***Four Reasons to Scrap the 1999 Constitution By Chinweizu Chinweizu *** These fatal frauds are four: the “We the people” fraud; the “Federation” fraud; the “Fighting corruption” masquerade/fraud; and the “Socially responsible State” masquerade/fraud. Let’s examine them. The ‘We the people’ fraud On May 23, 2007, the Movement for a New Nigeria (MNN) launched a legal attack on the 1999 Constitution by filing Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/367/07 in the Federal High Court, Abuja and, in 2009, Suit No. FHC/L/CS/558/09 before the Federal High Court, Lagos Division, seeking the termination of the operation of the 1999 Constitution on the ground that it is a forgery and a fraud in that it was made via Decree by one ‘Gen. Abudusalami Abubakar’ who lied in the preamble that ‘We the people of Nigeria….’ made and enacted it. The Plaintiffs in the suits included Chief Anthony Enahoro, Dim Chukwemeka Ojukwu, Chief C. C. Onoh, Prof. Wole Soyinka, Prince Bankole-Oki (SAN), Bishop Bolanle Gbonigi, Alhaji Yerima Shettima, Alhaji Asari Dokubo, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike and Fred Ageyegbe, Esq. The case, I understand, is still languishing in court, a victim of endless adjournments. The ‘Federation’ fraud Its federalism is a fraud because: (a) 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. (b) 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; (c) It lacks fiscal federalism: its behemoth Central Government (falsely called “Federal Government”) 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 ‘Fighting corruption’ masquerade/ fraud The 1999 Constitution 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 (See fraud No.4, discussed next). It is a fraud for the godfather of corruption to give the impression that it is against corruption, and the fraud is compounded when it empowers the state to fight corruption but then surreptitiously discourages it from doing so. That’s double duplicity! The ‘Socially responsible State’ masquerade/ fraud 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, by section 6. (6)(c) 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 Ch. II provision. That is to say, if the government omits to act on Ch. II, it cannot be sued by anybody or be compelled by any court to do its constitutional duty. This clause, by making Ch. II non-justiciable, effectively makes it unenforceable, thus ousting it. This covert ouster allows the Nigerian state to masquerade as a socially responsible state whereas it is no such thing. This masquerading gives it false legitimacy, and is a fraud. Among the fine-sounding Ch. II provisions hereby ousted are the following admirable principles and laudable objectives (in bold): 13. It shall be the duty and responsibility of all organs of government, and of all authorities and persons, exercising legislative, executive or judicial powers, to conform to, observe and apply the provisions of this Chapter of this Constitution. 14. (2)(b): It is hereby, accordingly, declared that the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government: 14. (5): The State shall abolish all corrupt practices and abuse of power. 16. (2)(d): The State shall direct its policy towards ensuring that suitable and adequate shelter, suitable and adequate food, reasonable national minimum living wage, old age care and pensions, and unemployment, sick benefits and welfare of the disabled are provided for all citizens. Ch. II was introduced in the 1979 prototype of the 1999 Constitution. But despite these clearly stated obligations, none of Nigeria’s governments have felt constitutionally compelled to fight corruption or abuse of power, none have felt constitutionally compelled to provide security or welfare to the people; and it has been constitutionally impossible to take them to court for these failings. Finding themselves protected from legal action, they have boldly and brazenly done their utmost to deny Nigerians even minimum social welfare, to inflict chronic insecurity on them, and to block the possibility of even minimal prosperity to most of the Nigerian population. They have thereby delivered hell to Nigerians and done so with an impunity conferred by that covert and technical ousting of Ch II which is still unnoticed by most people. Their infliction of rampaging corruption is known to the whole world. So let us briefly examine and quantify their not-so-well-known record of inflicting impoverishment and insecurity on the Nigerian population. Wholesale impoverishment of Nigerians quantified: Here are the figures. According to the Nigerian Government’s own “African Peer Review Mechanism Country Self-Assessment Report (CSAR) for 2007”, paragraph 88: in 1960 (the year Nigeria attained independence, which was also the year it began to export crude oil) the poverty level was 15 per cent of the population. In 1980, (after 20 years as one of the world’s major oil exporters) the poverty level had risen to 28 per cent of the population. In 1985 it had risen to 46 per cent, and to 65 per cent in 1996. In other words, despite its huge inflow of oil revenue, Nigeria’s poverty level had steadily risen from 15 per cent of its 45 million population in 1960 to 65 per cent of its 112 million population in 1996. That is from the Obasanjo Government’s own self-assessment report for 2007: from what better horse’s mouth could this have come? We should note that, since it is the refined combination of both its prototype, the 1979 Constitution, and the set of military decrees by which Nigeria was ruled between 1966 and 1999, this 1999 Constitution has, in one version or another, been Nigeria’s operative constitution from 1966 till today. That means that it was the de facto constitution during 30 of the 36 years, 1960-1996, when the escalating poverty level documented in that CSAR took place. That fact probably makes the 1999 Constitution the world’s most effective poverty multiplying mechanism of the 20th century. (The Guinness Book of Records should please take note!) That alone is more than sufficient justification for Nigerians to get rid of it before it gets rid of them. If they don’t discard it now, the poverty level could reach 99 per cent by 2020!
Posted on: Wed, 06 Nov 2013 16:45:59 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015