Anyoku, Nwachukwu renew call for restructuring, constitutional review

The duo of former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyoku and a one-time Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gen. Ike Nwachukwu (retd), on Tuesday renewed the call for restructuring and constitution review to address the country’s challenges.

They made the call during the “14th Chief Emeka Anyaoku Lecture Series on Good Governance,” held in Enugu.

Nwachukwu, who is the Chairman at the event, said he had been advocating the restructuring of Nigeria to become a proper federation and bring governance closer to the people.

He stressed the need for Nigeria to have a truly people’s constitution made by its ethnic nationalities and interest groups.

The ex-minister pointed out that the 1999 Constitution restrained dthe evelopment and harmonious co-existence of the Nigerians.

He said: “The failure of governance in Nigeria is evident in the declining capacity of political leaders to recognize systemic issues and implement necessary measures to address them.

“I stand for respect for the Rule of Law, the need for a forthright and independent Judiciary, a more effective and responsive military, police and intelligence services, creation of State Police and local policing for our communities.”

Anyaoku, who aligned himself with Nwachukwu on good governance, said he had consistently pushed for a genuine constitution that addressed the country’s pluralism.

He added that the present constitution did not address the country’s pluralism.

Anyaoku said: “I am 92 years old and I have the privilege of living through Nigeria’s history, and I regret that Nigeria is still a country and has not become a nation.

“We are still struggling to become a nation because some of the challenges we face now, I believe, can be better managed if we were a nation.

“Nigeria is still a pluralistic country, and pluralistic countries are all over the world. Those of them that have succeeded in surviving remained individual political entities.

“They are also those who had addressed their pluralism through a genuine federal constitution.

“Those pluralistic countries that failed to address their pluralism through a genuine federal constitution have disintegrated, like Sudan, which disintegrated into Sudan and Southern Sudan.”

The nonagenarian, however, stressed that good governance was possible in Nigeria only if the fundamental which was the constitution, allowed and encouraged good governance.

“The constitution we have now puts the centre at the apex of the nation and the federated units depending on it for survival, unlike what we had in the days of Obafemi Awolowo, Michael Okpara, and others.

“We were developing faster in the first six years of our independence because we had a genuine federal constitution which allowed the four regions to take care of their internal development, social facilities, education, health, and internal security,” the ex-Commonwealth scribe recalled.

The post Anyoku, Nwachukwu renew call for restructuring, constitutional review appeared first on Latest Nigeria News | Top Stories from Ripples Nigeria.