Nigeria needs people-driven constitution to function – Ozekhome

Mike Ozekhome, a senior lawyer, says only a brand new people-driven constitution can guarantee Nigeria’s progress.

Ozekhome made the remark in a lecture with the theme 2023 general election: The Nigeria project and the media, during the 2022 Media Week of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, (NUJ) Cross River Council in Calabar.

The keynote speaker said Nigeria could not continue to amend its constitution because continuous amendments would only give birth to a bad constitution.

“Whoever becomes Nigeria’s president in 2023 will fail abysmally if he does not tackle the issue of restructuring through a brand-new people’s constitution, done by Nigerians themselves.

“This constitution must be subjected to them through a popular referendum and plebiscite, without this, Nigeria will be going around on a journey without a destination,” he said.

The constitutional lawyer disclosed that the nation needed a constitution that would make ethnic groups see themselves as Nigerians and not a contraption they could not relate with.

He said Nigeria needed to return to the era when it had regional governments with their own constitutions standing side-by-side with the national constitution which only prevailed in the regions whenever there was a clash in constitutional provisions.

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He maintained that in the constitution of the 1960s each region took 50 percent proceeds of its production, gave 20 percent to the Federal Government and shared 30 percent among other regions.

“This system ensured that huge developments like the Cocoa House in the Western region, Obudu Cattle Ranch in the Eastern region.

“The Northern Nigeria Development Corporation in the Northern region, Okpela cement factory in the Midwest region among others, were established and effectively ran,” he said.

While calling on journalists to educate the masses on the need to get their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and vote for leaders of their choice, he said the 2023 elections would be challenging but would not destroy Nigeria.

He, however, added that according to the late Moshood Abiola, Nigeria needs peace imbued with social justice, equity, good conscience, egalitarianism, and not the peace of the cemetery.