The Nigerian constitution is fundamentally flawed and the nation needs a new one that can rescue it from a bad economy, says Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mike Ozekhome.
Ozekhome, speaking about the visit to President Bola Tinubua by members of the Nigerian Patriot Group, said, ”when the superstructure we are operating is fundamentally flawed, no good economy can come out of it. You cannot get something nice from a bad product.”
While advocating a new constitution, Ozekhome said the current constitution, a product of Decree No. 24 of 1999, lacks legitimacy and fails to address the country’s complex ethnic, cultural, and religious diversity.
“The Nigerian constitution under which we are presently operating is actually an illegitimate constitution because it was a mere schedule attached to Decree Number 24 of 1999,” he emphasised.
The Nigerian Patriots, a group initiated by the late Chief Frederick Rotimi Alade Williams and comprising eminent Nigerians and thought leaders, believe that the nation’s stability and prosperity depend on acknowledging and respecting its pluralistic nature.
Ozekhome stressed that the current system, which he described as a unitary government disguised as federalism, cannot continue if Nigeria is to thrive.
“Nigeria is a pluralistic society with over 374 ethnic groups speaking more than 800 languages. Such a group must be allowed to exist in its pluralistic nature without the people being forced to be one as if the other ethnic groups don’t matter,” he explained.