Moghalu disagrees with Tinubu on new constitution

Ohanaeze applauds Anyaoku, rejects National Constituent Assembly

Former presidential candidate of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) in the 2019 general election, Prof Kingsley Moghalu, yesterday told President Bola Tinubu that solutions to the economic crisis in the country may remain elusive until a new constitution is produced.

Moghalu, who disagreed with Tinubu’s response to the call by The Patriot, led by former Commonwealth Secretary-General, Emeka Anyaoku, for a new constitution, said nobody can fix Nigeria’s economy under the current 1999 Constitution, which the Patriots, has blamed for the political and economic woes of the country.

According to Moghalu, “What Nigeria’s leaders fail to understand is that it will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to bring a fundamental fix to Nigeria’s economy in the absence of a new constitution that is anchored on real federalism, and preferably anchored on a regional structure of 6-12 regions. The reason is that Nigeria is a country but not yet a nation.

“There is no unity of purpose, no cohering worldview. And this is because the country means different things to different groups. The very essence of Nigeria, what it is in reality (as opposed to the “one indivisible entity” parroted by its leaders for decades) is fundamentally contested. As examples of economically successful nations all over the world show, real nationhood is a fundamental requirement for an economic rise based on productivity-driven transformation. I have stressed this in many of my writings, speeches, and other interventions.

“The longer this matter is delayed (presumably because it is a sensitive and politically challenging matter) the more we will continue to struggle. Even more fundamentally, as the eminent diplomat reminded President Tinubu (essentially), Nigeria as a pluralistic country that refuses to turn its plurality into a workable nationhood through an appropriate federal constitution, runs the risk of disintegration in the medium to long term. This is not “alarmism” (for those who have not studied the history of nations). It is a historical fact.”

Also, the Secretary General of the Chidi Ibeh-led faction of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Okechukwu Isiguzoro, yesterday, applauded the bold demands of Anyaoku for a brand new constitution, implementation of the 2014 National Conference recommendations and other past constitutional frameworks, saying that they reject the call for National Constituent Assembly.

In a statement, Isiguzoro noted that Ohanaeze believed in a true Federal Constitution, akin to those of successful pluralistic countries like India and Canada noting that it is essential for addressing Nigeria’s diverse challenges and ensuring the unity and progress of our nation.

He further stated that Ohanaeze Ndigbo support the majority of the Patriots’ demands for a new constitution and recommendations of the 2014 Confab and respectfully disagrees with the proposal for a National Constituent Assembly adding that the recent hunger protests and rumours of international interference convening such an assembly would be ill-timed and insensitive.