By Alex Enebeli
Enugu, April 29, 2025
The former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth of Nations, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, and a one-time Foreign Affairs Minister, Gen. Ike Nwachukwu Rtd, have reiterated the call for the restructuring of Nigeria and constitution review to address the challenges facing the country.
The duo made the call during the “14th Chief Emeka Anyaoku Lecture Series On Good Governance” held in Enugu on Tuesday.
The event was organised by the Youths Affair International with the theme “Imperative Of Good Governance In Nigeria”.
Speaking at the event, Senator Nwachukwu said he had long been advocating the restructuring of Nigeria to become a proper federation, allowing State autonomy and bringing governance closer to the people.
Nwachukwu, who was the Chairman of the event, added that doing so, would allow states access to their mineral, natural and human resources for their development.
He expressed the need for Nigeria to have a truly People’s Constitution made by the country’s ethnic nationalities and interest groups.
The one-time minister emphasised that the 1999 Constitution restrained development and harmonious co-existence of the Nigerian peoples.
According to him, the challenges we face in leadership and governance have often impede our journey toward sustainable development.
“The failure of governance in Nigeria is evident in the declining capacity of political leaders to recognize systemic issues and implement necessary measures to address them.
“I stand for respect for the Rule of Law, the need for a forthright and independent Judiciary, a more effective, and responsive military, police and intelligence services, creation of State Police and local policing for our communities,” he said.
Aligning himself with Nwachukwu on a good governance system in Nigeria, Anyaoku said he had consistently advocated a genuine democratic constitution in Nigeria that addressed the country’s pluralism.
He added that the constitution Nigeria has at the moment, the 1999 Constitution, as amended, did not address the country’s pluralism.
“I am 92 years and I have the privilege of living through Nigeria’s history and my regret is that Nigeria is still a country and has not become a nation.
“We are still struggling to become a nation because some of the challenges we face now, I believe can be better managed if we were a nation.
“Nigeria is still a pluralistic country and pluralistic countries are all over the world. Those of them that have succeeded in surviving remained individual political entities.
“There are also those who have addressed their pluralism through genuine federal constitution.
“Those pluralistic countries that failed to address their pluralism through genuine federal constitutions have disintegrated, like Sudan that disintegrated into Sudan and Southern Sudan,” Anyaoku noted.
The nonagenarian, however, stressed that good governance was possible in Nigeria only if the fundamental, which is the constitution, allowed and encouraged good governance.
“The constitution we have now put the centre at the apex of the nation and the federated units depending on it for survival, unlike what we had in the days of Obafemi Awolowo, Michael Okpara and others.
“We were developing faster in the first six years of our independence because we had a genuine federal constitution which allowed the four regions to take care of their internal developments – social facilities, education, health and internal security,” Anyaoku recalled.
He thanked Gov. Peter Mbah for hosting the lecture and Youths Affair International for consistently organising the lectures from inception till the 14th edition.
While describing Mbah as a true performing governor, Anyaoku said he has transformed the state into a hub of industrial, educational and agricultural innovation.
In the Keynote Speech, the former Foreign Affairs Minister and Chief of Staff to former President Muhammadu Buhari, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, said attention should be given to constitutionalism as it concerns the three arms of government, as well as the Rule of Law.
Gambari said: “We must basically agreed on the way forward not for the North Central, North East, North West or South West but all of us together,” insisting that many countries have managed their diversities.
‘There is no perfect constitution anywhere in the world but through political education, mutual respect, commitment to the rule of law, and constitutions that were meant to work for the common good and purposes of curtailing excesses in the exercise of power,” the diversities were of the other countries that succeeded were managed, he stressed.
Mbah, in a remark, said that good intentions alone would not translate to good leadership but that good leadership must be centred on the people.
“I feel honoured to host Anyaoku’s lecture series, and he is an inspirational figure,” the governor said.
