From George Onyejiuwa, Owerri
The Association of Igbo Town Unions (ASITU), the voice of grassroots governance in Igboland, said that the panacea for a new, stable and prosperous Nigeria is the convocation of a sovereign conference to address the fundamental flaws in the 1999 military constitution foisted on the country, and the ongoing piecemeal amendment of the present constitution will not bring the desired result.
The group said that the country did not need the creation of new states, as most of the existing ones are not viable, and depend on federal allocations to even pay their workers.
The National President of the group, Chief Emeka Diwe, who stated this, yesterday, in Owerri, Imo State capital, urged Nigerians to seek a better framework for national coexistence, adding that the foundation upon which these efforts are being made is fundamentally flawed.
Diwe maintained that this unconstitutional foundation makes every amendment, no matter how noble, a patchwork on an illegitimate document, stressing that what Nigeria needs is not another round of constitutional amendments, but a genuine Sovereign National Conference, where ethnic nationalities can freely deliberate and agree on the basis of their union.
The statement reads, “Nigeria once had regions that enjoyed significant autonomy and controlled their resources. The Western Region, under Chief Obafemi Awolowo, introduced free education and built Africa’s first television station. The Eastern Region, under Dr. Michael Okpara, was the fastest-growing economy in the Commonwealth. The North was famous for groundnut pyramids. These feats were possible because of true federalism that allowed regions to compete, innovate, and prosper. Since the balkanization into states and the onset of centralised governance, we have seen a steady decline in our quality of life. Nigerians born in the 1960s enjoyed better healthcare, education, and infrastructure than those born in the 1970s. The downward trend continued until we got to the present situation where feeding is a luxury for the vast majority of Nigerians. This is a tragic reversal.
The irony is that while Nigeria’s leaders parade around the globe, they refuse to emulate the very democratic systems they admire. Countries that have succeeded in managing diversity and development, like Canada, Germany, and India, operate federal systems where sub-national units have clear autonomy and powers in key areas like resource generation and allocation, and security. India, despite having over 1.4 billion people and multiple languages and religions, continues to thrive because its states are constitutionally empowered to chart their paths within the union. Nigeria must learn from these best practices, not continue to recycle colonial centralism and overhang in a post-colonial nation.
“ASITU firmly believes that the only path to a stable, prosperous, and united Nigeria is through a Sovereign National Conference. This conference must bring together representatives of all ethnic nationalities, not appointees of government, to deliberate on whether and how they want to remain in a union. This gathering must be empowered to agree on the terms of coexistence and draft a new Constitution that will truly reflect the will of the Nigerian people. Anything short of this will only recycle the dysfunctions we have lived with for decades.
“We call on all well-meaning Nigerians, civil society groups, ethnic organisations, religious institutions, and the international community to lend their voices to this urgent call for a re-founding of Nigeria. A mere amendment of a document born in deception will not salvage a nation sinking in contradictions. Only a people-driven constitution, birthed in truth and consent, can pave the way for peace, justice, and equitable development in Nigeria.
“ASITU remains committed to the unity of Nigeria, but not at the expense of justice, truth, and mutual respect among its diverse peoples. We will continue to push for a Nigeria that works for everyone: a Nigeria that begins with the people and is owned by the people.”
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