By Polycarp Onwubiko
The article captioned "The Patriots and the restructuring of Nigeria, one step forward, two steps backwards by Usman Sarki, Vanguard August 28, 2024 was full of trash in the name of castigating the call for new Constitution by the Patriots, a group of highly respected, eminent Nigerians who are versed in the political history of Nigeria.
Usman Sarki, in trying to
ridicule the legitimate demands for a realistic Federal Constitution to be
fashioned by a selected representatives of ethnic nationalities, made falsified
the political history of Nigeria and fake analysis of the facts that surrounded
the 1966 military coup d'etat that culminated to the military Regime.
He curiously lied that the 1963
Republican Constitution was "terminated by the military"; but the
fact was that the military SUSPENDED the 1963 Republican Constitution.
In his delusional fantasy and
support 'analysis' of the government and economy of Nigeria in the First
Republic, he said: "... the termination of the Republican Constitution
sealed the fate of the First Republic and its constitutional foundation.... The
January 15 1966 military takeover of government terminated any usefulness or
need for the Republican Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria".
Comment:
(1) The fact is that the
military coup d'etat never "terminated the Republican Constitution"
as I indicated earlier. Rather, the military SUSPENDED the Republican
Constitution with a view to its restoration after correcting the mess of the
country's Democracy by the political actors of the first republic.
Unfortunately, the military officers from the North staged another coup d'etat
which led to the murder of General John Thomas Aguiyi Ironsi. The rest is
history, as it were.
(2) The fact is that the
supposed "core North" elites and traditional chieftains hate with
passion anything about Restructuring the lopsided Federation with decentralized
security architecture which is an integral part of it. This because
Decentralized security architecture will deal a death blow or put a death nail
on their dream Islamization agenda.
(3) The lopsided Federation was
deliberately designed in addition to surplus local government councils created
in the North by the military (without doing same in the South) and the local
government councils were used to carve out Federal Constituencies whereby the
North would have majority members in the National Legislature at the expense
and detriment of the Southern members in terms of Bills, Motions, and
Resolutions to make the North have whatever they want in the country
irrespective of the cries of marginalization by the Southerners.
(4) Usman Sarki in his
ridiculous piece naively believed that he was championing the cause of the
"core North" to rubbish the well articulated position of the Patriots
in honestly advising president Tinubu to accord top priority for a New
Constitution because constitution is the bedrock of a country as it is a guide
(Meta-legal document, as it is called) to the articulation of the sectors of
governance.
(5) It is very shameful and
lamentable that Tinubu relegated the crucial admonition of the Patriots to the
background on the pretext that he was very much concerned about fixing the
comatose economy; but the fact is that a New Federal Constitution will help in
reinventing Nigeria's economy and return the Regional Governments using the
recommended Six Geopolitical Zones as the new Federating Units. Under the
Regional Governments in the First Republic, things were going on well, don't
mind the fallacious account of Usman Sarki who created the naive impression cum
gimmickry that the 1963 Republican Constitution was not good.
(6) If the 1963 Republican
Constitution which was fashioned by the selected representatives of ethnic
nationalities as usual with making a Federal Constitution the world over for a
heterogeneous society is faulty, one would wonder if the Centralized
Constitution designed for homogeneous society imposed by the military jackboots
teleguided by the "Fulani Feudal Oligarchy and Northern Political Emirate
Establishment cum Caliphate Colonialists" would be good for a
heterogeneous society? The crude write-up was an evidence of deceptive and
manipulative gimmickry aimed at hoodwinking young Nigerians who were not born
or were toddlers in the First Republic.
(7) Whatever or however the
likes of Usman Sarki and his 'core' Northerners delude themselves, the lopsided
Federation must be Restructured while the military decreed, fraudulent, and
fundamentally flawed 1999 constitution (described as Federal-Unitary contraption)
supposedly under amendments ostensibly to pander to the venality, inanities and
preferences of the 'core' Northerners must be dumped into the scrap heap of
history.
The need has arisen for Constituent
Assembly of selected representatives of ethnic nationalities convoked to
brainstorm on how to fashion PEOPLE'S CONSTITUTION similar to the 1963
Republican Constitution to reflect the heterogeneity society which Nigeria is.
The ball is in the court of president Tinubu, if he wants his name to be etched
in the hall of Fame, he has to dump whatever alleged 'covenant' between him and
the Caliphate Colonialists and reset the country from the cliff of a mountain
or the Stoney Golgotha.
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