I would focus on solutions. We know the price of rice is N60, 000 and petrol is up, we all know that, what we need to look at is how to move forward and I think it is important.
I’m 70 years old; I started civil rights when I was 29, but I still have hope. I am happy the NSA is here, because I also studied counter intelligence in 1980.
We need peace and security to develop; we can’t win the war with armed forces. I would suggest to the National Assembly to invite ethnic nationalities, the owners of Nigeria. You know the last constitutional conference that was attended by my Oga here.
We have no stake in Nigeria, because I am not an ethnic nationality leader.
I suspect inviting these leaders together with our traditional leaders who I suspect are ignored in the process; we may be able to resolve this Boko Haram, IPOB issue.
For the President to make progress with the President of the Senate, peace must reign. The first task is how do we find peace? Would it be through the armed forces?
My answer is no. It would be by executive and legislative process to find how we can draw in Ohanaze, Afenifere, Arewa, the traditional rulers that have been ignored. I personally believe they have a role in the constitutional process. I believe if this is done, we can achieve peace. That is number one.
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I urge us to move away from a nine-to-five legislative process and embrace a transformative, unconventional approach, akin to one the President is familiar with. I propose ten objectives that can facilitate this shift. While I applaud the President’s three bold decisions, I offer nuanced perspectives. For instance, while I fully support the removal of fuel subsidies, I believe legislation is crucial in mitigating its impact.
Furthermore, this unsettled constitution, lingering for twenty-three years, must be addressed, ideally by the 10th National Assembly. Such a prolonged state of flux is untenable. Therefore, I suggest prioritising the question of how to attain a new constitution. Two options exist. The first, which the National Assembly is currently pursuing, I strongly disagree with. My preference lies with the late Ben Nwabueze’s solution, which leverages the National Assembly’s extraordinary powers. Currently, only one of its four legislative powers is utilised, yet its full potential remains untapped.
The National Assembly is the National Assembly sitting as the House of Assembly of the Federal Government pursuant to section 42 of the constitution.
Please check section 41 of the constitution; the National Assembly is the National Assembly sitting as sovereign parliament. So, the National Assembly is at once the House of Assembly of the federal government and the House of Assembly of the federal republic of Nigeria.
In fact, you would recall that when the National Assembly was looking for powers to invoke the doctrine of necessity, section 41 was the power to use. Section 21 gives a vital power in the constitution; it describes Nigeria as indissoluble.
So, the sovereign power of Nigeria is to be found in section 2 1 and it is the only one citizen that carries the sovereign authority of Nigeria. It is the only person that is referred to as the President of Nigeria; that is President Bola Tinubu.
The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) or the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) can also refer matters to the President, but this distinction serves a purpose. The President embodies the authority of the entire Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The Federation itself is not a separate political entity; it is a subdivision within the sovereign Republic of Nigeria. Therefore, it’s crucial for the National Assembly, in exercising its legislative functions, to recognize its own “trinity of powers,” with the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) constituting the final element. Once this scope is understood, Professor Nwabueze argues, there are two primary approaches to addressing the constitution.
The first, outlined in section 8, is the method we are currently employing. However, even after twenty-three years, amending the constitution through this process remains slow and laborious.
The second approach, which Professor Nwabueze terms “constitutional replacement,” was used in 1963. Here, it’s crucial to remember that the current constitution is not an act in itself; it’s a schedule attached to another act.
Professor Nwabueze proposes invoking sections 4(1) and 4(4) of the constitution. This way, instead of each new National Assembly endlessly debating the same issues, the current constitution’s schedule would simply be detached and replaced with a new one. As he argues, prolonged constitutional discussions, lasting twenty-three years in this case, impede both economic and political progress.
My second point concerns the electoral process. President Tinubu currently faces a petition from Peter Obi. After reviewing all the petitions, I believe it would have been more appropriate for Peter Obi to address his grievances directly to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). His petition against President Tinubu reads similarly to a referee awarding a goal to Chelsea, who then file a complaint against Arsenal for a different mistake. The issue lies with the referee, not Arsenal.
The tribunal focuses on crucial questions like the functionality of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and the Biometric Voter Accreditation System (BVAS). These are not matters that directly concern the President; they pertain to the integrity of the electoral process and fall under the responsibility of the election management board.
Adopting this approach would shift the pressure towards INEC to ensure they diligently fulfil their duties. Currently, petitions often devolve into a contest between the petitioner and the respondent, while INEC, the entity ultimately accountable for electoral integrity, remains on the sidelines. This shift in accountability would incentivize INEC to improve its performance.
