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A legal luminary and former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), has urged the National Assembly to suspend the ongoing amendment of the 1999 Constitution, describing the current document as a “military albatross” that continues to haunt Nigeria.
Olanipekun made the call on Monday at Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), while delivering the institution’s 13th convocation lecture titled “Nigeria – Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow: Imperative of a Sober and Definitive Recalibration.”
The former Chairman of the Body of Benchers and current Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of the University of Lagos said Nigeria must take decisive steps toward a new constitutional order founded on the collective will of its people.
“We cannot continue to live by the 1999 Constitution, which haunts us as a military albatross,” Olanipekun declared.
“Let us borrow a golden leaf from other countries of the world, and determine to live together, an appreciable terms and conditions,” he was quoted as saying by AriseTV.
He argued that halting the current amendment process does not equate to promoting disorder, but rather offers an opportunity for national reflection and recalibration.
“By suggesting to the National Assembly to stay action on any constitutional amendment for now, one is not advocating a state anomie, or normlessness,” he explained.
“Rather, I am proposing a transition period, of between now and 2031, a phase that will give us sufficient time, to reflect on the ills, plaguing, or that have plagued our previous constitutions to date.”
The Senior Advocate further emphasised the urgent need for a national referendum to decide the country’s political and constitutional future.
“I wish to submit that in the circumstance of my earlier recommendations, I wish to submit that a referendum has become overdue,” he said.
“A referendum is the solemn act by which a people, collectively speak in unison to decide matters of grave national importance.
“Over the centuries, such had been deployed to determine issues, as fundamental as independence, territorial belonging, constitutional reordering, and the recalibration of political unions, it represents the voice of the Dena’s, I mean unfiltered and undiluted, speaking louder than the usual rhetoric of politicians, or the manoeuvres of the elites.”
Olanipekun’s remarks underscore growing calls for a people-driven constitution to replace the 1999 document, which many Nigerians have described as an imposition lacking genuine popular consent.
Lawmakers in the country are currently reviewing the 1999 constitution with a view of Amendment.
