Apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, has called for the immediate convocation of a Sovereign National Conference to produce what it described as a constitution that genuinely reflects the aspirations, diversity and democratic ideals of Nigerians.
In a statement issued on Wednesday and signed by its factional President-General, Chief Omenazu Jackson, the group argued that none of Nigeria’s constitutions had emerged from the sovereign will of the people, insisting that the country’s constitutional history has been shaped by colonial authorities and successive military regimes.
According to Ohanaeze, the colonial constitutions, including the Clifford Constitution of 1922, Richards Constitution of 1946, Macpherson Constitution of 1951 and Lyttleton Constitution of 1954, were designed by the British colonial administration to advance imperial interests rather than the aspirations of Nigerians.
The group also contended that the Independence Constitution of 1960 and the Republican Constitution of 1963 were products of elite negotiations rooted in colonial structures and did not emerge from a sovereign constituent process involving the Nigerian people.
It further maintained that the 1979 Constitution, the aborted 1989 constitutional experiment and the current 1999 Constitution were all products of military rule and lacked the legitimacy that comes from popular participation and approval through a referendum.
Ohanaeze said the absence of a people-driven constitution had contributed to persistent national challenges, including disputes over federalism, resource control, devolution of powers, state police, electoral reforms, fiscal justice and national cohesion.
The organisation said Nigeria could no longer continue to operate under a constitutional framework that was not freely
