the yearnings and aspirations of the various ethnic groups.
“These failures, particularly the exclusion of certain groups from access to political power, lopsided appointments, marginalization in the provision critical infrastructure (such as railway lines, power stations, roads) provided the springboard for ethnic mistrust that triggers and continue to fuel ethnic dichotomy. It is on this premise that we can rationalize the feelings of political deprivation or marginalization leading to demands for equity, fairness, and sense of belonging that creates the unabated ethnic conflicts and generated profound bitterness and angst.”
Earlier in their separate remarks, the Chairman of NUJ, Osun council, Wasiu Ajadosu, and the state Commissioner for Information and Civic Orientation, Mrs Funke Egbedemode, called for urgent solutions to the demand of ethnic groups for the country to remain one.
