Remarks by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila at the Opening of the Public Hearing on the Review of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria held at Marriott Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos on Tuesday, 1st June, 2021
1. Good morning ladies and gentlemen. Thank you all for being here this morning.
2. We have gathered here today, as part of a deliberate ef-fort by the National Assembly to seek the guidance and support of citizens, towards amending the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. This is not the first time we have undertaken such a task, but this may very well be the most important constitutional amendment process in our nation’s recent history, because the decisions we make now will have far-reaching consequences for the future of Nigeria.
3. A nation’s Constitution, is the foundation of its existence. It is supposed to set the terms of our nationhood and de-fine who we are, in a manner that reflects both our common truths and highest aspirations. Our Constitution falls short of this standard, because the 1999 Constitution is the product of a hurried national compromise that we entered into a little more than two decades ago, in order to ensure that the military returned to the barracks and that we re-turned to democratic government.
4. It was always the intention that we will one day as one people and one nation, return to amend this document so that it gives voice to the yearnings of the Nigerian people, and sets out in clear details how we intend to achieve the shared ambitions of our nationhood. Providence has cast upon the 9th National Assembly, the responsibility to write such a Constitution for the Nigerian people.
5. The foundational constitution of the United States of America deemed people of colour to be ‘less than’, and de-nied women the right to vote. It did not include any limits on the President’s term of office, and allowed for citizens to be denied the right to vote for failure to pay the ‘poll tax’. Twenty-seven reviews and amendments over one hundred years, cured these and other defects. No nation in the world has a perfect constitution, but we need a near perfect constitution in Nigeria and we can achieve that through substantive amendments that significantly alter the character of our nation.
6. Therefore, the task before us now is to use this process of review and amendment to devise for ourselves, a consti-tution that resolves the issues of identity and political struc-ture, of human rights and the administration of government, resource control, national security and so much else that have fractured our nation and hindered our progress and prosperity. Our job is to produce a constitution that turns the page on our past, yet heeds its many painful lessons. It is not an easy task, but it is a necessary and urgent one.
7. We will not be able to deliver on this historic assignment if we restrict ourselves to tinkering around the edges of the Constitution, or by imposing upon ourselves artificial red-lines that restrict honest conversation. We will have failed in our mandate, if the Constitution that emerges from this process continues to look to our past rather than reflect our present, and speak to our future. We have an opportunity for renewal, and we must seize it, or face the harsh judge-ment of history.
8. Through this constitutional review process, we have it in our power to restructure our government to make it more effective, reorganise our politics to make it more inclusive, enshrine efficient mechanisms for holding the institutions of state to account, and put an end to the debilitating conflicts that even now continue to tear our nation apart. We will do what is necessary to achieve these outcomes, because all of us in the House of Representatives recognise that this moment in our history is fraught with promise and peril, and the future of our country lies in our hands.
9. All off us in the House of Representatives will work con-scientiously and in good faith, so that it may be said of us in this process, that we made an audacious attempt at creat-ing for our nation, a Constitution that recognises our diver-sity and draws strength from it, and addresses once and for all, the fault lines that distract from nation building.
10. It is all too clear, that many of our citizens have come to expect too little of our politics and Government. We are suffering from the tyranny of low expectations and the cyni-cism, that causes us to believe that the political process cannot produce anything worthy or worthwhile. I under-stand the causes of this cynicism, but I refuse to share in it. I still believe that politics and government in Nigeria can be a force for good, and that by our common endeavour we can achieve the vision of a just, peaceful, and prosperous society.
11. Therefore, I want to appeal to all Nigerians to see in this constitutional review process an opportunity to try to achieve the best version of Nigeria. The Public Hearings that are holding all over the country now, are an opportunity for citizen participation in addressing some of the most consequential questions of our nationhood. However, be-yond these Public Hearings, you still have an opportunity to make submissions that will be considered, and that will help this process achieve the best outcomes. Please, by all means, participate. Let your voice be heard, and let your vi-sion also inform the direction of this process.
12. I want to thank all the individuals and organisations, that are already participating in this constitutional review process. I want to appreciate the efforts of the Chairman of the Special Committee on the Review of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Deputy Speaker, Rt. Hon. Ahmed Idris Wase, and all the members of the Com-mittee who are at this moment across the country conduct-ing public hearings such as this one. I am hopeful that our effort will yield success, and stand to our credit in the his-torical record.
13. I am honoured to be here today to declare this Public Hearing open, to the glory of God and in service of all the Nigerian people. I urge all who have come to participate here today, to do so with decorum and respect for one an-other. Let our deliberations be well-intentioned, well in-formed, and reflect our patriotism. In this way, we will have a most productive engagement over the next two days. I thank you all once more, for being here today.
14. May God bless and keep you, and may God bless our Federal Republic of Nigeria.