If I had been a member of the Justice Uwais panel, I would have advocated for two additional reforms. Firstly, the unbundling of INEC. Their current responsibilities are overly extensive. For instance, they are the largest paper printing agency in Nigeria, which simply isn’t their core function.
Secondly, reducing the scope of INEC’s responsibilities by creating separate entities to handle specific tasks. The Uwais Committee report recommended establishing a Political Party Regulatory Authority to take over party regulation from INEC, as well as an Election Offences Commission to handle related investigations and prosecutions.
I urge the 10th Assembly, under the leadership of President Godswill Akpabio, to enact the recommendations made by the Uwais panel in 2008. These recommendations, languishing for over a decade, hold the key to reforming the Electoral Act and addressing the mockery it makes of our democracy.
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Specifically, I advocate for addressing the legal and judicial aspects of governance. By “governance,” I refer to the processes by which we elevate our economic and political systems to their optimal state. I firmly believe that, in their current state, these systems fall short of their potential. Applying sound governance principles to the issues I’ve raised can propel us towards optimal performance.
The inclusion of Section 315 in the constitution is a colossal error, born not of careful deliberation but of sheer laziness. This section allows archaic laws, such as the 1635 Statute of Frauds from the UK, to remain in our legal system, serving as an impediment to progress.
Contrast this with President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, who took a proactive approach. He established a national reform commission that, within three months, amended, modified, and introduced a thousand new laws, streamlining and optimising the Rwandan legal framework.
Therefore, Mr. President of the Senate, I respectfully urge you to consider abolishing Section 315. Let us undertake a comprehensive review of our laws and expunge all that is outdated, oppressive, or unnecessary. This includes laws passed during your own activism in the civil rights movement, as well as those enacted by the military regime. In a functioning democracy, such relics of the past have no place burdening our legal system.
As President of the Nigerian Bar Association from 2006 to 2008, I witnessed firsthand the critical state of our legal system. Like an individual suffering from heart failure, it’s effectively on life support. In my legal practice, clients often inquire about investment timelines, and when I mention five to ten years for litigation, they lose interest. If we want to attract investment, we must address this bottleneck head-on by completely reimagining our legal system. Its current state is simply too antiquated to serve our modern needs.
The irony, and I say this with the utmost respect as a Senior Advocate and former member of the Nigerian Judicial Commission, extends to the judicial system itself. It requires a thorough and decisive overhaul to regain its efficiency and public trust.
When my daddy was CJN of the old eastern states, we all wanted to protect the judiciary like a military incursion, so we fence the judiciary and everybody is afraid.
People were saying; don’t touch their money, and we did not allow anyone to touch anything about them.
The judiciary should not be aloft as it ones to make out. I was the first person, accompanied by my brother, Wole Olanipekun. We applied, because we felt we were qualified to sit in the Supreme Court, but the mafia there threw us out. You know why? Because we still mix administration of justice which the National Assembly cannot interfere with how they do their work with judiciary administration. The National Assembly can review how they do their work.
There should be a clear and codified law governing the selection process for appointments to the Senior Judicial Council (SJC). Currently, the only stipulation is a minimum of 15 years of legal experience. However, this lack of specific criteria has allowed the National Judicial Council (NJC) and some Supreme Court judges to form an unaccountable clique, impeding fair and transparent appointments.
In my 45 years of legal practice, I have unfortunately witnessed the current Supreme Court as the most concerning iteration I have encountered. This lack of dynamism and accountability further underscores the necessity of robust legal frameworks surrounding judicial administration.
I apologise, I didn’t mean to conflate the administration of justice, which rightly falls to the judiciary, with the broader concept of legal administration. However, the National Assembly does have the power to enact laws governing legal matters.
Therefore, I proposed legislation to the National Assembly that would significantly streamline the process for aspiring judges. Implementing such reforms would undoubtedly bring positive changes to the legal system. Now, I’d like to focus on another area demanding urgent attention. We cannot ignore the existing issues within our nation, but I commend President Tinubu for his bold decision. Such courage is rare. However, his efforts must be complemented by the National Assembly’s critical role.
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As leaders of your people, you must recognise their suffering. Now is the time to stand with the President by enacting substantial legislation that will ultimately bring them peace and security.
It may surprise you, Mr President, but I’ve implemented a breakfast and lunch program in my office for my staff. Necessity prompted this unexpected initiative, as many of them simply couldn’t afford proper meals. With food prices soaring, even N1,000 for a driver barely covers the cost of a good plate of rice (around N600). This led me to establish a small kitchen to provide proper meals for my team.
