Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mike Ozekhome, emphasized the necessity for Nigeria to adopt an indigenous constitution centered around its populace.
Ozehkome stressed that the 1999 Constitution was imposed by the military and never subjected to a referendum, saying a change will steer the nation towards a purposeful trajectory.
The human rights lawyer called on President Bola Tinubu to gather the political resolve necessary to provide the nation with a people-focused constitution.
Ozekhome said this during his appearance on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics program.
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When asked if a new constitution could address poverty, insecurity, and other issues facing Nigeria, Ozekhome said:
“It is. The killings you are seeing, the poverty, the corruption, they are all symptoms of a larger problem which is the basis of what we are talking about. When you solve it, other things will be in place.”
“Nigeria is a country still yearning for nationhood. We are not united.
“The brand new constitution must be subjected to the referendum of the people,” he stated.
Ozekhome further noted that the foundational framework (constitution) of the Nigerian state is defunct and requires replacement.
“The political elite has to agree. If you are driving a car and the car has a knocked engine. Is it not the engine you should look at? Do you begin to panel-beat the car, spray it with beautiful paint, and buy new tyres? Will that move the car?
“I am saying that the engine of the Nigerian state, for now, is knocked and it is giving rise to all these mutual suspicion, religious intolerance,” he expressed.
He added that while economic reforms are beneficial, they should not take precedence over establishing a people-centric constitution.
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