By Harry Awurumibe, Editor, Abuja Bureau
With the call for the restructuring of Nigeria getting louder by the day in the face of the spate of insecurity, economic hardship and political upheavals in the land, three legal luminaries have blamed the situation on the faulty Nigerian Constitution.
They also took a swipe at the National Assembly for not being able to rework the contentious Nigerian Constitution which has held down the development of the country richly endowed with huge natural resources.
Constitutional Lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Dr. Tunji Abayomi; Human rights Lawyer /Activist Ebun Adegboruwa, SAN and Jubrin Okutekpa, SAN, who spoke on Friday on Channels Television breakfast programme ‘Sunrise Daily’, were unanimous in blaming the “faulty Nigerian Constitution” for the various ills of the Nigerian society including the spate of insecurity across the country.
Dr. Abayomi said pointedly that Nigeria has no foundation just as he insists that the current Constitution which was bequeathed to the citizens by the military regime of Ex- Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar is not working and can never work.
According to him: “I make no excuses to say that Nigeria has no foundation. This present Nigerian Constitution has no foundation. It was foisted on the country by the military. The people of Nigeria did not come together to fashion this Constitution. Look, you don’t Decree a Constitution on the people”.
The Lagos Lawyer therefore said until a brand new People’s Constitution is produced, the country’s problems will persist.
Also speaking on the programme, Adegboruwa opined that except the faulty Nigerian Constitution handed down by the military regime is amended, the nation will know no peace.
The fiery lawyer pointed accusing fingers to the military regimes and their civilian collaborators especially the politicians for the woes of Nigeria.
Adegboruwa wondered why the National Assembly and the successive governments except late President Umaru Yar’Adua regime have found anything wrong in the current Nigerian Constitution.
“It is sad that politicians have discovered the loopholes in the Nigerian Constitution, they have seen that the Constitution allows them to perpetuate legalities hence it has become near impossible for them to embark on Constitution Amendments. The faulty Constitution is why the country is in this dire straits”, Adegboruwa stated.
Okutekpa (SAN), who agreed with the position of his learned colleagues also said the faulty Constitution has encouraged the ruling class to engage in several unconstitutional behaviours inimical to the growth of the nation.
According to him the country has been unfair to the brightest and best in the society rather important positions are given on the basis of primordial sentiments which have in turn destroyed the fabrics of Nigeria.
The trio of Abayomi, Adegboruwa and Okutekpa therefore, agreed that those who are calling for restructuring of Nigeria including the Constitutional Amendments are right even as they insisted that there is urgent need for the Federal Government to listen to the demands of the Southern Governors on Ban on Open Grazing.
