The Current Demand For Restructuring Is About Justice, Equity And Fairness; And Not About The Republican Constitution Of 1963: A Rejoinder To Simon Kolawole On Restructuring And The 1963 Constitution, By David Adenekan.

“It is very important to say the current agitation for restructuring vis-à-vis; Resource Control is not about bringing back or, reviving an outdated or expiring working document of 1963 in a digital age of 2021”…. David Adenekan. 

"Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely". 

Yes, this is not about the 1963 Constitution as enunciated by Simon Kolawole. 

To start with, nobody is repudiating the statement of facts and correlations between 1963 and 1999 constitutions as espoused and enunciated by Simon Kolawole. 

However, the fundamental question is; who wrote and codified the 1960, 1963 and 1999 constitutions? 

Two: Did all of these constitutions emanate from the people? 

Three: Is the sovereign power of a constitution not residual in the people? 

Four: Was the 1960 and 1963 Constitutions not handed over to the people by the colonial masters and therein, laced with imperialist interests?

Five: Was the fraudulent 1999 Constitution, not masterminded by the military regime whose political interests tilted in favor of the northern oligarchy? How do we reconcile Lagos state with a population of about 20 million people and only has 20 local government councils that are collecting federal allocations, compared with Kano state with a far lesser population, and then, it has about fifty local government councils that are collecting federal allocations? 

Moreover, restructuring and devolution of powers cannot be a revision of past constitutions because; the dynamic of today's world is different from what we had about half a century ago. 

Also, the world is evolving and to try to equate or compare the demand for a real people's Constitution with a Constitution that was handed over in the past by the colonial masters or military administration, is not just logical.

Suffice to say, what the agitators of restructuring, vis-à-vis; Resource Control are clamoring for, is a people's Constitution based on justice, equity and fairness. A classic example is that, the current revenue allocation formula is unfair and unjust to the real landowners (indigenous people) as they are not getting a fair share to develop their states or regions. The extreme poverty in most of these states is at an alarming rate. This is very sad and pathetic indeed!

In addition, the security architecture of the country, in the 1999 Constitution, was designed to, dominate and subjugate some sections of the country. How do we explain putting the management of the security of about 200 million people in the exclusive hands of the central government? To establish this fact, the Commissioner of Police in Lagos state will not take orders from the sitting Governor unless the Commissioner of Police in the state gets a direct approval from Aso Rock (the seat of the Federal Government).

It is in light of these salient issues that the convocation of a Sovereign National Conference to determine the fate of many nationalities in the contraption called Nigeria cannot be overemphasized.

Yes, this ought to be the foundation of a people's oriented government. This is, if they all agreed to stay together as one country and subscribe to a new social contract that will meet the demands of the 21st century, industrial revolution.
In the final analysis, the growing waves of agitation for restructuring or secession is because, some of the items in the Exclusive List of the 1999 Constitution are not based on justice, equity and fairness. Some of these items in the so-called Exclusive List are giving the federal government too much power to take the people for granted.

According to Montesquieu, a French philosopher, "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely". 

Again, it is very important to say the current agitation for restructuring vis-à-vis; Resource Control is not about bringing back or, reviving an outdated or expiring working document of 1963 in a digital age of 2021. 
Yes, this is not about the 1963 Constitution as enunciated by Simon Kolawole. 

THIS IS ABOUT JUSTICE, EQUITY AND FAIRNESS.

Enough is enough! Give power back to the people and let them decide on how they want to be governed!!

Only time will tell!!

David Adenekan writes from Chicago, Illinois.