The Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Chief Gani Adams, has made a case for the review of the 1999 Constitution, stressing that Nigeria cannot move forward with it.
Aare Adams was speaking at an event in Lagos on Monday to mark this year’s Democracy Day and the 30th anniversary of the 12th of June, 1999 election.
‘We cannot achieve much if our democracy is tied to the 1999 Constitution which we are using presently in Nigeria today. The 1979 and 1999 Constitutions are tools the military imposed on us to preserve their atrocity.
‘The Constitution has always remained the bane of Nigeria that is why we are in the place we are today because of the 1979 and 1999 Constitutions; that is one of the problems Nigeria cannot move forward today,’ Adams said at the event with the theme, June 12, 1993, Identity Politics and the National Question: Thirty Years After.
The Yoruba leader called on President Bola Tinubu to resolve the constitutional issue which he maintained will continue to stall the progress of the nation if not taken care of.
He also appealed to the president to come up with a policy direction that has a human face, saying that it will be disastrous if Nigeria continues to suffer under this new administration.
‘I think the new President should find a way to resolve this issue that will pin the progress of this country. If we do not review or overhaul the 1999 Constitution, I don’t believe Nigeria can move forward. Unless we embrace regionalism and let the federating units develop at their own pace, Nigeria will find it very difficult to realize its lofty dreams.
‘The new administration in power led by should come out with policy direction that has a human face. Nigeria has suffered a lot; it will be disastrous if we continue to suffer under this administration,’ he said.
It’s been thirty years since the annulled 1999 election which was won by the presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) Moshood Abiola and Aare Adam believes sustaining democracy means Abiola did not die in vain.