by Christiana Gokyo, Jos
The Plateau State Governor, Barr Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang, says, the making of constitutions should not be construed as a legal project to be left to lawyers; “nor should this agenda be the sole preserve of politicians.”
He said, Nigeria has faced a lot of challenges through its journey as a Nation State – the legacy of colonialism, military rule and the various republics, headed by democratic rule, have contributed to the myriad of issues which have bedevilled Nigerian Constitutionalism and its implementation, thereby affecting every fabric of Nigerian Society.
The governor disclosed this, while declaring open of a two days’ Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution Zonal Public Hearing for the North Central held in Jos on Friday.
According to him, the challenges of the Nigerian Civil war, experiments with military rule and the various constitutions pre-Independence and post-Independence, bear testament to the will of the different administrations in their efforts towards producing documents, which reflect the yearnings of the Nigerian populace to have a document which will aid the realization of the collective dreams of the Nation for an egalitarian society, which mirrors the dreams of the founding fathers of this great country, and the desire for the country to attain its maximum potential.
He said, “Throughout the journey of statehood, one thing stands undisputed; and that is, the unwavering determination of the Nigerian people to improve upon the structure they have inherited with a view to handing over ‘a banner without stain’ to the generations coming after.
“However, at this point in time of our constitutional journey, there are undoubtedly a lot of agitations regarding issues such as: self-determination by some elements within the constituent units; fiscal federalism with clamours for greater control by sub-nationals over natural resources geographically occurring with their geographical territory.
“State Police – due to rising spate of insecurity across the country, and the obvious lack of capacity for a centralized Police Force to tackle same; State creation and adjustment of boundaries, amongst others.
Permit me to highlight on the issue of insecurity and the need for State Police, which has become an Elephant in the room, which all acknowledge is present but are unwilling to address but which we must as responsible leaders speak about, in order that silence may not be confused for that which it may not mean.”
The governor further explained that, “It is on record that Nigeria is bedevilled by grievous and pervasive security perturbations, which hitherto were confined geographically to some zones of the country, but which has now metamorphosed and metastasized into a cancerous growth eating into the fabric of our collective union.
“While the common denominator underlying these security breaches is the upswing in the violence against persons and properties, certain patterns – in terms of nature and prevalence – are attributable to specific regions such as insurgency and terrorism in the Northeast and North Central regions, anarchic ethnic nationalism and secessionist agitations in the Southeast and criminal and gang wars in the Southwest and South-South zones,” he stated.
The governor observed that, “Extra judicial killings and ritual killings are also on the rise across the regions, while communal conflicts fuelled by age-old animosities between ethnic nationalities and, most importantly, the paucity of resources exacerbated by climate change and population explosion nationwide, have further aggravated these security challenges.
“A typical example is the perennial and unwarranted killing of farmers by nomadic Fulani herders, which is no more confined to the agriculture belts of the North Central region but has now spread too virtually every precinct in the Nation, as virtually no community is spared from the seeming impunity of the Fulani herders, which have now converted the entire nation into a veritable killing field, especially in the last 15 years.
“The resultant anomie engendered by consistent unresolved incidents characterized by genocidal attacks on several communities simultaneously, has catalysed catastrophic dislocations of citizens nationwide, resulting in unprecedented humanitarian crisis.
“The modus operandi of perpetrators of genocidal attacks on communities is marked by the intent to totally annihilate primordial ethnic nationalities, owners of arable land with a view to converting them to grazing land.
“Most of the communities sacked by the marauding herders have been completely abandoned by such owners and, subsequently, repopulated by nomadic herders with the names of most the communities changed.
“The variegated displaced populations have found refuge in internally-displaced people camps all over the country and are facing dire humanitarian existing conditions, which increases their vulnerability to armed conflicts as potential victims and perpetrators.
“The Nigerian State capacity to discharge its obligation under the Social Contract is significantly threatened by the proliferation of non-state armed groups (NSAGs). Successive governments have implemented different strategies and programmes.
“While the Federal Government deployed kinetic and non-kinetic measures, some state governments created regional and state-level quasi security units to complement traditional security agencies.
“The government has extended peace deals to armed groups, especially in the Northwest, North Central and South-South Zones. Yet, there are brazen attacks on hard and soft targets, as non-state armed actors continue to threaten Nigeria’s ability to serve as a security guarantor to its citizens.
“In this period, Nigeria has experienced a spike in the number and activities of armed actors. It is, therefore, clear that the necessity of State Police in the federating units is an idea whose time has not just come but is belatedly being discussed at the risk of the looming allegation of the Nation itself being labelled as being ‘criminally negligent’ for failing to adopt measures, which could have long stopped this massive hemorrhaging of monumental proportions hitherto unseen in modern climes for a nation ostentatiously not at war.
“This public hearing affords us all an opportunity to ventilate and articulate positions which will aid the production of a document which we believe will be a catalyst towards the propulsion for the attainment of the Nigeria of our dreams as the constitution is the Grand norm from which other tenets regulating the administration of institutions within our country flows.”
The governor added, thus: “BEYOND SECURITY: OTHER AREAS OF URGENT REFORM – While security takes centre stage in our context, there are several other dimensions of the constitutional alteration process that bear critical importance to us as a state and as a people.
“Others are, Devolution of Powers that can ensure states manage their resources and developmental priorities more efficiently; Judicial Reforms that strengthen the independence, integrity, and accessibility of justice delivery systems; Legislative Reforms that remove ambiguities and modernise our laws, in line with current realities; and Fiscal Federalism, which would allow for fairer distribution of national revenue and empower sub-national governments.
“Also are, Citizenship and Indigeneity, which remain sensitive issues in a diverse state like ours; Protection of Fundamental Rights and Human Dignity, which is the bedrock of constitutional democracy; and Institutional Reforms, which are needed to reposition governance at every level.”
“I urge all to be firm in their resolve to be patriots, seeking first the interest of the State above our individual interests so that this work, which has taken great pains to be achieved, will not be cheapened by tribal and bigoted sentiments.
“While we are aware that there is no country with a perfect constitution in the whole world, it remains our duty as citizens and patriots to make the maximum efforts towards producing a constitution which addresses the challenges being experienced at this point.
“In time so that posterity will be kind to our memories as having utilized the opportunity availed us – to make our modest efforts towards shaping the Constitutional Order, which ultimately will determine the speed with which this great country will attain its objectives of being a ‘Giant of (not only) Africa’ but a true pride to the black race worldwide,” Mutfwang stated.