Chief Emeka Anyaoku, the former secretary-general of the Commonwealth, issued a warning on Wednesday that Nigeria would continue to lag behind if it does not repeal the 1999 Constitution.

Anyaoku said that progressive and unified pluralistic nations were those that handled their difference with truly federal constitutions, while criticising the 99 Constitution, which he characterised as unitary.

At the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, or NIIA, in Lagos, the elder statesman gave a speech at the book launch of “The Noble Academic and Patriot: A Biography of Emeritus Professor Akinjide Osuntokun.”

First Lady of Nigeria Senator Oluremi Tinubu, assisted by Senior Special Adviser on Policy, Strategy, and Logistics Wahab Alawiye-King, Commissioner for Information and Strategy Mr. Gbenga Omotoso, former governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, former President Goodluck Jonathan’s spokesperson, Mr. Reuben Abati, Chairman of the Editorial Board of Nation Newspapers, Sam Omastseye, former Commonwealth, former Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Mr. Peter Obi; former Minister of Health, Prince Julius Adeluyi; Serving Overseer of the Citadel Global Community, Pastor Tunde Bakare; National Coordinator of Obidient Movement, Yunusa Tanko, Publisher of Ovation International, Dele Momodu Erelu Kuti of Lagos, Erelu Abiola Dosunmu, Bucknor Akerele, the LP’s candidate for governor of Lagos State, former deputy governor Dare Babarinsa, media expert Dr. Yemi Ogunbiyi, and former presidential adviser Akin Osuntokun.

Anyaoku explains why Angel Gabriel won’t help Nigeria.

“Like many other countries around the world, Nigeria is a pluralistic country whose population comprises peoples long established in their separate geographical areas with different histories, cultures, languages, and religions,” Anyaoku, the occasion’s chairman, said in his remarks.

The common lesson, he argued, is that pluralistic nations that have managed to remain as one political entity in harmony and advancement are those that use true federal constitutions to handle their plurality, or variety. Switzerland, Canada, and India are a few examples of these nations. The other pluralistic nations eventually fell apart because they were unable to control their plurality via the use of real federal constitutions.

Examples of these include Yugoslavia, which split into seven independent states after 74 years of existence; Czechoslovakia, which split into two states; East Timor, which split off from Indonesia; and, closer to home in Africa, Sudan, which split into two nations after nearly 3,000 years of existence. Therefore, I think that our multicultural Nigeria needs a genuinely federal constitution in order to properly address the major issues the nation faces and to attain true unity and political stability.

Although he insisted that political leadership was not the cause of Nigeria’s problems, he said that under the 1999 Constitution, neither Malatik Jibril nor Angel Gabriel could address the country’s issues.

“The polarisation, the poor economy and the ensuing extreme poverty, the insecurity, the enormous corruption, and the other significant issues that Nigeria is currently confronting,” he stated. Therefore, I caution that the Federal Government and National Assembly should act immediately to implement what is obviously a global lesson in order to save our nation. Our 1960/63 Constitution, which was formally negotiated and approved by the founding fathers of independent Nigeria, must be the foundation of a truly democratic constitution for the Nigerian people.

Before the military took over in January 1966 and imposed a unitary constitution that has essentially remained in place, albeit in various forms, to this day, Nigeria was, as many of us in this room will recall, more united, more stable, and moving towards realising its potential.

Obi: Nigeria’s culture of praising the least fortunate is hurting us.

However, Obi bemoaned during the occasion that Nigeria had fostered a culture of honouring persons who made no contributions to the development of the country, claiming that this was ruining society.

“This is (education) what we want to celebrate,” Obi stated. That is what our modern culture lacks. The Secretary-General of the National Universities Commission (NUC) announced that they were seeking PhD candidates to teach at our universities. “Why do you want anyone to do a PhD when you don’t pay them and you pay thugs 100 times what they are paid?” I asked him over the phone. The least fortunate among us will serve as our role models. And our civilisation is being destroyed by that.

How the 2018 book concept was developed by Fayemi

“The authors told us that the book project was conceived in 2018 after Professor Osuntokun served as Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Council of the Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti,” stated Dr. Fayemi, the book reviewer. In 2021, Professor Osuntokun kindly approved the biography by giving the writers access to his library and archives, as well as two virtual interviews and in-depth interviews.

The first chapter of the book manuscript, which consists of nine clear and succinct chapters and three appendices, traced Professor Osuntokun’s family history. In order to explain the beliefs and characteristics we subsequently identify with Professor Osuntokun, the writers present copious evidence of a family background, business acumen, and a pacesetting impact in the society.

The chapter went into great depth about his brave forbearance in forming a clan in Oke-Mesi and their participation in the Kiriji battle as part of the federating military of Ekiti and Ijesa against the raging Ibadan army. Another of his ancestors had served with the British during World War I. As his employers returned from Ghana, his own father pursued the Golden Fleece as far afield as Ghana’s mines and became a prosperous itinerant trader. During this time, he married his mother and established the family in Ilawe-Ekiti.