Members of the Patriots, a group of eminent Nigerians led by a former Commonwealth Secretary-General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, on Friday, met with President Bola Tinubu and appealed to the President to send an executive bill to the National Assembly, proposing the convening of a national constituent assembly with the mandate to produce a draft of the people’s democratic constitution.
Speaking with the President at the State House, Abuja, Anyaoku, also told the President that, “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.”
He added: ”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.”
He 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.
Earlier in his remarks, Anyaoku said The Patriots organised a well-attended colloquium in March 2024, where it was unanimously agreed that Nigeria needs a new people’s constitution.
He expressed confidence in Tinubu’s ability to lead the constitutional transformation, citing his personal record as one of the greatest champions of Nigeria’s struggle for democracy.
Speaking with newsmen after the meeting, Anyaoku stressed that Nigeria being a pluralistic country deserves a true federal constitution for the nation not to disintegrate.
According to him: “The Patriots are a non-partisan group of eminent Nigerians, who are committed to the unity of our country and good governance of our country under a legitimate people’s democratic constitution. So we came to convey this view that Nigeria needs a people’s democratic constitution.
“We affirmed to Mr. President that Nigeria is a pluralistic country. And you all know that pluralistic countries exist all over the world. Those of them that addressed their pluralism by having true federal constitutions have survived. Examples are India and Canada.
“But those pluralistic countries that failed to address their basic challenge of pluralism through the federal Constitution have ended up disintegrating. Examples of that are Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia and here in Africa, Sudan.
“These countries existed, in the case of Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia, for about 100 years as one country, but they eventually disintegrated because they could not manage their pluralism through a true federal constitution.”
The elder statesman said The Patriots then advised Tinubu on the need to send an Executive Bill to the National Assembly that will legislate for the convocation of a National Constituent Assembly and national referendum to give the people a say in the constitution.
His words: “We put some proposals to Mr. President and we urged him to send a president’s executive bill to the National Assembly, a bill that will call for two essential measures. One is 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 each of the 36 states and one from the Federal Capital Territory and they should be mandated to produce a new draft constitution.
“And we also suggested that in the bill, the National Assembly should be asked to legislate for 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 peoples of Nigeria a chance to determine the new constitution.
“Because 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 of past efforts to call a national conference and produce a draft constitution that would make it easier for the nation.”
Commenting on the on-going peaceful protests across the country, The Patriot leader urged government both at the centre and the 36 states to engage in dialogue with protest leaders and cautioned security forces against the use of lethal force on the protesters.
His words: “We also talked about the current crisis of protests throughout the country.
“And we advised 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 the 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, people killed because the law and order enforcement agencies are managing the protests.”
Responding to the requests by The Patriots, Tinubu informed them that retooling the economy for sustainable growth and development was a major priority of his administration.
The President also assured the group that their request for the convening of a national constituent assembly with a mandate to draft a new constitution would be reviewed.
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 also believe that it is most difficult to manage the twist 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, that should lead to constitutional measures that will fit our diversity and governance so that we avoid conflicts and break-ups.
”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.
Tinubu also noted that the clamour for constitutional reforms was 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.
Tinubu also used the occasion to pay glowing tribute to the founding chairman of The Patriots, Chief Rotimi Williams, SAN, and Professor Ben Nwabueze, who succeeded him.
Describing both men and other members of The Patriots 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.
Tinubu told Anyaoku that he would be invited again for a more detailed conversation on the submissions of The Patriots.
”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.
Members of The Patriots present at the meeting included the former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Kanu Agabi, former governor of Ogun State, Chief Segun Osoba, a Constitutional lawyer, Chief Mike Ozekhome, former Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, Senator Ben Obi, Senator Shehu Sani, former Minister of Women Affairs, Pauline Tallen, Olawale Okunniyi (General Secretary) and Niger Delta activist, Ms Anne-kio Briggs.
Deji Elumoye
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