Former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth of Nations and Chairman of the Eminent Patriots of Nigeria, a group of elder statesmen seeking a review of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), Emeka Anyaoku, has called on Nigeria to adopt a full-scale restructuring of the country now or risk disintegration in future.
He also called for adoption of State Police, saying over 614,937 persons have lost their lives due to insecurity in the last two years
Presenting a communiqué after a three-day seminar organised by the Patriots, Anyaoku said, ”the Patriots are very concerned about the state of affairs in our pluralistic country, Nigeria. Experience all over the world has shown that pluralistic countries that have survived as political entities are those that operate truly federal constitutions. Those pluralistic countries that failed to operate truly federal constitutions have largely disintegrated.
”If I may give just a few examples of these, those that didn’t operate pluralistic countries and disintegrated are countries like Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia which broke up into seven independent states, and Czechoslovakia, but those that operated truly federal constitutions and survived, like India and Canada.
”So, the Patriots have been concerned that the root cause of our current problems in Nigeria is the Constitution that we operate. I don’t need to go through the challenges facing our country.
Speaking further, Anyaoku said the committee also dealt with the national security architecture and strategy, saying it was a matter of major concern to the summit that, for example, between May 2023 and April 2024 alone, as many as 614,937 Nigerians were killed in the country.
“So the summit recommended that the security architecture be rejigged with the creation of coastal and border forces to help the Police in checking the entrance to the country, because of the very porous borders the country has which has allowed entry to the country of criminals and so-called bandits from the Sahara region into the country.
”A pluralistic country like Nigeria needs to enforce its secular character. A country as hugely populated as India and as its diversity, secularity is an essential part of the Constitution, because in a multi-religious, pluralistic country that is desired for peace and stability”, Anyaoku stressed.
