‘1999 constitution can’t guarantee good governance’
Barrister Collins Aimuan, Founder and Pro-Chancellor of Philomath University, has said Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution (as amended) is incapable of guaranteeing good governance, warning that the country’s failures will be passed to future generations if citizens fail to act. He spoke in Abuja at the Good Governance Awards, where he delivered the keynote lecture on the […]
Barrister Collins Aimuan, Founder and Pro-Chancellor of Philomath University, has said Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution (as amended) is incapable of guaranteeing good governance, warning that the country’s failures will be passed to future generations if citizens fail to act.
He spoke in Abuja at the Good Governance Awards, where he delivered the keynote lecture on the theme “Good Governance: The Pathway of National Development.”
“The constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as it is, is amorphous. It cannot effectively guarantee good governance. We need a document of integration, where north, south and west will be together as a family, where religion and ethnicity will not hijack the state,” Aimuan said.
He cautioned that continued citizen apathy would worsen the situation. “The war we refuse to fight today, we will pass to our children,” he said.
- FG, others counter claims of Christians’ persecution in Nigeria
- 1 year after collapse, Kano–Maiduguri highway in Bauchi remains unfixed
The keynote speaker stressed that sovereignty belongs to the people.
“Nigeria does not belong to governors, senators, or judges. Nigeria belongs to the citizens. You are the owners of the country, and you must ensure that the people you elect are men and women of honour and integrity,” he added.
Archbishop Jonathan Maji said Nigeria remained a land of immense potential held back by volatility and poor governance, urging citizens to ensure the nation’s wealth benefits its people rather than external interests.
Dr. Sylvester Abudu Omose, convener of the Governors Today initiative, said good governance would reduce the desperation of Nigerians seeking to migrate abroad. “Your country will always be your pride if the environment allows citizens to thrive,” he said.