RECENTLY, President Goodluck Jonathan inaugurated the Justice Mohammed Belgore-led committee to review outstanding constitutional issues, so as to generate recommendations that would be translated into draft bills for the National Assembly to turn into amendments in the Constitution.This step, according to the president, 'is a clear demonstration of the unshakeable commitment of this administration to strengthening the bonds of our national unity; and to resolve to provide new answers to old problems.'Given the current multi-faceted challenges facing the country, there is no better time than now, to resolve to provide lasting solution to the drifting statecraft. Many stakeholders have stated over and again that beneath the perennial problems of retarded development, rampant offences bordering on treason, crass corruption in public office and the dearth of patriotism are constitutional questions that were left unresolved for decades and which have now fossilized.So, when Jonathan decided to confront these age-long issues via a broad-based committee of 21 respectable Nigerians, the first impression is that, this, perhaps, is a good time to repackage Nigeria. To leave the country in this flustered state without fundamental changes at policy, administrative and structural levels could amount to a deferment of judgment day.In giving a term of reference to the committee, the president listed what he referred to as 'outstanding issues', which, according to him, had been agreed upon at various parleys in time past, but so far, no progress had been recorded in terms of implementation. They are national security; human rights and social security; people's charter and social obligations; environment and natural resources; models and structure of government; public service; power sharing; local government reforms andthe economy.Others are judiciary and legal reforms; constitutional amendments pertaining to the public service; anti-corruption; state and local government joint account; traditional institutions and cultural reforms; and civil society, labour, trade unions and national media reforms, amongst many others.Each of these items is weighty and will, no doubt, require detailed discussion by all segments of the polity in order to forge a good, fresh beginning for the country.National security is one item the federal government alone cannot confront. National security requires that political and traditional leaderships at all levels operate on the same page, while offenders are not given protection under the cover of religion or ethnicity. To do this, stakeholders must understand and agree to the inviolability of the union and teach this to their children, religious adherents and political followers.On human rights, Nigeria continues to score embarrassing performance among countries ranked by the global Human Rights Watch, not just because security personnel are unruly and bestial most times, but also because fundamental rights are perennially abused due to the failure of governments.When children of school age are on the streets instead of learning skills in schools, it abridges their capacity to fully enjoy their fundamental rights. When innocent people are permanently locked in detention, instead of being charged to court, it denies them legal rights.At present, very few state governments know what social security is all about and it is high time the law (Constitution) was made to compel governments to make provisions for groups that are socially disadvantaged ' the aged, unemployed and the mentally challenged.The 1999 Constitution, even with recent amendments, provides in Chapter Two (Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy) the social, environmental, educational, economic and political objectives of government. This section explains the obligations of the State to citizens and also the duties citizens owe to the State.Perhaps, this is what the president refers to as social charter, and it is interesting that for once, a leader is concerned about this important chapter. This is one chapter of the Constitution that politicians do not want to talk about because it reminds them of their responsibilities, which they do not want to carry.What the Belgore Committee owes Nigerians is to make recommendations that could compel the political class to compulsorily implement the chapter to the letter, and also empower citizens to demand accountability from the leadership.On models and structures of government, it is hoped that the committee will not allow the greed of the political class to limit its works. This is one fundamental area that impinges on governance and development. So far, the present model and structure of government appears to be too expensive.Some eminent Nigerians have reminded the political class of the advantages of other models, like the prime-ministerial model, which was in operation before the collapse of the First Republic. They have talked about the waste in a bi-cameral legislature, which at the end of the day gulps more money than what is expended on capital projects. But the political class does not want to hear about that because the status pays them. This is the time to revisit all that.ON power sharing, the federal government, in all these decades, has failed to justify its huge share of power and authority. The undue centralization of key instruments of development at Abuja has not posted rewarding results for the country.Apart from finance, defence and international affairs, which seem too delicate to delegate to lower authorities, it's about time the federal government liberalised its stronghold on other areas. For instance, the federal policing system has not produced optimum result and some people are asking that states should operate their own police side by side the federal law enforcement.The energy policy that places the electricity authority solely at the centre is obsolete; states, local governments and individuals should be encouraged to invest in electricity as a product.There are other federal bodies that are over-centralised, and their products do not receive wide acceptability. For instance, why should a federal agency located in faraway Abuja conduct population census for Lagos State, whereas, it is the state government that bears responsibility for all the demographic assets and liabilities'The state/local joint accounting system (Section 162) is a constitutional provision that envisaged an enlightened situation whereby states could apply checks on the finances of local governments. The provision did not envisage a situation where state assemblies could collude with governors to defraud local governments, which is what is happening. An amendment of this Section, to give councils financial autonomy, but allow state assemblies to oversee councils' activities will make a lot of sense.On traditional institutions, the 1999 Constitution has been silent. Some argue that traditional institutions have no business in a republic. But increasingly ' and due to failure of governments at all levels ' the traditional institution has been inadvertently brought in to play some roles.The challenges of national security have carved a role for traditional rulers who, in some cases, as also religious leaders, are very powerful and respected in their domains.Therefore, without being listed in the Constitution, traditional institutions already enjoy a lot of privileges. Occupants of traditional stools are paid salaries, paid medical allowances, flown abroad for medical attention when necessary and their palaces are maintained with public finance.It is up to the committee to decide what to do with the traditional institution.APART from these issues listed by the president as outstanding, other sensitive matters such as fiscal federalism/resource control, tenure and power sharing among the geo-political zones are also unresolved.Possibly, the president is careful not to list everything, so that he does not incur the wrath of segments of the populace, like he did when he muted the idea of one-term tenure for president and governors.Smarting from the dangerous contest for the 2011 presidential election, Jonathan thought it was fair to recommend a model that would not be so costly and damaging for the polity. But he was wrong. Some thought he wanted tenure elongation, while others felt he wanted to deny their zones full eight years of presidency.Contest for the presidency is a difficult assignment and the last one almost collapsed the country. So, the committee ought to look seriously at the issue of tenure and how quickly every geo-political zone tastes power at the centre; that is if the centre remains.Others will disagree with the president for inaugurating a committee, instead of summoning a Constituent Assembly for the purpose of writing a fresh Constitution. To call a constituent assembly like the one former President Obasanjo called in 2005, at a volatile time like this, could send wrong signals.Accordingly, the president said: 'I am confident that the maturity, composition, procedures and response capacity of our national institutions are sufficient for the needs of the nation. We have the competence, temperance and depth of vision to tackle all the issues involved to ensure the best outcome for the nation.'Not too radical, but sensible enough.
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