Anyaoku Insists on independence constitution for national unity
Chief Emeka Anyaoku
Former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, has said it is expedient to base governance on the Independence Constitution to promote unity in the country.
Speaking at the launch of The Road Never Forgets, a book written by former member of Editorial Board and Executive Director, Marketing and Corporate Affairs, Guardian Newspapers Limited, Dr. Yemi Ogunbiyi, in Lagos, he said: “We need a governance system that is a true federation with appropriate devolution of powers from the centre to more viable federating units (possibly six) as against the current non-viable 36 units.”
According to him, the facts are there to show any objective observer that Nigeria, notwithstanding the years when it was held together by military fiat from the centre, began its drift to its present indisputably perilous state when it abandoned the truer Federal Constitution on the basis of which the country’s founding fathers negotiated Independence.
“We should return to governance system that is based on the lines of our Independence Constitution.
“As the country is gearing up towards the 2023 elections, I urge all the prospective candidates to commit themselves to prioritising the reformation of the country. More importantly, I urge our citizens, the electorate, not to vote for any candidate who fails to pledge to do so.
“We are to arrest the daily killings of innocent citizens; the latest example being the killing of over 80 people with the abduction of further 70 and the burning of several houses in Plateau State.”
The Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo; Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka and former governor of Ogun State, Chief Olusegun Osoba were among distinguished personalities that described Ogunbiyi as a great, detribalised Nigerian, born in Kano to a Yoruba father and Igbo mother.
Osinbajo also said Ogunbiyi’s strides were worthy of emulation.
Soyinka described the work as a book of love, while recounting his memories with the author at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile Ife Osun State, and United States of America.
The event also witnessed the fundraising for Yemi Ogunbiyi Anglican Schools, Sagamu, Ogun State.
