Yes, there exists within and outside the country schools of thought which insist that the constitution does not matter, these schools of thought argue that even if Angels and the Panjandrums came together to give the nation the most seamless of constitutions, as long as such constitutions were peopled by human beings, especially the best of Nigerians, such a constitution would only serve as a mere piece of paper.
These Schools argue that from the historic point of view, merely changing or adopting a new constitution has not led to meaningful change in governance structures or political behavior in Nigeria. The existing 1999 Constitution has provisions designed to uphold democratic governance, protect human rights, and ensure accountability. However, the challenges Nigeria faces today—such as corruption, security issues, and ethnic tension—are less about the document itself and more about the failure of political leadership and institutional integrity.
There is also the argument that we have the option of Constitutional amendments which could also serve as seeking to solve a number of issues in Nigeria’s political environment, thus the amendments can serve whatever lofty desires the Patriots have about a new constitution. Thus, instead of starting over, it is imperative to engage in substantive amendments that target the flaws and deficiencies of the current system while promoting transparency, accountability, and citizen engagement.
However, in contradiction scholars such as the likes of Mark Tushnet, a William Nelson Cromwell Memorial Scholar argues that constitutional law is really politics by another name and that the Constitution’s text and judicial doctrine expounding on it matters only to the degree that it provides a structure for our politics, so on one hand, leadership matters, politics and politicians will always have their way but only to the extent that the constitution allows. Even the talk of amending the constitution is much amnesiac in the sense that such legislative processes haven seen several unsuccessful attempts at amending the constitution has yet to offer Nigerians a befitting constitution, again such processes arent effective such legislative processes have always been tainted with politics, or how can we forget how an Olusegun Obasanjo sought for a Third Term in office under the pretext of s constitutional review.
Thus, the 1999 Constitution, which was fashioned by the military which was rather in a haste to handover to a civilian government and which was fraught with a lot of inconsistencies cannot give structure to the progressive politics Nigerians are desirous of. Understanding all these, the Patriots’s desire for a new constitution gives form to the thinking of scholars like Tushnet, the late Professor Ben Nwabueze and other notable constitutional scholars, without a new and people based constitution, we will continue to move in circles politically!
The legislative process has seen several unsuccessful attempts at amending the constitution to accommodate pressing needs.
Like i stated earlier, even if a new constitutional process may be long and laborious and may even bring periods of extended uncertainly, creating a potential for conflict and division during the drafting phase, exacerbating existing tensions, threatening national unity and stability and even threaten the corporate structure of Nigeria, it will still be better than this present and assured journey unto doomsday which only the fashioning of a new constitution can avert. Even, the talk of such uncertainty may not arise owing to the ability of the Nigerian to compromise.
The visceral argument that our nation’s governance challenges are dynamic and often interlinked with social, economic, and cultural factors and that a new constitution cannot simply erase these existing problems nor provide a framework that guarantees better governance is much lacking in merit. How else can we develop such robust frameworks which will be inclusive of the various voices, thoughts, and ethnic groups within the Nigerian society if not in the process of drawing up a new constitution, particularly the marginalized groups who often feel excluded from the political discourse?
Another significant aspect of the call by the Patriots is that it offers the government of President Tinubu the chance to engage citizens in the constitutional discourse. If a new constitution is to reflect the will of the people, it must incorporate their views, needs, and aspirations. The arguments that past attempts at such civic engagement at the constitution-making processes have often been tokenistic remains flawed. What is tokenistic is rather the attempt at such quickfix measures mentioned above, these could serve as complementary to the demand for a new constitution but can never resolve these issues.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s stance on the demand for a new constitution is thus in need of a rethink. By focusing efforts on the economic front, President Tinubu has exposed the political future of the country to forces that are readily comfortable with skewed system, truth be told, these are his enemies as history would also be unkind to him should he miss such golden opportunity at such an epoch making moment.
