By Editor
The Nigerian Indigenous Nationalities Alliance for Self-determination (NINAS) has made a strong case for a comprehensive review of Nigeria’s constitution in a statement that is reverberating throughout the country’s political landscape. On April 23, 2024, the NINAS Secretariat, co-convened by Tony Nnadi, released a statement criticising the current state of affairs and pushing for a total break from the Unitary Constitutional Order, which has established Nigeria’s governmental framework.
The core claim of NINAS’s message is that Nigeria’s current situation is a result of the centralised constitutional arrangements that the country’s military usurpers and the dark forces behind them imposed. NINAS claims that a clear transition to a real federal system is necessary to address Nigeria’s numerous problems. NINAS cautions that if this alternative is not accepted, there may be a disorderly and maybe violent breakup as the constituent parts look for independent ways to get out of what they consider as a restrictive and unfair union under the 1999 Constitution.
The core of NINAS’s argument is that the deeply ingrained grievances driving the current crisis cannot be addressed by piecemeal revisions to the current constitution, including suggestions for the establishment of state police by President Goodluck Jonathan, Nigerian state governors and others. According to NINAS, the people who created Nigeria’s problems are not fit to be tasked with changing the system that they have abused for their personal gain.
NINAS casts doubt on the validity of the current constitutional discussion and calls into question the idea of changing a document that is commonly thought to be faulty and dishonest. The group warns that Nigeria is fast becoming a place where obduracy, dishonesty, and lethal stupidity are the norm and emphasises worrying encroachments on local government autonomy and the erosion of fundamental democratic norms.
Furthermore, NINAS argues that the Nigerian state’s current structure is unsustainable, citing the escalation of tensions caused by the multiplicity of states, local government councils, and federal legislative issues. The group demands an immediate national conversation to seek a speedy and peaceful divorce or to discuss the conditions of a new union.
Most importantly, NINAS says that the 1999 Constitution is doomed to fail, as is the poisonous unitary unity it represents. People who don’t understand how urgent it is to tear down this constitution run the risk of becoming caught in the crossfire of the larger fight for independence.
NINAS issues a warning against complacency and diversion in the face of growing existential dangers brought on by persistent security challenges and territorial encroachments. The group contests the idea that anti-corruption initiatives are supported by a constitution that it believes encourages injustice and corruption.
The urgent need for a constitutional revision is growing as Nigeria finds itself at a crossroads. The message of NINAS finds resonance not only in the sacred corridors of political authority but also with common people who are suffering from the fallout from a system that is on the verge of collapse. There are significant ramifications for Nigeria’s future depending on whether the country responds to this demand for reform or keeps going in the same direction.
The desire for self-determination becomes a rallying cry for a new Nigeria—a Nigeria based on the values of equity, justice, and true federalism—in a society riven by division and strife. NINAS states unequivocally that the option is to either completely reconstruct the contentious Nigerian union or dismantle it right away. The time for action is now, and the stakes could not be higher.
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