Introduction
There is no iota of doubt that we have to live together as one to ensure that the corporate existence of this country is not compromised. If Nigeria must remain one indivisible and indissoluble entity, there are problems and challenges that must be addressed immediately. The urgency is now. On this note, we shall continue our expository/exploration of the national conference recommendations continuing with citizenship which if implemented, will help chat a roadmap for national resurgimento. Now, read on.
Citizenship
On Citizenship, Conference added innovations to the effect that a Nigerian Citizen shall include any person who is or has been married to a citizen of Nigeria, and that women, girl-children and widows shall enjoy the same rights and privileges as any other Nigerian. In addition, no woman shall be subjected to any culture, customs, traditions and practices that undermine the status of women, or that derogate from their welfare, dignity, interests and aspirations.
Bill of rights for children and the physically challenged
Conference introduced a new Bill of rights for children and the physically challenged as follows:
Rights of a child
1. The Child Right act shall be binding on all States of the Federation
2. Every child shall be protected from engaging in work that constitutes a threat to his/her health, education or development
3. In this constitution, a child is a person below the age of eighteen years.
Rights of the physically challenged
(1) The physically challenged have the right to live with their families or with their foster parents and to participate in economic, political, social creative and recreational activities.
(2) The physically challenged shall not be subjected to discriminatory treatment in respect of his fundamental rights other than that required by his condition or by improvement which he may derive from the treatment.
(3) If the stay of a physically challenged in a specialized institution is inevitable, the environment and living condition in that institution shall be as close as possible to those of the normal life of a person of his age.
(4) The physically challenged shall be protected from all exploitations and all treatment of a discriminatory, abusive or degrading nature.
Disqualification of persons seeking political offices
The Conference introduced new disqualifying factors for persons seeking political offices by adding the following persons:
1. Persons who within a period of ten years before the date of the election, he has been convicted of an electoral offence by a Court or tribunal
2. A candidate who has been adjudged by any court of law to have been fraudulent in the election process shall be barred from –
a. Contesting subsequent bye election, and
b. Vying for any elective office or holding any party or Government position for ten years.
Question time and state of the nation address
Conference introduced Question Time for the President and Ministers and an annual State of the Nation address by the President to be delivered before a joint sitting of the National Assembly.
Excess crude account and 1st line charge
An Excess Crude Account is to be established, while a first line charge on the consolidated Revenue fund was extended to the State Security Service, EFCC, ICPC, Fiscal Commission and Transport Infrastructure Development to make them independent. Failure to release money to these bodies is made a criminal offence.
Separation of the offices of the accountant-general of the federation and accountant-general of the federal government.
The office of the Accountant-General of the Federation was separated from that of the Account-General of the Federal Government.
Qualifications for offices of president and governor
Qualifications for the offices of President and Governor were reviewed upwards to include a University Degree, and that a person convicted of an electoral offence ten years before an election is disqualified from that election.
Carpet-crossing and government shutdown
Carpet-crossing was abolished. Similarly, where a budget is not approved by December of any year, there shall be a total government shut down, as the incumbent government is prohibited from using money from the Federation Account.
Rotational presidency and governorship
On rotation of the Presidency, same shall be between the North and South and offices among the six geo-political zones. At state level Governorship shall rotate amongst the three Senatorial zones, whilst chairmanship of Local Government Councils shall be rotated amongst the various diverse groups of that state.
Appointment of ministers and 35% affirmative action for women
The President is to appoint not more than 18 Ministers from the six geopolitical zones (a maximum of three from each), so as to curb waste in government. Women were given affirmative action of at least 35% of positions in Government.
Introduction of supreme court for states
Each state is to have its hierarchy of Courts up to the highest (supreme) Court of a state called the State Court of Appeal.
Establishment of state police and community policing
Recommended were State Police and Community Policing as in some advanced countries of the world, such as USA to stem the tide of crime. National Border Patrol Guards to Police or vast and extensive borders was also recommended
Independent candidature
Independent candidature was recommended by the Confab to expand the political space, where some popular candidates may decide not to form or join any political party.
Changing the face of electoral matters
All the innovations made on electoral matters such as that no candidate shall be sworn in after an election until conclusion of Judicial proceedings arising from it have been concluded, were upheld.