My point, Mr President, is that the weight of your work, and that of all our political leaders, rests heavily on the shoulders of those who support us. Their well-being, both physical and mental, is crucial to our success. If we want to remain relevant in the eyes of the people beyond four or five years, we must take decisive action now. Good deeds resonate. They pave the way for us to walk among the people with pride, knowing they see us as true representatives of their needs.
Mr. President, let service be your guiding light. Embrace sleepless vigilance, stay tuned to the needs of your people, and dedicate yourself to delivering on their aspirations. Only then, when your term ends, will you find true peace, protected by the legacy of good deeds done. Your name will not need accolades or praise; the people’s gratitude will be its own reward.
Remember, a leader’s legacy hinges on addressing the most pressing concerns. While you’ve made bold decisions – like the naira devaluation – there’s one critical area, I believe, that requires your attention: economic governance. Personally, I find the term “restructuring” too broad. Instead, I advocate for “devolution” – a strategic transfer of power and resources that empowers local communities and fosters economic prosperity.
The centre is too powerful, so I’d like to see something around devolution, so that many people can participate.
In the sphere of economic policy, I call the attention of Mr President of the Senate to section 16 of the constitution which actually makes Nigeria a socialist state, I’m not sure if people are aware of it.
Please, when you read it carefully, the commanding heights of the economy belong to the government, that’s not the intention; I think the intention is to make Nigeria a mixed economy a liberal economy. If we don’t get the ideological basis of Nigeria’s political economy right nothing else will work.
I recommend that section 16 should be modified.
The national economy has five fingers; it has the hard economy, it has the soft economy, it has the blue economy, it has the green economy and it has the brown economy. All these will be tied by three important things, fiscal, monetary and trade policy. Right now Nigeria has no trade policy and that I think is a big mistake, the last trade policy was in 2017.
The CBN they work on monetary; the CBN is carrying far too much responsibility and quite sensibly in the UK their own CBN, the bank of England devolved power to two great institutions and I think, we need to see it here the credential and regulation authority.
Their work is to make sure that the public trust we have in our banks is indeed followed, our banks are not traders. It is a shame that I am standing before you. I have never had a loan in this country, because they want my grandmother who is dead to come.
In the UK, I’ve had loans because the system works, the prudential regulation authority in the UK ensures that the banks work, in fact some of us keep saying how in spite of all this poverty the banks are making tremendous profit.
How is it, so where is the money going? We got to ask where it is going? The banks in the UK, if they misbehave you have the financial conduct authority to keep them in check. The CBN needs to devolve two important powers; supervision and conduct.
In the UK it is retained within the structure of the bank of England, but there is a huge institution that ensures that oxygen money is in the system. How can Nigeria be described as a country that wants to be in the first 10 when it is not a credit economy, no country survives without a credit system.
Nigeria is not a credit economy. It is a matter of urgency that the National Assembly should look for ways to create a system which economists call gearing. To gear means; if you have 100 naira and there’s access to finance, you can gear it. When you gear it, then we all become better.
So gearing is crucial to create a credit economy, but it’s important that the laws are there; right now the laws are not there. These are some of the tasks that I urge the National Assembly to consider.
One of the most important under economic governance is the national credit guarantee corporation; these are people who give credit. They see your idea; it is good they give you the money. We need that when all these are in place you’ll be very surprised the Nigerian economy will grow up.
When I wrote a letter to the Minister of Finance in the last government the response was yes, we had forgotten Murphy. In her response she accepted that the Ministry of Finance incorporated had, this is only a preliminary study N33 trillion. And we say we’re poor and our so-called nonsense budget is N27 trillion for a country of 200 million. no.
Mr President and President of the senate, our budget next year should not be less than N100 trillion; if it is less, we have failed.
I don’t want to say you have failed. I say we have failed, but I know you know what I mean. N100 trillion go and look for the money. There are 56,000 uncompleted projects around Nigeria, the federal lands alone, the money there is unbelievable.
Look at the Federal Secretariat, it’s been wasting there for the last 40 years, yet we cannot build the road from Lagos to Ibadan when that is N140 billion, what is it doing there? Sell it and don’t be involved in things that the private sector can do. I talked to Zach and I told him, I’m happy that the President committee mentioned that no parastatal or department or agency should collect revenue. It is not their job.
NIMASA or Customs, it is not your job. The job of Customs is enforcement of Customs regulations, not collecting revenue. All that collection should go to a new national revenue agency; they are the ones to collect money not the individual parastatal that doesn’t even remit you will then find that the money is not as difficult as you think it is. You can get the money.
