Nigerian lawyers have expressed different opinions in response to the call by the Patriots group for President Bola Tinubu to draft a new Constitution for the country.
The group, led by Chief Emeka Anyaoku, former Commonwealth Secretary-General had, during a courtesy visit on the President on Friday, requested that the President convene a national constituent assembly with the mandate to draft a new Constitution for the country.
Obioma Ezenwobodo, past Chairman of the Garki Branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Abuja, supported the call, describing it as a step in the right direction.
He argued that the current 1999 Constitution is essentially a military decree falsely presented as being created by the people of Nigeria.
Ezenwobodo criticized the existing Constitution for not reflecting the diverse expressions and intentions of the various segments of Nigeria, as it was imposed by the military rather than derived from the people’s resolutions.
In his words, “We need a new Constitution that will address existential challenges confronting us which includes: resource control, regionalism, referendum, citizenship, land tenure system, economic structure, security issues and other related issues.
“Though, there is an issue with bad operations of the extant Constitution but it will reduce drastically when people’s Constitution is in place as it will imbue ownership and organic support for the new Constitution”, he added.
Conversely, Dr. Samson Osagie, a legal practitioner and Vice President of the African Bar Association, argued that the country’s challenges are not due to inadequate legislation but rather a lack of adherence to existing laws by both the people and leaders.
“I think we should not devote our precious time in another round of Constitution making when the extant Constitution makes provisions for how it can be reviewed from time to time.
“It is an old time tradition to call for the remaking of a new Constitution. The calls should be for the nation to enforce, implement and obey the laws and the Constitution.
“There is nothing wrong fundamentally with our laws but there is a lot wrong with both the people and the government in implementing the laws and the constitution”, he explained.
Recall, the Patriots, a group of eminent Nigerians, had urged the President to convene a national constituent assembly, composed of directly elected individuals from the 36 states of the federation and the FCT, to draft a people’s democratic Constitution.
The group suggested that the assembly be assisted by seven constitutional lawyers, representing each of the six geo-political zones and the FCT.
The deliberations should consider the 1960/63 Constitutions, the recommendations of the 2014 National Conference, and other relevant national conferences.
Chief Anyaoku, speaking on behalf of the group, also said, “The draft Constitution, produced by the constituent assembly, should be put to a national referendum and if approved, should then be signed by the President as the genuine Nigerian people’s constitution”.
