John Nwodo, former president-general of Ohanaeze Ndigbo,
says the delay in restructuring the country may lead a mass boycott or
disruption of the 2023 elections.
Speaking at the 14th Anthony Cardinal Okogie Foundation
(ACOF) annual lecture themed, ‘Whither Nigeria: Restructuring, Secession or
Status Quo’, organised by Knights of St. John International and Ladies
Auxiliary (KSJI), Nwodo said restructuring is needed for the unity and
development of the country.
He said the independence and post-independence constitution
were anchored on regional differences, which gave each region a preference to
develop along its revenue capability and needs.
He added that, sadly after the 1966 coup, the military
created a unitary system for the country to suit its command structure.
He said this structure which should have been discarded was
firmly established in the 1999 constitution.
Speaking further, Nwodo said Nigeria’s fundamental problem
has remained so because the 1999 constitution is not a people centred document,
but a military imposition that gave the north undue advantages over other
federating units in the country.
He said for the country to make progress, the military
imposed constitution must be replaced with a more people-inclusive document.
“Our expectation now
is that our president, will address the situation by constituting a nationwide
conversation of all ethnic nationalities to look into the 2014 national
conference report and other trending views on this subject matter so as to come
up with a consensus proposal,” he said.
He said the present APC-led leadership and other political
stakeholders must do all they can “to restructure before the next election in
2023, because the level of dissatisfaction in the country as evidenced by the
last ENDSARS protest gives one the impression that any delay may lead to a mass
boycott or disruption of the next elections to the point that we may have a
more serious constitutional crisis of a nation without a government”.
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com