Former Commonwealth Secretary-General, Emeka Anyaoku, has said the only way Nigeria can be made to work is to have a constitution that reflects the plurality of the country.
Anyaoku, who expressed this belief yesterday while giving his goodwill message at the official launch of ‘The Gun Hegemony’, a book authored by Ayo Opadokun, explained that he had been a strong advocate of a new constitution, a new, truly federal constitution for Nigeria.
According to him, Nigeria is a pluralistic country and not the only pluralistic country in the world; the world has several pluralistic countries, adding that those pluralistic countries that have survived as individual political entities have practised a true federal constitution, while all those pluralistic countries that have disintegrated have done so because they refused to have a true republican constitution.
Citing India, Canada and Switzerland as examples of pluralistic countries, he said India has survived for about 5,000 years because of its constitution, while Canada’s survival over the years is also hinged on its constitution.
Recalling the national situation before the advent of the military, he said Nigeria was a progressive country, noting that the premiers of the four regions were developing their regions.
He also recalled that in the North, Sardauna of Sokoto was developing northern Nigeria with revenue from groundnuts, hide and skins that were of such quality which was referred to abroad as Moroccan leather and tea from Plateau; while in the West, Chief Obafemi Awolowo performed the miracles of education revolution and was the first to bring television to Africa, saying he did all that with revenue from cocoa, noting that Nigeria was the world leading cocoa producer.
He added that in the Eastern Region, Dr Michael Opara was developing the eastern region with revenue from palm produce, and Nigeria was then the largest producer of palm produce in the world.
In the Midwest, he added, Dennis Osadebe was developing the Midwest region with revenue from rubber, essentially, stating that the Midwest was producing such quality rubber that major tyre producing companies like Dunlop and Michelin were attracted to Nigeria.
He, however, lamented that the story had changed since the military intervened in the governance of the country.
Speaking earlier in his welcome address, the Publisher of Vanguard Newspaper, Sam Amuka-Pemu, described the book ‘The Gun Hegemony’ as a political journey anyone who is over 60 years in Nigeria has witnessed.
“The Gun Hegemony is not just affecting our lives, but it is directing it. The Gun hegemony actually rules the world’’
The author, Mr Ayo Opadokun, in his remarks, asked where and how Nigeria started getting it wrong. Where would Nigeria have been today without the Jan 15, 1966 coup, as well as the impact of the military on the country’s socio-economic, social services, infrastructure and public institutions like the police and the Nigerian army itself?
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