No leader can fix Nigeria with 1999 constitution – Anyaoku

Former Commonwealth Secretary-General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, on Wednesday, warned that if Nigeria refused to do away with the 1999 Constitution, it would be hard for anyone to fix the country.

He described Nigeria as a pluralistic country that needed to address its diversity with true federal constitutions.

“To those who think that the trouble with Nigeria today is the political leadership, I would say that as long as we have the 1999 Constitution as our grundnorm, not even Angel Gabriel or Malaikah Jibrin as leaders can successfully tackle the divisiveness, the underperforming economy with the resultant poverty, the insecurity, the humongous corruption, and the other major challenges currently facing Nigeria,” Anyaoku said.

The elder statesman spoke at the launch of the book: “The Noble Academic and Patriot: A Biography of Emeritus Professor Akinjide Osuntokun,” held at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Anyaoku, who was the chairman on the occasion, said, “I start from the clearly undeniable fact that Nigeria, like many other countries across the world, is a pluralistic country, that is, a country whose population consists of groups of peoples long established in their separate geographical areas with different histories, cultures, languages and religions.

“The universal lesson is that pluralistic countries which have survived as single political entities in unity and progress are those that addressed their pluralism, that is their diversity, with genuine federal constitutions. Examples of such countries are India, Canada and Switzerland.

“I believe, therefore, that if our pluralistic Nigeria is to achieve true unity and political stability, and to successfully tackle the serious challenges that the country currently faces, it must have a truly federal constitution.”

Lauding Osuntokun, Anyaoku recalled how the renowned professor campaigned for him when he was vying for the position of Secretary General at the Commonwealth.

“I first knew of Jide Osuntokun when he was Adviser to Nigeria’s Foreign Minister, General Ike Nwachukwu, and accompanied the Foreign Minister in his journeys to campaign for my candidacy for the office of Commonwealth Secretary-General.

“I was then running against the man who had been the Prime Minister of Australia for seven and a half years.”

According to him, Osuntokun is not only an accomplished academic, “but also a patriot who was deservedly recognised last year by the prestigious Hallmarks of Labour Foundation, through the conferment of an award with the title HLF on him, which means a role model for our young people in how to achieve success through hard work and integrity.”

On his part, a former governor of Ekiti State and the book reviewer, Dr Kayode Fayemi, explained how Osuntokun authorised the biography in 2021, though the idea was conceived by the authors in 2018.

Fayemi took the attendees through the genealogy of the professor, including his academic and family life, as documented by the authors.