By Kayode Emola
In a few weeks from now, the Tinubu-led administration will unleash a new tax regime on Nigeria, one for which the poor masses are unprepared. Suddenly, people would begin to fear receiving money in their bank accounts in case they get caught up in the tax brouhaha. No doubt, this policy is designed to make Nigerians poorer, thereby worsening the poverty situation in the country.
In all of this, Tinubu, who is nearly three years into his presidency, has not deemed it reasonable to allow Nigerians the opportunity to write a new constitution for themselves. After all, the Americans that we purport to follow have 27 amendments to their constitution and would be ready to alter it again if it failed to meet the expectations of their people.
We know that in over a century since amalgamation, Nigerians have not had the opportunity to choose for themselves how they want to be governed. Nigeria as a country is a forced nation, destined for failure due to the powers that have declined to build a harmonious country. They have instead built a tyranny dependent on brute force to keep the people silenced and staying in line.
However, there comes a time when brute force alone can no longer hold a contrivance like Nigeria together. In fact, when that time comes, it may be the same brute force used to hold the country together that becomes the pivotal element in tearing it apart.
There’s no doubt that Nigeria is going through the most difficult period in its history as a country to date. Every indigenous nation that comprises Nigeria is dissatisfied with the trajectory of the country and wants out. This should have been ringing alarm bells in the ears of the decision-makers, but they are unfazed by the situation due to the tremendous profits they are accumulating from the chaos.
In a country where Christians outnumber Muslims, Sharia and Qu’ran are mentioned in the constitution 73 times, whilst the word ‘Bible’ or ‘Christian’ is not mentioned even once. That this anomaly has gone on for so many years is not only an aberration but a disrespect to the indigenous nationalities that makes up Nigeria.
When the United Nation special rapporteur, Agnes Callamard, visited Nigeria around 2021, she described the Nigeria constitution as a “pressure cooker of internal conflict.” She highlighted these internal conflicts and generalised violence as matters requiring urgent attention.
Seeing how insecurity in the land has taken on an unprecedented dimension, it beats my imagination how President Tinubu missed the opportunity in his day one address to tackle the issues of insecurity and constitution, instead turning his focus on subsidy.
He further compounded the issue by choosing a fellow Muslim to be his vice president, breaking the decades-long practice of having both Christianity and Islam represented within the Presidency and Vice Presidency. The strategy of ensuring both faiths were represented at the highest level was one designed to promote political and religious unity and inclusivity, a tradition that Tinubu swept away in a moment.
If the Nigerian politicians are now feeling the US breathing down their necks to stop these insecurities and the ethnic genocide in Nigeria, I believe their first act should be to dismantle this diabolic document forced upon Nigeria called the ‘1999 Constitution’.
However, the US do not have the mandate to ask Nigeria to change its constitution if we the citizens do not demand such from our government. It is not surprising that Tinubu has not said anything about the constitution, when he stands to gain so much from perpetuating the status quo.
The time is coming when logic and reasoning will fail and the only means by which the country can move forward would be violence. In that time, it won’t matter what the constitution of Nigeria says; the only thing to matter will be the deprivation that the people are experiencing.
I hope our Yoruba people who are close to the president are letting him know that he’s sitting on a keg of gunpowder. Especially since the US are now also involved in demanding justice for the innocent victims of the ethnic genocide in the country.
If Tinubu wants to solve insecurity in the country, the first step is to set up a constitutional review committee. The committee should be given the mandate to create a new constitution for Nigeria that would be acceptable to every section of the country. The new constitution must guarantee the rights of self-determination as enshrined in international law. It must also permit any constituent parts to break away from the country peacefully if they so choose.
Barring that, even if the US were to come into Nigeria with all guns blazing to fight the current insecurity, it would be only a matter of time before it raised its ugly head again. It is better that this matter is settled once and for all so that millions of Nigeria can have the opportunity for a better life.
I urge our Yoruba people to know that all these beautiful proposals are not going to be considered by the government. Therefore, if the Nigerian government will not do the needful, there is no shame in seeking foreign assistance in helping us secure our own independent Yoruba nation.
Ultimately, we are fighting for a future, not only for ourselves and our tribespeople, but for that of our children and our children’s children. With stakes so high, we must take whatever assistance is offered and do so proudly, knowing that we are fighting for the noblest of causes.
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