Amendment of Nigeria’s constitution, charade, sheer waste of resources – Oby Ezekwesili

Former Minister of Education and Chief Executive Officer of Human Capital Africa, Obiageli Ezekwesili, has described the ongoing constitutional amendment by the National Assembly as a charade and waste of public funds.

Ezekwesili insisted that amending the constitution cannot work nor address all the imbalances and inequalities facing the country.

The Senior Economic Advisor at the Africa Economic Development Policy Initiative (AWEDPI) stated this on Thursday while delivering her keynote address at the 7th Penpushing anniversary and annual lecture held in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.

Speaking on the theme, “Reworking Nigeria’s Federalism, Perspectives on Restructuring and Fiscal Federalism,” Ezekwesili, fondly called “Oby,” stated that the National Assembly, instead of granting the people’s request for a new constitution, started a project that would offer little to no assistance in reorganising the nation in accordance with the principles of real federalism.

She asserted that a new constitution that places a higher priority on devolution of powers, justice, equity, and fairness to all people regardless of tribes and ethnicities is the only way to address the country’s overall problems.

Her words, “The ongoing constitutional amendment cannot work, it cannot address our problem, it is a charade and sheer waste of resources. The demands for a new constitution is a matter of life and death.

For instance, when the engineer tells us that the foundation of a building is structurally defective, is it not to take the whole building down because it will continue to constitute an endangerment to the people.

“You won’t say, Oga, can we just do some little adjustment to the building, no it won’t work and this is same with nation building. So this expensive charade that the National Assembly is embarking on and spending money on won’t take us anywhere.”

Ezekwesili, while lamenting that today’s politics has been hijacked and turned into a criminal enterprise gang, stressed that good governance is not mysterious and could be replicated here in the country.