With the 1999 Constitution, the People Don’t Exist

Definition of a Constitution

“A Constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a State (or other organisation) is governed. These rules together make up, that is, constitute, what the entity is.”

“A Constitution helps serve as a set of rules and principles that all persons in a country can agree upon, as the basis of the way in which they want the country to be governed. The Constitution also spells out the ideals the citizens believe that their country should uphold.”

1999 Constitution

From the above definition of a Constitution, it is obvious that the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended)(1999 Constitution) does not fit the bill! The 1999 Constitution, is a creation of the military regime that was in power at the time. The opinion of the people, was not taken into consideration, and so it may be safe to say that the 1999 Constitution, is the basis of the way the ruling military at the time, and not the people, wanted Nigeria to be governed. Choosing a few people that you like from the different parts of the country, to participate in a Constitution Drafting Committee or Constitutional Conference, can never be a reflection of how most Nigerians want their country to be governed!

For instance, “in a democracy, the Constitution has the role of ensuring that a dominant group does not use its power against other less powerful people or groups”. Clearly, the 1999 Constitution, has given one geographical section of the country, less power than the others, as opposed to all the sections of the country having equal strength. We recently saw this play out, in the issue of devolution of powers in the National Assembly’s Constitution Amendment Exercise, where those that wanted it, were frustrated by the dominant group who did not desire it.

For the military, being an authoritarian type of government, an extremely strong centre, where the leader dictates all the policies and procedures and directs all the activities, was the way to go. In this type of system, full control resides in the leader, with little or no room for autonomy/independence for any other person or body. This mentality was simply translated into the 1999 Constitution, via some of its provisions and the Exclusive Legislative List, which has 66 items on it, relating to practically everything under the sun, and 2 other omnibus type clauses, just in case anything was left out!

One of the most important elements of writing a Constitution, is its purpose. The Preamble of the 1999 Constitution, states its purpose thus:

“…a Constitution for the purpose of promoting the good government and welfare of all persons in our country on the principles of freedom, equality and justice, and for the purpose of consolidating the unity of our people”.

We need not be Einstein, to be aware that the 1999 Constitution has not achieved its purpose, whether in terms of good governance or equality and justice. Brilliance and Ingenuity, for instance, have been sacrificed on the altar of the Federal Character provisions of the Constitution, which have been bastardised into Tribalism and other enemies of progress. Government Agencies flout constitutional provisions with gusto and aplomb, while Government cannot be held accountable for bad governance, and for not fulfilling the fundamental objectives of the 1999 Constitution contained in Chapter 2.

Our people are far from united. I was surprised to read a few days ago, that the Arewa Youth Coalition Forum is still insisting on the ‘Kaduna Declaration’, that is, the October 1st Quit Notice issued to the Igbos to leave Northern Nigeria, while the Biafran Agitators, do not seem to be relenting (though the Youths on both sides are presently having talks). If anything, the 1999 Constitution, seems to have fostered confusion (even between the various arms of government and between government agencies), disunity and bitterness among the people.

I gave an example a couple of weeks ago, about the television interview of a young man of Igbo extraction, and what he said about Section 48 of the 1999 Constitution, which provides for 3 Senators per State, so where other zones have 18 Senators, North Central 19 (including 1 from the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja), North West has 21, the South East has only 15. This is not equitable.

Referendum

So the question is, what is the best way forward? Some months ago, there was a comedy video that made the rounds on social media, in which the comedian said that we should sell the country and start again! President Trump even suggested that some of the African countries, should be re-colonised. Realistically, I believe that prior to the recently concluded Constitution Amendment Exercise, the National Assembly should first have amended the Constitution, to include a new provision to allow for Referendum.

A Referendum is “a general vote by the electorate on a single political question which has been referred to them for a direct decision”. It is indeed, an effective way of increasing participation at the most basic local level. The truth of the matter is, the representative of the average Nigerian in the National Assembly, does not really know what his/her constituents want. How many times do they even come round to feel the pulse of those that they represent? My Representative certainly cannot speak for me. I don’t know what he or she wants for Nigeria, and I can say for certain, its vice versa.

Referendums are used, mostly to agree changes to Constitutions. They help to settle controversial issues, in a way that a normal general election cannot. They are also a way of ensuring that major changes in a polity, can only occur with popular support. If not, major decisions will be left in the hands of only Government, Legislators, and Powerful Interest Groups, who form only a minute part of the population.

In recent times, there have been many agitations, devolution of powers, resource control, creation of at least one more State in the South East Zone, more equitable distribution of Federal Appointments among the different tribes, State Police and so on. Government, Members of the National Assembly, NGOs, and whoever is necessary for the task, should go on a mass education of the electorate, explaining all these issues to Nigerians, in the most simplistic and basic terms, to enable Nigerians make informed decisions.

Brexit v Bremain

Following that, there should be a Referendum. Just like the UK did for Brexit. Before the Referendum, people thought that Brexit would most likely fail. The then British Prime Minister, David Cameron, and his cabinet, except for 6 Ministers, all wanted Britain to remain in the European Union. They spent millions of pounds on pro-Remain (Bremain) leaflets, which were distributed to over 25 million homes. No one, was in doubt as to where they stood.

If it was Nigeria, David Cameron would simply have ignored the cries of those that wanted Brexit. But democracy is government of the people by the people for the people, not government of the Executive and the Legislature by the ‘people’ (do not let us debate here whether most Nigerian elections are by the people or candidates are imposed on the people, or the issue of election rigging etc here), for the benefit of a privileged few. So instead, Cameron undertook a high stakes gamble, which he lost.

The last time there was a similar Referendum in the UK, it was held by the Labour Party in 1975, and the British voted overwhelmingly to stay in the then European Economic Community (EEC). With about a 64% voter turnout, the vote was 67% Remain to 33% Exit. Alas! to the shock of everybody, this time around, by a slim majority of 52% to 48%, the British people voted to leave the European Union.

Let Nigerians Decide

My point? Let the people decide. The fact that I may (or may not) have voted you in as my Representative, does not mean that you know my stand on the important issues that have plagued the recent agitations. Even if I voted you in on your campaign promises, your campaign promises, most likely did not include your panacea to any of these current agitations.

The results of the Referendum, should then be used as the basis for some of the major constitutional amendments. This is the essence of Democracy.