Establishment of religious equity commission and abolition of government-sponsored pilgrimages
While irrevocably affirming and re-asserting the secularity of Nigeria Conference recommended that henceforth, governments at all levels shall not involved in the sponsorship of religious pilgrimages. The conference also established a Religious Equity Commission to nip religious crisis in the bud through whistle blowing, detect and punish religious extremism and hate preaching.
Perhaps, it is apposite to adopt wholesale, the entire Executive Summary of the Conference on Law and Judiciary Committee with a view to underlying the importance of the ground breaking decisions of the Conference and why they must be fully implemented.
Need for a new constitution
As many have observed, the Nigerian Constitution 1999 as a whole is a veritable fraud as it is flooded with series of frauds. For example, it opens with a blatant lie about itself.
“We the people …DO HEREBY MAKE, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES the following Constitution.” We, the people of Nigeria did not make this Constitution. It was the then Military Head of State, General Abudusalami Abubakar’ who lied in the preamble that ‘We the people of Nigeria….’ made and enacted it. The Constitution is Decree 24 of 1999, pure and simple. It was attached to the Decree as a mere schedule.
Again, the purported federalism Nigeria operates is a fraud as it falsely parades Nigeria as a federation whereas Nigeria ceased to be a federation in 1966, with the abrogation by the military of the 1963 federal constitution. With the demobilization of the earlier federating units, its present states, the alleged federating units, have no Constitutions of their own, making them false federating units; It lacks fiscal federalism: its behemoth Central Govt. (falsely called “Federal Govt.”) takes for itself a lion’s share of the country’s resources and gives crumbs to the 36 states and the 774 Local Governments; they are thus not economically self-reliant entities but subsist on allocations from the Central Government; they are, consequently, mere economic dependents and administrative agents of the Central Government—which is contrary to federalism;
The 1999 Constitution as it presently is, is the godfather of corruption, through the immunity clause 308. (1), which protects, and thereby implicitly invites, looting by the highest officials who have brazenly set the terrible example that the rest of society have emulated. However, it ostentatiously declares in Section 15. (5) that “The State shall abolish all corrupt practices and abuse of power”, thus giving the false impression that it is for fighting corruption. But it then surreptitiously annuls Section 15.(5) by its ouster clause. It is a fraud when it purports to empowers the State to fight corruption but then surreptitiously discourages it from doing so. That’s double duplicity!
Furthermore, the 1999 Constitution surreptitiously relieves the Nigerian State of the customary and fundamental responsibility of a state for the welfare and security of the people it rules: This is done by technically annulling the obligations clearly and ostentatiously stated in its own “Chapter II : Fundamental Objectives and directive Principles of State Policy”. Chapter II is surreptitiously ousted in Chapter I, thus:
(6) The judicial powers vested in accordance with the foregoing provisions of this section –
(c) shall not except as otherwise provided by this Constitution, extend to any issue or question as to whether any act of omission by any authority or person or as to whether any law or any judicial decision is in conformity with the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy set out in Chapter II of this Constitution;
This is the ouster clause, since nobody can go to court to enforce any chapter II provision. That is to say, if the government omits to act on chapter II, it cannot be sued by any over or be compelled by any court to do its constitutional duty. This clause, by making chapter II non-justiciable, effectively makes it unenforceable, thus ousting it.
Our Constitution has 8 chapters, 320 sections and seven Schedules. It covers 166 pages typed single spacing. By any standard, it is a lengthy document and as Constitutions go, it is not among the shortest. By comparison, the USA Constitution has 7 Chapters (called Articles) and 24 Sections. It has been amended only 27 times in its over 300-year history. The French Constitution has 18 chapters (called Titles now 17 with one repealed) and 89 Articles. The Japanese Constitution (1946) has 11 chapters and 103 Articles. Nearer home, the Liberian Constitution 1986 has 13 chapters and 97 Articles. They are examples we can follow.
However, Nigeria is not alone in the list of countries with lengthy Constitutions. Ghana has a Constitution of 26 chapters and 299 sections. South Africa’s Constitution has 13 chapters and 230 Sections. Because of its length, South Africa’s Constitution adopted in 1996 had by 2003 (only seven years later) been amended 13 times. The Nigerian Constitution is still longer than any of these. (To be continued).
Thought for the week
“We have all the good policies, all right visions, but the problem is implementation. When we come out of national conference, we want those leaders we have chosen to be those who can implement policies.” (Cyril Ramaphosa)