Chieftain of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) Buba Galadima, in an interview conducted by Arise TV, spoke on constitutional review, proposed creation of states and state police, among other issues.
There is an ongoing public hearing on constitutional review and issues scheduled for debate include creation of 40 states as proposed by certain constituencies, electoral reform and state police.
When asked what he thought should be the priority when we seek to review the 1999 Constitution?
He responded, “Do we need to review the Nigerian constitution? What we need to review is our attitude. There is no need to amend the constitution. What we should amend is our attitude towards operating this constitution. There is no separation of powers, as you know now.
“The judiciary, legislature and executive are in the hands of one person. And this is not because the constitution did not provide for the separation of powers, but because some people have abdicated their responsibility. The two arms of government became servants of the executive. That is our problem.
“It is an attitudinal change. For the last 45 years, I fought against the idea of state police. Please, I beg Nigerians and I beg members of this National Assembly, including state assemblies, that they should never, in any circumstance, allow the creation of state police. It may be convenient for us now, but we will cry when it becomes a constitutional matter, which we cannot do away with in a simple manner.
“It will destroy democracy. As you see now, what some of those elected are doing with us, if they have the instrument of state police, the democracy we cherish is going to the winds. Throughout my time in the Constituent Assembly in 1987, Constitutional Conference in 1994 and Goodluck Jonathan’s National Conference of 2014, I have fought relentlessly against the creation of state police.
“On creation of states, do we need more states? If the legislature is only looking for money to spend from the budget, let them take the money and share. Let them leave us as we are, and let them pray and use the National Orientation Agency to change our attitude towards governance. It would be better than tampering with the Constitution.
“What we need now is electoral reform where the votes of the people should count. And this is where politicians from all political persuasions and across all parties must come together to fight for proper electoral reform. If we can not do it from this National Assembly and the other assemblies in states, please, let us talk to those that people in the government fear.
“I am not saying that we should become a British or American colony, but it is only them that can talk to those in authority in Nigeria, and they scamper for cover. Please, it is electoral reform that we only need, and that doesn’t need any constitutional amendment. The laws for the election are good enough to address that matter.”
Against the background that during the 2023 election, many things that were written as guidelines in laws were not justiciable, they said they were just guidelines. To the question, is it not time to turn those things written as guidelines into laws?
Galadima said: “You want to eat your cake and have it. You said guidelines, and you said laws are not sufficient, but you want to make them into laws. Then why don’t you make them into laws without tampering with the constitution? The issue is that the judiciary cannot stand up to what they are meant to do. That is the issue. That is attitudinal.”
When asked; how about the devolution of powers to the states and the local councils, that is also being proposed, particularly the effort to recognise local councils as a separate level of government, which is not recognised in the Constitution?
“When we started this First Republic, the local governments were fairly independent. They managed their affairs. They could not be removed by the governors. But there was something that was introduced into the Constitution by General Bashir Magashi, who was the lawyer of the military in Abacha’s Armed Forces Ruling Council, AFRC, that is still haunting us.
“When you look at the financial aspect of it, which is the key issue, money should be distributed through the tiers of government, the federal government, the state and the local governments. Therefore, money meant for each local government should be given to them directly.
“But unfortunately, there was another issue that says that in every state, there should also be a state account into which all monies should be put.
“What we, who framed the constitution, meant at that time was that the money generated within the state will be put into that account, and the State House of Assembly will now make a law on how that money should be distributed between the state and the federal government. But monies that have already been distributed from the national level should not go into that account.
“That is the only thing that needs to be addressed in the law. And the president has tried to do that, but the governors became adamant because they are stronger than the president, they can make and unmake any president, which they did to Buhari, and they arm-twisted even President Bola Tinubu, such that he was not been able to implement that independence for the local government.
“We need that because the local government is a focal point of development. In some states, there are certain communities that will never become governors of those states. So if you give them that independence and give them their money, they will manage it in a manner that they want, not for the state to tell them what they should do with the money. It is the man that wears the shoe that knows where it pinches him,” he said.
