History Of The Nigerian Constitution And Its Subsequent Amendments - Politics - Nairaland
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| History Of The Nigerian Constitution And Its Subsequent Amendments by jpphilips(m): 4:45pm On Aug 23, 2017 |
Since the sinus of lies and outright misinformation that has pervaded our social media space, I have taken it as a duty to educate Nigerians on the history and steps that birth the various constitutions recognised globally as the current Nigerian constitution. The first body of written law for the area that later became known as Nigeria was the Act of 1862 which provided for the colonial administration of Lagos. This was followed by the Southern Nigeria Act of 1906 and the Amalgamation Act of 1914. The Clifford Constitution of 1922, named after the Governor, Sir Hugh Clifford, was however the first Constitution by the name. The Constitution was made following agitation by nationalists at that time. With the introduction of the Clifford Constitution, for the first time in the history of the country, local subjects were elected into the Legislative Council of 46 members (three from Lagos and one from Calabar). After the Second World War, the wave of the struggle against colonialism reached our shores. In response, a review of the Clifford Constitution was initiated by Britain. In 1946, the Richards Constitution named after Governor Sir Arthur Richards was adopted. An uproar was sparked in civil society and nationalist circles following their non-consultation during the drafting of the Richards Constitution. This led to a series of activities that culminated in the making of the Macpherson Constitution of 1951 also named after the then Governor Sir John Macpherson. Having learnt from the experience, the British ensured that process was given due attention and before the Macpherson Constitution was promulgated into law, the draft was debated at village, district, provincial and regional levels. In addition, there was a general conference held in Ibadan to discuss the draft. On the 9th of January, 1950, a General Conference of representatives from all parts of Nigeria started a meeting in Ibadan to map out the future system of Government in Nigeria with the recommendations of the Regional Conferences as the working documents. The Macpherson Constitution ran into a crisis of implementation, leading to the 1953 London Conference and the 1954 Lagos Conference culminating in the promulgation of the Lyttleton Constitution in October, 1954. Under that Constitution, Nigeria became a Federation of three regions: Northern, Western and Eastern regions, removing the elements of unitarism contained in the 1951 Constitution. In preparation for independence, the London Constitutional conferences of 1957 and 1958 were held, leading to the 1960 Independence Constitution. In 1963, the Republican Constitution was made. The 1979 Constitution was prepared by a Constitution Drafting Committee made up of 49 men, and later reviewed by a Constituent Assembly while the draft of the 1989 Constitution was debated by an elected Constituent Assembly (with one-third of the members appointed by the Military regime), and fundamental alterations to their draft were effected through another review process undertaken by the regime. A Constitutional Conference was convened to discuss the 1994 Constitution. However, the election into the conference was boycotted in the South-West, as a result of protests against the annulment of the June 12, 1993 election. More than one-third of the membership of the conference was appointed by the Gen. Sani Abacha regime. The 1999 Constitution was promulgated into law by the military regime of General Abdulsalami Abubakar after the Constitution Debate Co-ordinating Committee led by Justice Niki Tobi submitted its report. The Tobi Committee had barely two months to consult with Nigerians before submitting its report. On 19th October, 1999, President Obasanjo inaugurated the Presidential Technical Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, to co-ordinate and collate the views and recommendations from individuals and groups for a review of the 1999 Constitution. At the time of submission of its report, the word technical had dropped out of the name of the committee, obviously in response to the criticism that constitution-making should not be regarded as a purely technical affair. The Committee, which was initially made up of eighteen members (six from each of the registered Political parties: People’s Democratic Party, All Peoples Party and Alliance for Democracy) was increased to twenty-four to accommodate more women. Having learnt from these experiences, Constitution Review Committee of the National Think Tank will examine all provisions of the 1999 Constitution, identify those clauses that do not meet the country’s needs at this time, suggest new articles, and make recommendations on the processes required to canvass further country-wide opinion to produce an acceptable Constitution. The aim shall be to produce a document that will provide for the achievement of a stable political and constitutional order that promotes development and aids the conquest of poverty, hunger, disease and ignorance, while also guaranteeing citizens the rule of law as well as acting as the bedrock for a strong, united and democratic Nigeria. Members of the Constitution Review Committee, who are gathered, are renowned experts in constitutional law, Senior Advocates of Nigeria, distinguished legal practitioners and prominent members of other professions. They will review thoroughly, all the materials and proposals emanating from the National Political Reform Conference, the Presidential Technical Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, the National Assembly Joint Committee on Constitutional Reform and the pro-National Conference Organizations (PRONACO). They will also examine international experience in constitution-making in emerging democracies, canvass opinions and memoranda throughout the country and amongst all spectra of civil society, governments at all levels, political parties, organized labour and academia. The report of the Constitution Review Committee of the National Think Tank, along with the expected huge volume of appendices, will be made available to the National Assembly, as a solid basis for any Government programme to review the 1999 Constitution. That is to say, we envisage that the report of our committee will be an invaluable aide memoire for the apparatus of government to locate its bearing in making the requisite constitutional amendments without seeking to, as it were, reinvent the wheel. This exercise is the National Think Tank’s contribution to Nigeria’s earnest desire to make a document which will unite, uplift and guide us as a Nation, and be true to the declaration in the existing document’s preamble: “We the people of Nigeria… do hereby make, enact and give to ourselves the following Constitution”. This was the rigorous process that birth the 1999 constitution as amended by the Obj administration. http://www.nationalthinktank.org/1999-constitution-of-the-federal-republic-of-nigeria/ 3 Likes 1 Share |
| Re: History Of The Nigerian Constitution And Its Subsequent Amendments by jpphilips(m): 4:45pm On Aug 23, 2017 |
How long are we gonna continue being fed lies by enemies of Nigeria masquerading as freedom fighters? 1 Like |
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