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Shina Abubakar, Osogbo
A constitutional lawyer, Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, on Wednesday described 1999 Nigeria’s constitution (as amended) as a deceptive and unrealistic document, saying the document should be replaced rather than amended in the general interest of the country.
He added that amending the constitution would rather complicate issues as the constitution lack legitimacy or genuineness.
Olanipekun, while delivering the 13th convocation lecture of the Redeemer’s University, titled, “Beyond the Pandemic: Creating a new normal”, held at the school auditorium, said the constitution as it is today, aggregated all security outfits in the federal government against any known constitution globally at the detriment of the safety of the peoples’ safety.
He added that the provision of section 224(1) of the constitution which stipulated that there is going to be only one police force for the federation controlled by the Federal Government, rendered it pretentious unrealistic.
The legal luminary said, “The present normal, which is virtually landing us in a conundrum, is that we are bedevilled with a Constitution, which in its very essence and content, does not represent any honest, genuine and sincere Constitution. To compound this complicated problem is the arrogant attempt being made by the National Assembly to amend a Constitution that has no author and, by extension, no bona fide origin.
May I remind these lawmakers of the profound statement of Peter Drucker, a leader of thought, that: “There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently, that which should not be done”. With much respect to the National Assembly members, what Nigeria needs is not a constitutional amendment but a constitutional replacement; for the present constitution cannot be amended it is unamendable.
“This is apart from the fact that most members of the National Assembly are not politically contiguous to their constituents, for security and diverse reasons. Abuja has now become their home and haven.
“For us to evolve a new normal, our Constitution or organic law must also evolve a new normal or, put in another way, our Constitution also has to wear a ‘normal normal’.
This present federal structure has to be unbundled or, if you like, dismantled. While cognisance should be taken of our multi-faceted diversities and peculiarities, we must learn from other countries of the world how to manage, control, harness and coalesce these diversities within the framework of our Constitution”.
The former Chairman, Nigeria Bar Association, NBA, said the country cannot be properly policed or secured with the present centralized police system, hence, the need to decentralise the security architecture or the nation’s sovereignty would continue to be impeded by criminals.
“Let us pause for a moment to remind ourselves that Nigeria has a landmass of 923,768 km²; 36 states, with a Federal Capital Territory; over 300 ethnic nationalities, with a combined population of about 206 million people etc. How do we or can we reasonably expect a centrally or federally controlled Police Force from Abuja to secure the security of the country, either substantially or in all ramifications? This is impossible; and the honest deduction from this provision alone is that the Constitution is unrealistic, deceptive and pretentious.
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“While we attempt to practice a presidential system of government, similar to that of the United States of America, I hasten to submit that extensive research, humbly done by me, points to the truism that there is no country in the world that practices our own type of federalism or engages in its overbearing excesses, particularly, where the federating states have been virtually enslaved by the almighty centre; federalism that is virtually becoming a master and servant relationship the master being the all-conquering Federal Government, and the servant being the States, whose respective Governors are cajoled as Chief Security Officers when, in actual fact, they do not have control of/over any security outfit or agency.
“The States which are supposed to be the federating units have become the conquered and subjugated territories under the emerging fiefdom of the Federal Government.
Rather than the States shedding some of their powers to the Federal Government, while still retaining residual powers for themselves, it is the Federal Government that is now sharing, distributing and donating powers to the States, after creating them at will. The States are indeed left prostrate”, he said.
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