NIGERIANS NEED NEW CONSTITUTION AND ABOLISH THE 1999 DECREE DOCUMENTS _by Hon Fidel Odiase_

NIGERIANS NEED NEW CONSTITUTION AND   ABOLISH THE  1999  DECREE DOCUMENTS

 _by Hon Fidel Odiase_ 

The conclusion of the 1998-99 transition to civil rule programme had raised hopes of abatement of the several conflicts plaguing the Nigerian federation. However, so many years later, the country is still wracked by various violent conflicts. The central issues in contemporary conflict manifestations revolve around the practice of federalism and the workings of the federal structure. There are no institutional mechanisms for mediating and/or resolving conflict. Given the multi-ethnic, multinational character of the state, a properly compacted constitution should serve as an instrument for addressing these problems. However, Nigeria's constitutional experience has not prepared it for this. The transition programme provided the country with an opportunity to fashion a long-term constitution-based approach to conflict resolution. 

The 1999 Constitution, however, failed the tests of acceptability, first, through the process by which it was given (rather than negotiated), and second, through its specific provisions on several contentious issues at the heart of the conflicts plaguing the state. These include citizenship, fiscal federalism, regional autonomy and allocation of powers between the federal and state governments and between the executive and legislature/judiciary. Any long-term solution must rest on proper constitution engineering and fundamental restructuring of the federal estate without necessarily abrogating the state.