On Monday, Kingsley Moghalu, a former Young Progressive Party presidential candidate in the 2019 general elections, voiced his disapproval of President Bola Tinubu’s response to the Patriots group’s demand for immediate constitutional revision in Nigeria.
In an effort to push for a new constitution, the Patriots, led by former Commonwealth Secretary-General Chief Emeka Anyaoku, recently met with President Tinubu.
Although Tinubu welcomed group with deference, he made it clear that his top focus at the moment is economic change.
However, Moghalu, a Patriots group member, contended in a statement released on Monday through X that constitutional reform and economic change are inextricably intertwined.
He said, “I respectfully disagree with President Bola Tinubu‘s response to the visit to him by The Patriots, led by former Commonwealth Secretary-General Chief Emeka Anyaoku, during which the group (of which I am a member) pressed for a new Constitution for Nigeria as a matter of urgency, and recommending specific steps to achieve this.
Noting that “Nigeria is a country but not yet a nation,” the former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria underlined the significance of nationhood for economic development.
He said, “There is no unity of purpose, no cohering worldview. And this is because the country means different things to different groups.”
Moghalu used historical analogies to warn of the possible repercussions of postponing constitutional reform.
“Nigeria as a pluralistic country that refuses to turn its plurality into a workable nationhood through an appropriate federal constitution, runs the risk of disintegration in the medium to long term,” he added.
Reiterating his worries about Nigeria’s trajectory, Moghalu cited his 2018 book “Build, Innovate and Grow (BIG).”
Nigeria today appears rudderless, with no particular direction. Our country has no purposeful destiny that we can say with conviction is our lodestar. Our citizens are increasingly unsure of what being a Nigerian means,” he stated.
“I urge President Tinubu to take this matter with the seriousness it deserves,” said Moghalu, pleading with the president to reevaluate the significance of constitutional reform.
