OZEKHOME: NIGERIA NEEDS A NEW CONSTITUTION, NOT AMENDMENTS

Babatunji Wusu –

According to Mike Ozekhome, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), the nation requires a new constitution as opposed to an amendment to the 1999 Constitution.
Ozekhome said that despite the National Assembly establishing committees to examine and revise the nation’s laws, there is no way to fix the problems with the 1999 constitution.

At a National Constitutional dialogue held in Lagos on Monday in memory of the late Ben Nwabueze, the Pioneer Secretary-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, he made this statement.

The senior attorney claimed that Nigerians were given the current constitution by military commanders and that a vote should be held to draft a new one.

Ozkehome went on to say that the case against the misuse of state police is unpersuasive and that a new constitution will include provisions for the establishment of state police.

He said: “But will their (national assembly) work amount to what we are looking for? Is it just the amendment of the constitution that is our problem? Can you amend a bad document? Can you amend a fundamentally flawed document?.

“My humble answer is that you cannot. One million amendments, multiple by one million amendments of the present fundamentally flawed constitution, cannot cure the original sin.

“What is that original sin? It was imposed on you and me militarily by a military junta led by General Abdulsalami Abubakar and 28 members of the provisional ruling council.

“It was never subjected to the referendum of the people. Guess what? The present constitution was attached as a mere schedule to decree number 24 of 1999.

“So the constitution you are using is a mere schedule attached to a decree. How can you amend it? How do you cleanse it? Nigeria must own their own constitution through a popular referendum of the people.”