No Amount Of Amendment Will Make 1999 Constitution Work- Bisi Akande
Former interim National Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Bisi Akande has called for total scrapping of the 1999 constitution, saying no amount of amendment to by the National Assembly would make it work.
According to Akande, the ongoing efforts of the National Assembly to review the constitution would turn out to be a mere wasting of time, as no amount of amendment would solve its defects.
The former governor of Osun State stated this at the book launch entitled” Nigeria: The path we refused to take” written by the Secretary General of pan Yoruba Socio-Political group, Afenifere, Bashorun Seinde Arogbofa ,held at the main auditorium of the Federal University of Technology ,Akure, the Ondo state capital Tuesday.
Akande said the constitution should be scrapped and new one written for the benefits of the people rather than amending it.
Among those present at the book launch were Afenifere leader, Chief Reuben Fasoranti, Deputy Governor of Osun State, Titi Laoye Tomori, Chief Olu Falae, Afenifere spokesperson, Mr Yinka Odunmakin, .
Others are ; Chief Kole Omololu, former governor of Kano State, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, Ondo State governor, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu SAN and members of the academic communities among others.
Akande who was the chairman of the occasion said, “The 1999 constitution is the greatest Nigeria misadventure since Lord Lugard amalgamation of 1914.
“The constitution put emphasis on spending money rather than making it, thereby intensify the battles for the supremacy between the legislature and the executive while the judiciary is been corruptly tainted and discredited.”
As far as Akande is concerned, “The constitution breeds and protects practices and criminal impunity in governance. The constitution can never be beneficially reviewed and the ongoing adjustment or amendment can only totally bloat the essence of national values and accelerate the amalgamation of Nigeria. All the angels coming from the heaven cannot make that constitution work for the progress of Nigeria.”
While suggesting that the 1999 constitution should be scrapped and replaced with the 1963 regional constitution until new constitution is written, Akande said, otherwise, 1999 constitution would continue dwarf Nigeria economy and stifle the country’s social structure ending in a disastrous and catastrophic bankruptcy.
“It should be scrapped as bad relics of military mentality and it ought to be temporarily replaced with the 1963 Republican constitution to enable a transition for the writing of a suitable constitution”, he said.
According to him, “Today Nigeria is at a stage of what we can call criminal revolution. We gathered here today to present a book titled Nigeria: the path we refuse to take by Basorun Sehinde Arogbofa .To me, it is a pleasure and privilege to be asked to Chairman this occasion but I choose to talk not on the path we refuse to take but on the path of misadventure that led Nigeria to the present cross road.
“The military involvement in politics for 29 years out of Nigeria 57 years of independence has done badly to the sense of democracy and good governance among Nigeria political leaders, so much, that political discussions are no longer issue based and are no longer interesting.
“This situation become very dangerous for the future of our society particularly among the growing youths on whom the likes of Sehinde Arogbofa are labouring so much to restructure intellectually.”
