Popular Nigerian lawyer, Mike Ozekhome (SAN) has advised the Bola Tinubu administration to make people-friendly policy and not anti-people law that will further impoverish the citizens.
Speaking at Chief MKO Abiola’s residence in Ikeja in Lagos on Monday, Ozekhome advised President Tinubu to return the country to the path of progress again by providing policies that will make life better for the people.
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria also called on the President to take steps to give Nigerians a constitution made by the people themselves and subjected to a referendum.
He stated that the 1999 Constitution is a militarily imposed document and called on the President to constitute a constitution drafting committee that will give Nigeria a true federal system, not the present unitary system.
He said: “What this present government led by President Bola Tinubu should borrow from June 12 lesson, is good governance of peoples’ policy and not anti-peoples that will further impoverished the already beleaguered people, who are already prostrate on their bellies.
“Policies that will make life better for the people. But, most importantly, Tinubu must listen to this, even if it is few things he can do. He must take steps to give Nigerians, a peoples’ constitution, people were driven constitution made by the people themselves, subjected to a referendum.
“You cannot amend the present constitution which has a schedule actually attached to Decree 24 of 1999. It’s a militarily imposed constitution. No amount of amendment can cure it of its original sins made by the military and not by Nigerian people. Even the preamble that says we the peoples of Nigeria do hereby gives to ourselves the following constitutions tells a lie about itself.
“Therefore, Tinubu must take deliberate steps, to ensure that the constitution drafting committee, through a constituent assembly of the people is established and the product that will emerge from it will give Nigeria true federal system, not the present unitary system where the Federal government controls 67 items up to how you conduct your marriage through the marriage act.
“Until he (Tinubu) makes a peoples constitution subjected to referendum which will enjoy peoples’ legitimacy as was done in Iraq, Iran, Eritrea, South Africa, Egypt, Tunisia, Kenya until he takes that deliberate steps Nigeria will continue to suffer of perpetual motion on its axis without progress.
“Because Nigeria do not believe in the present constitution and arrangement where there are some fetchers of woods and drawers of water. And there are some anointed sacred cows that must have their appetite satiated by the beleaguered segment of society.
“For us to have a society that is truly great, we must do what Abiola told us. He said, “I always hear people talk about peace, it’s not every peace that we are looking for. There is what we call peace of the graveyard, peace of the cemetery.
The cemetery is the most peaceful place on earth. But that is not the peace we are looking for, we are looking for peace that is imbued with egalitarianism, social justice and equity, a good conscience, mutual respect, and religious tolerance in our pluralistic society. That is the only thing that can give us peace so that we do not peace of the graveyard or cemetery,” Those were the words of Abiola over 30 years ago and are still relevant today as they were.”
