Reviewing the Constitution

Nigeria is, once again, set to tinker with its constitution. This time, those at the helm of affairs are not toying with the idea of a new constitution. Rather, they want a review of the existing one. The aim according to the leadership of the Senate, is to address the defects that have been identified in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999.

The senate said it will also consider all the imbalances, be they geographical or physical, that are inherent in the present constitution.
To achieve this objective, the senate plans to set up a review committee which will partner with State Houses of Assembly for the purpose of producing an acceptable and workable document that Nigerians can relate with.

Fashioning a constitution for the country have always been an arduous task. Beginning from the Clifford Constitution of 1922, and subsequent ones that predate Nigeria’s independence, the problem has largely been one of each constitution trying to fill the obvious or apparent gaps left by the one before it.

In the immediate post-Civil War years, Nigeria had the 1979 Constitution which experts still believe was the best the country ever had. Sadly, it was supplanted by the Armed Forces’ decrees when civil governance was truncated on December 31, 1983.
Ever since, our quest for a workable constitution has remained an unending one. Between 1994 and 1995, the military regime of General Sani Abacha put in place a Constitutional Conference. The conference was largely daring as it touched on very vital issues that could have redressed most of the imbalances and incongruities that the senate is alluding to.

However, not much was made of the document that was produced. Whereas Justice Adolphus Karibi-Whyte presided over the conference, the same government later set up a review committee headed by Justice Niki Tobi. A process of politicization had begun and the very fabric of that document was weakened by this untoward development.

Even though that was the case, the framers of the 1999 constitution which we have in place now borrowed some useful ideas from the recommendations of the constitutional conference.
The latest attempt at reviewing the constitution came in 2006. Then the Olusegun Obasanjo government had set up a Political Reforms Conference. It was charged with the responsibility of reviewing the 1999 constitution with a view to producing a more acceptable document.

The conference made significant progress in this regard. But the entire scheme collapsed like a pack of cards when the tenure elongation agenda of the government crept into it.
The present attempt by the senate to review the constitution is therefore yet another attempt to fashion out a workable document that can lubricate the wheel of governance in Nigeria. The senate’s quest in this regard is therefore in line with earlier efforts.

Given this history of unsuccessful attempts, it may be tempting to run away with the impression that the present exercise would go the way of others. But we are instead, more inclined to believe that the review as planned by the senate, may succeed if the upper chamber of the National Assembly applies itself diligently to the issue at stake.

The failure of the Abacha Conference derived largely from the man’s self –succession agenda. The conference was a mere gimmick to divert attention and buy time. In the same vain, the Obasanjo political reforms conference failed because there was an ulterior motive. But this time, we are not aware that the review is being tailored to serve any individual’s interest.

It is supposed to be a holistic agenda whose main objective should be to serve the interest of the people of Nigeria. We believe that the project is possible and achievable. All that can guide our legislative houses in this regard is sincerity of purpose. If a patriotic and selfless approach is adopted, the lawmakers will readily see those anomalies that have acted as the cog in the nation’s wheel of progress. The senate has assigned a historic duty to itself. It should be diligent and patriotic enough to see it through.