The President has given a task Nigeria would be a trillion dollar economy in six years, let me say 10 years, it is more than doable. It is doable, but it will require absolute hard work and that’s why I’m pointing out what to do.
Look at solid minerals, Nigeria has about 44 or 45 absolutely required minerals, but not the laws, we have legal failure. Let me just return to a point I missed under economic governance; the difference between revenue and capital they’re different things. Public revenue is consecrated by section 162 of the constitution.
Why is it that our leaders only concentrate on tax and not non-tax? There’s a lot more money in non-tax than tax. If you put tax and non-tax together, you’re looking at more than N100 trillion
When Governor Gboyega Oyetola had his meeting with us in Lagos, I showed him where to find the money. We can get the money, it is possible. Tax and non-tax public revenue the Federal Government only has so much, but it is not Federal Government public revenue that drives the economy; it is capital.
What is capital? Capital is the national asset.
Let me just take housing; in Lagos, 98% of the houses have no title. Therefore, you can’t take a loan – nobody will give you one. I am standing before you, and I have never gotten a loan here, whereas, I got a loan in the UK. I bought the first house because the legal infrastructure is there, and I got the second one. Aren’t you happy for me? I got the second one! I went back and I got the third one. But here, I built a stand-alone! I built one, I built the next one… why? The legal infrastructure to draw capital does not exist. And I recommend you read “Mystery of Capital” by Hernando DeSoto.
It’s a fantastic book; I presume predictably that capital not revenue is what will drive this 1,000 trillion dollar economy, not public revenue because public revenue is consumed. You don’t have much of it, so I really urge you to look at the differences between public revenue and capital.
Regarding solid mineral trade policy, we cannot simply be a dumping ground. We need our own local mechanism equivalent to the WTO, which I call the National Trade Office (NTO). The late ambassador who previously represented us at the WTO did a tremendous job, but he lacked sufficient authority. Therefore, we require two key things: a clear and comprehensive trade policy, and the establishment of the NTO by an act of parliament. Additionally, trade remedies legislation is crucial to ensure effective protection for our domestic industries.
Trade remedies legislation acts as a countervailing power, allowing us to raise tariffs when necessary. If even someone like Trump could do that, why can we not? We are constantly told to keep our doors open, while cheap goods flood our markets. How can we possibly grow amidst such an influx? We need to prioritise an appropriate trade policy. Right now, Nigeria is essentially a dumping ground, hindering our development. Countries like China exploit this with unbalanced agreements like the China-Nigeria trade deal, which should be renegotiated or even scrapped. We have around 29 outdated multilateral and bilateral treaties, some written before our independence in 1959. These agreements need thorough review and potential revision to better serve our national interests.
It is important to recognise that the residents of Paris continue to receive financial support from Mali and Niger. This situation challenges the notion of true sovereignty for a country.
Maritime governance, that’s my specialty, Mr President. Thank you very much for creating that Ministry. It will be a cash cow if the necessary laws are in place. For instance, I once told Mr President that I was your surveyor. You had asked me to survey your land, which you believed was only a thousand square metres. I informed you that it was actually five thousand, and you said, “Really? Please fence it!”
I was also part of the team that studied Nigeria’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Additionally, Nigeria was one of eight countries that the United Nations Ocean Strategy Giving Programme (UNOS-GPO) granted an additional 150 nautical miles of EEZ. Yet, we are not capitalising on these opportunities. The Chinese, for example, including the top restaurants in Hong Kong, refer to our prawns as “Nigerian tiger prawns.” We are also one of the world leaders in tuna. We have tremendous wealth in our aquatic systems, but it’s a shame we don’t fully understand how to utilise it. Strong and effective laws are crucial to unlocking this potential.
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The last time I spoke I said; we need to have a coast guard. How can you not have a coast guard? Anyone can come to your place, steal your fish in the night and run away. Mr President, it is crucial to have a coast guard for all sorts of things.
The National Assembly must be specific! No more starting work at 11:00am after arriving at 9:00am and leaving by 12:00pm. They must be present for the people.
Mr President, in four years, I want to see you looking older, worn out from dedicating yourselves to the immense work of the National Assembly. It must be achievable, not mere lip service. There’s no point in promising everything and doing nothing. It must be relevant and time-bound, accomplished within the first four years.
We are a nation blessed with so much. No harsh climate, abundant resources… What, then, holds us back? It is, simply, leadership.
Mr President, I can only offer you my best wishes. Nigerians do not crave the spectacle of court cases between the APC and PDP. Those are internal matters for those parties. We simply desire happiness under your leadership. That is all we ask.
