•Says referendum inevitable
•Babalola urges President, Senate, Reps, to act immediately
Former President of the Nigerian Bar Association and former President of the Body of Benchers, Wole Olanipekun, SAN, has called on the National Assembly to immediately suspend amendments to the 1999 Constitution, to allow for a new constitution.
The senior lawyer, who declared that a national referendum had become inevitable and overdue, regretted that Nigeria has been enmeshed in the crisis of lopsided opportunities and shared prospects among the regions, especially regarding unequal local government distribution across the regions.
According to Olanipekun, Nigeria requires a new homegrown legal framework that genuinely reflects the collective will of its people and their uniqueness, rather than another round of amendments that is not in tandem with the needed reform.
Delivering the 13th Convocation Lecture of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti yesterday, titled: “Nigeria Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow: Imperative of a Sober and Definitive Recalibration,” the legal icon argued that the 1999 Constitution was a “military albatross” imposed on Nigerians without consultation or consent.
The legal icon said the current constitution had outlived its usefulness and legitimacy, describing it as a mere document that “tells lies against itself” and had failed to represent the core ideals, diversity and aspirations of Nigeria’s federating units.
“The National Assembly should, for the time being, stay action on the ongoing amendment or any further amendment to the 1999 Constitution. This constitution needs a new rebranding, a complete overhaul, a substitution altogether. It has to be a negotiated document that will pave the way for a new social order,” he said.
The ex-NBA President added that the country’s foundational challenges stemmed from a faulty constitutional structure that concentrated power at the centre, emasculated the states, and perpetuated inequality in all its entirety.
He lamented several provisions in the constitution, including the entrenchment of Land Use Act, arbitrary creation of local governments, and the unitarisation of the judiciary.
