Anyaoku, other Patriot members meet Tinubu, want new constitution for Nigeria

The Patriots, a non-partisan group of eminent Nigerians, has urged President Bola Tinubu to convene a National Constituent Assembly to produce a people’s democratic constitution for the country.

Emeka Anyaoku, former Commonwealth Secretary-General, made the call when he led The Patriots on a visit to the president on Friday.

Mr Anyaoku, while briefing State House correspondents after the meeting, said the leaders of thought conveyed to the president the view that Nigeria needed a people’s democratic constitution.

“Nigeria, we affirmed to Mr President, is a pluralistic country, and you know that pluralistic countries exist all over the world.

“Those of them that address their pluralism by having true federal constitutions have survived. The examples are India and Canada.

“But those pluralistic countries that failed to address their basic challenge of pluralism through federal constitution have ended up disintegrating. Examples of that are Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia. And here in Africa, Sudan,” said Mr Anyaoku.

He said Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia existed for as many as 100 years as one country but eventually disintegrated because they could not manage their pluralism through a truly federal constitution.

“And we put some proposals to Mr President and urged him to send an executive bill to the National Assembly; a bill that will call for two essential measures.

“One, the convening of a National Constituent Assembly to be mandated to produce a new draft constitution.

“And we suggested that such National Constituent Assembly should consist of individuals elected by the people on non-party basis.

“Say, for example, three individuals per state, each of the 36 states, and one from the Federal Capital Territory,” Mr Anyaoku said.

The group suggested that the National Assembly should be asked to legislate on a national referendum, “because as our laws stand at the moment, we have no provision for a national referendum.”

“And we concluded by saying that the draft constitution to emerge from the Constituent Assembly should be subjected to the national referendum in order to give the people of Nigeria a chance to determine their new constitution,” he said.

He said the Patriots also talked about the current protests throughout the country.

“We suggested to the president that, in our view, the government at the federal and state levels should dialogue with the leaders of the protests.

“The government should take initiative in dialoguing with the leaders of the protests.

“And secondly, we advised that the law enforcement agencies, namely the police and the army, should avoid using lethal weapons in the management of the protests so that we do not have casualties,” Mr Anyaoku said.

He said the challenges of national unity, insecurity, poverty and hunger necessitated the setting up a constituent assembly with the mandate to produce a new constitution.

“All these challenges that we are currently facing are symptoms of the inappropriateness of the constitution that we have at present, the inappropriateness of the governance system we have at present.

“And I’m sure that when a national constituent assembly looks at all these, and looks at all the recommendations the past national conferences and produce a draft constitution, the country will be better,” he said.

Mr Anyaoku said he believed that the government would consider the views of the Patriots.

“In my personal view, the new constitution can be realised within, say, six to nine months, if the National Assembly passes the bills and the constituent assembly is convened and they deliver it,” he said.

According to him, the difference between the expected new constitution and the present one is that, “what we have now does not make for effective internal security measures.

“It does not make for rapid economic development. It does not make for satisfactory social development, say, in education and health and so on.

“And I believe that a new constitution would make it easier for these challenges to be tackled.”

Mr Anyaoku said a referendum was required to enable the views of the citizens to be captured to confer legitimacy on the constitution.

The Patriots included former Governor of Ogun State, Olusegun Osoba, a former senator and activist, Shehu Sani, a senior lawyer, Mike Ozekhome, among others.

The Presidency later released its version of what transpired at the meeting between The Patriots and President Tinubu.

Presidential spokesperson Ajuri Ngelale said in a statement that the president told the statesmen that he would consider their demands addressing Nigeria’s economic challenges.

”I am currently preoccupied with economic reform. That is my first priority. Once this is in place, as soon as possible, I will look at other options, including constitutional review as recommended by you and other options,” the president was quoted as saying.

Read the full statement by Mr Ngelale below.

President Bola Tinubu on Friday in Abuja received The Patriots, a group of eminent Nigerians, and emphasized that retooling the economy for sustainable growth and development is a major priority of his administration.

The president also assured the group that their request for the convening of a national constituent assembly with the mandate to draft a new constitution will be reviewed.

President Tinubu made the declaration when he received members of the group led by Emeka Anyaoku, former Commonwealth Secretary-General, at the State House on Friday.

Mr Anyaoku, speaking on behalf of The Patriots, appealed to the president to send an executive bill to the National Assembly, proposing two measures:

”The convening of a national constituent assembly with the mandate to produce a draft people’s democratic constitution. The constituent assembly should be of directly elected individuals, on a non-political basis, from the 36 states of the federation, possibly three individuals per state, and one from the FCT.

”They should be assisted by seven constitutional lawyers, one drawn from each of the six geo-political zones and the FCT. The deliberations of the constituent assembly should take into full account the 1960/63 constitutions, as well as the recommendations of the 2014 National Conference and indeed of the various national conferences that considered the Nigerian constitutions.”

Mr Anyaoku also said the Patriots requested legislating for a national plebiscite to which the draft constitution emerging from the constituent assembly should be subjected.

”The draft constitution, produced by the constituent assembly, should be put to a national referendum and if approved, should then be signed by the president as the genuine Nigerian people’s constitution,” he said.

Responding to these requests, the president expressed his respect for The Patriots and their contributions to national discourse.

”I have listened to you carefully, and this is not a group that I can ignore. This is a group of patriots reflecting the heart and aspirations of society. I thank all of you for being here.

”I have faced the challenge of this democracy that I inherited from your struggles. I must recognise the fact that these challenges are most required for good governance.

”We have no other choice, and I believe also that it is most difficult to manage the twists and turns of democratic governance.

”I want to assure all of you that as I listened to your two major requests on the path to referendum and that should lead to constitutional measures that will fit our diversity and governance so that we avoid conflicts and break-ups.

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”I believe in the unity of this country and I want to assure you that whatever is necessary to put happiness and good governance in the hands of all Nigerians is what I would do,” the president said.

President Tinubu also noted that the clamour for constitutional reforms is a longstanding issue in national discourse.

He acknowledged the examples presented by the Patriots on pluralistic countries, such as Canada and India, which have maintained unity by addressing their diversity through their constitutions.

”The avoidance of chaos is necessary to build this country and move its aspirations forward for the benefit of all of us.

”I am currently preoccupied with economic reform. That is my first priority. Once this is in place, as soon as possible, I will look at other options, including constitutional review as recommended by you and other options,” the president said.

President Tinubu also used the occasion to pay glowing tribute to the founding chairman of The Patriots, Rotimi Williams, and Ben Nwabueze, who succeeded him.

Describing both men and other members of The Patriot as strong believers in Nigeria, the President said the question on the minds of many Nigerians is: ”How will Nigeria be governed constitutionally, legitimately without unnecessary aches and pains of its diversity and this needs to be addressed constitutionally, so that we can build a nation that we can proudly hand over a banner without stain to our children,” the President said, quoting a line from the second stanza of the National Anthem.

President Tinubu told Mr Anyaoku that he would be invited again for a more detailed conversation on the submissions of the Patriot.

”As you present this, just believe that it will be reviewed, and I commit myself to the belief that you want a stable and prosperous Nigeria,” President Tinubu concluded.

In his remarks, Mr Anyaoku said The Patriots organized a well-attended colloquium in March 2024, where it was unanimously agreed that Nigeria needs a new people’s constitution.

Mr Anyaoku expressed confidence in President Tinubu’s ability to lead the constitutional transformation, citing his personal record as one of the greatest champions of Nigeria’s struggle for democracy.