Nigeria: Hijacked by the Ruling Class

The present state of the nation paints a very gloomy pictures. There is not one single individual in this country that can claim that they do not feel the prevailing difficult situation or are oblivious of the huge inadequacies in the society.

We understand what our problems are, and they have been adequately documented, and there are equally as many reports from different panels and national summits, such as the Oputa panel and most recently, the Goodluck Jonathan organized National Confab. Each of these bodies have their recommendations on the way forward for the country, but are yet to be implemented.

The question is not whether we have been unable to identified our problems or that we lack solutions to addressing them. Far from that, our problem is that the ruling class or elites would do nothing that will undermine their individual interest. This  self-centered protectionist egoism have left them with an over-bearing grip and control of the polity.

The elite class totally lacks the political will to enshrine the rule of law and equality of all citizens because that will relinquish power from their grip and impose a threat to

them and their ill acquired loots.

It has been said on several occasions that we need a total overhaul of the Nigerian constitution. The constitution must transfer power back to the people, a change from the present where the constitution appears to be protecting the ruling class more than the rest of the citizens. 

There is an increasing call for the future of Nigeria to be re-negotiated, and in the forefront of this movement is Professor Wole Soyinka. He is against the dogma that the unity of the country is non-negotiable. 

Whatever form this negotiation takes,  be it a nation sovereign conference, an act of the National Assembly or a memorandum, the time is ripe for the people's constitution. Especially at a time like this when several regional groups have intensified their agitation for self-actualization.

Lately, there have been an enormous bashing of the elite class for their selfishness and insensitivity towards the greater good of ordinary Nigerians. President Mohammadu Buhari has him self during his Ramadan visit of IDP camps taken a swipe on the elites lack of sensitivity of the plights of the poor in the society. 

This is a direct admission that the ruling class of successive administrations including the present government has failed the people of this country in every aspect of the life  thinkable. They have failed us for 55 years and the question now is, Why?

The absence of the rule of law and a strong constitution is one of the reasons. The elite are manipulating our weak legal jurisprudence to their own advantage. It is so bad that even multi-national complies and foreign missions fleece on our porous laws to the detriment of the country. We need a constitution that does not only protect the rights of elite, but provide adequate protection of the rights of the larger society as well.

The Nigerian constitution must be seen to adequately address the issue of equality before the law and guarantee the rights of all citizens to participate in the benefits derived from their common resources.

Persistent claims on the part of government of unavailability of funds when it comes to addressing societal demands and for development projects, while their is always enough money to be starched away by the same government officials, must seize.

The obvious  lopsidedness in  political appointments, apparent deliberate exclusion from government of people from certain regions and the skewed revenue generation formula where only one region generates almost the entire national GDP must be addressed.

Until the Nigerian constitution effectively addresses these concerns, agitations will continue unabated and if care is not taken, may be escalated to a dangerous level of another civil war.

The One Nigeria Group hereby call on government to commence the immediate review of the constitution, by adopting the various reports from the Oputa panel and the National summit of the Goodluck Jonathan administration.

The time to #GetOurRightsBack is now!