Adebanjo Faults Constitutional Amendment

The Leader of Yoruba socio-political group Afenifere, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, has blasted the National Assembly on the ongoing constitutional amendment exercise.

The leader who expressed doubts about the process stated this during his appearance on the channel’s television Politics Today.  According to him, “There is no sincerity in the amendment. Earlier lawmakers had voted more than 60 proposed amendments. Some have praised some of the endorsed amendments, including local government autonomy. In contrast, others attacked the lawmakers for rejecting some proposed amendments, particularly those aimed at improving a lot of women in politics and governance.

The elder statesman said he has no faith in amendments and the lawmakers behind them. He added that the current (1999) Constitution was laid on the people by the military and only benefits those in power to the detriment of the populace.

“Who are those making the amendment? Those are the beneficiaries of fraud in the Constitution,” he said. “How are you amending a Constitution you didn’t take part in. Did we make it? What is our input? A Constitution that tells lies about itself.”

Adebanjo stated that if the Constitution is not replaced, every attempt to address the challenges facing the nation, and conducting elections, would be an exercise in futility.

Speaking further, the elder statesman noted that the timing for the exercise was not correct. He pointed out that the general elections have been fixed for February 2023, which means the process may be completed in just months, if not weeks, before the polls

“When will it come into effect?” He asked, suggesting that there may be a plot to abandon the implementation.

“The civil society, the women organisations, the students; everything they are doing is to force (President Muhammadu) Buhari to the conference table to change this Constitution. Until you do that, you are just deceiving yourself. No matter what gerrymandering you are doing, I don’t believe in it, and I wish I were proven wrong,” he said.

Chief Adebanjo also expressed his doubts that the President said he would do the right thing regarding the Constitution and wants the people to force him and the relevant bodies into changing it.

He pointed out that when the people cried for state police, the president had reservations about it, which ought not to be so.

 “People think that freedom can just be handed to them. No, you have to fight for your freedom.

“Buhari can’t say they cannot change the Constitution or that he is going to change the Constitution in his way. We are the people.

“Let us be fair to ourselves, we are changing the Constitution now, and the man who is supposed to do it is now telling you, ‘No, I don’t believe in state police’. And that is the key thing to this Constitution. One of the conditions that make our governors lame-duck governors.”

Adebajo, who is a strong critique of the 1999 Constitution, stated that it could not be salvaged through amendments.

He said, “What I am saying is that we should rally the people around and compel Buhari to change the Constitution that is causing all the trouble”.

“All these patch amendments. The Insurance (company) says the car is a write-off, you say, no, you can keep panel beating it. I don’t believe in it, I don’t deceive myself.”

Meanwhile, Hakeen Baba-Ahmed, Spokesperson of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), who also poked on the Constitution Amendment, said, Our democracy is the government of the powerful for the powerful by the powerful. 

“We need to be careful,” Dr Baba-Ahmed said. “This is a process that we haven’t seen the end of. I am afraid, particularly going by recent experience in the 8th Senate, it is too early even to pass a verdict on even those things that you might think represent progress, regression or indifference or just pure crass selfishness,” he said.

Will the nation get any better after the lawmakers conclude its exercise? What are your thoughts on the 1999 constitution amendment?