The Patriots’: Act Now to Avoid Nigeria’s Collapse Like Yugoslavia, Sudan.
A group of elder statesmen, known as The Patriots and led by Chief Emeka Anyaoku, met with President Bola Tinubu to advocate for the creation of a new People’s Constitution. During their meeting, they made two key requests:
- They urged the President to send an Executive Bill to the National Assembly. This bill would call for the convening of a National Constituent Assembly, tasked with drafting a new Constitution. They suggested that this Assembly should be composed of individuals elected by the people on a non-party basis, with three representatives from each of the 36 states and one from the Federal Capital Territory.
- They also proposed that the bill should include a provision for a national referendum, giving the people of Nigeria the opportunity to approve the new Constitution.
The Patriots emphasized the importance of addressing Nigeria’s pluralistic nature through a truly federal Constitution, drawing parallels with countries like India and Canada, which have successfully managed their diversity. They warned that failing to do so could lead to disintegration, as seen in the cases of Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, and Sudan.
Anyaoku highlighted that, despite the challenges facing Nigeria—such as national unity, insecurity, poverty, and hunger—the cost of setting up a Constituent Assembly to draft a more appropriate Constitution is justified. He believes that the Assembly’s work would be facilitated by considering past efforts and recommendations from previous national conferences.
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