Why Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution as amended remains an albatross, By ‘Lai Olurode

As Nigeria celebrates it’s 64th independence anniversary, it’s important to invite attention to pertinent issues of development. I wish to admit that since it’s assumption of office on May 29, 2023, the federal government under the presidency of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu had taken decisions that are far-reaching in their consequences. He had demonstrated tremendous and a rare  boldness in taken those decisions. Key among those decisions were those which were of economic and political significance.

The removal of the subsidy on petroleum products has been the most devastating in its social and political consequences. The dire consequences for the social sector have been the most damaging. The poorest of the poor, the poor, the lower class and the middle class have experienced downward mobility. Of course, it must be admitted that President Tinubu met a country that was almost in distress. There were huge debts to be repaid, a large bureaucracy and unwieldy work force, sundry security challenges and an epileptic power supply regime. The reason wasn’t because the former President was weak or not strong enough. Most of the challenges smack of weak institutions and a Governing elite that is essentially unpatriotic.

National developments under the former President Muhammadu Buhari and under the current dispensation of President Bola Tinubu remain daunting and apparently insurmountable. If Nigeria, from 1999 to 2015 was governed by a political party which had a conservative orientation which could be argued as the reason for lethargy in governance, how can we explain our current predicaments with development? At the helm of our affairs is a government under the grips of a progressive party? What, then is wrong with Nigeria?

As a country with the data (of consistent low human development indicators)that had been thrown up in sixty-four years of our existence as an independent nation, we need to urgently focus on the  the structure-agency relationships. To me, Nigeria’ s 1999 Constitution as amended remains an albatross, an obstacle to the realisation of our full potentials. It fosters a sense of dependency between the centre government and the federating units. It makes the President look like a superman who can accomplish all. The fate of a country of over 200 million rests with one individual, Mr. President. The number of items in the exclusive list and over which only the president can exercise power is too large for an effective decision making process. Unfortunately, instead of a whole review and elite consensus building around an inevitable revisit of the 2014 constitutional conference, we embark on a frolic journey, indeed, a mission akin to reinventing the wheel. Nigeria, under the present constitutional framework isn’t working to meet the yearnings of the major and minority groups. Different  agitations have persisted.

At a second level, we cannot but be compelled to come to the conclusion that there are indeed limits to the role of individuals in social history. Individuals cannot travel far alone. No matter how strong they appear, they will sooner than later become overwhelmed by social forces. Individuals, no matter how powerful need to be dymistified as mere agents and not to be substituted for the social forces that they represent. We must desist from exaggerating their importance.

Personally, I feel uncomfortable with the portrayal of the federal government and it’s agencies as the most efficient and effective. For example, the reforms that appeared to have paid off in INEC were of recent origin. There isn’t any guarantee that those gains cannot be reversed. There’s no assurance that SIEC (STATE INDEPENDENT ELECTORAL COMMISSION) cannot experience a turnaround and become an effective agent of the state. The Nigerian government should desist from policies that can  strengthen the grips of the centre on the state administrations. With the natural diversity of Nigeria, a strong federal government won’t serve Nigeria’s pluralism very well. Our diversity must be allowed to flourish under a truly federal constitution. Unsustainable reforms that failed to take cognizance of our complexity may outlast any government that put them in place.

I urge President Tinubu to build consensus around core areas of concerns to most Nigerians. Indeed, time is ticking fast. The second year anniversary of his administration is just a few months away. This regime should dust the 2014 constitutional conference report and elite consensus around its adoption as a major national issue. Nigeria needs to return fast to the path of strong and competitive regional government. 

‘Lai Olurode is a retired professor of Sociology at the University of Lagos.