A former Minister of Education and Chief Executive Officer of Human Capital Africa, Dr Oby Ezekwesili, on Thursday knocked the National Assembly over its ongoing constitutional amendment efforts, which she described as a charade and a conduit pipe to waste public funds.
Ezekwesili lamented that Nigeria’s political space, along with much of Africa’s, has been hijacked by what she called a criminal enterprise gang that now dictates the direction of governance in their interest, while the welfare of the larger populace suffers.
The former minister stated this on Thursday in her keynote address, titled “Reworking Nigeria’s Federalism: Perspectives on Restructuring and Fiscal Federalism,” delivered at the 7th Penpushing Anniversary and Annual Lecture in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
She argued that instead of heeding widespread demands for a new constitution capable of correcting imbalances and inequalities in the current system, the National Assembly chose to pursue a process that would yield little or no meaningful change.
Ezekwesili explained that agitations for secession, widespread insecurity, unemployment, poverty, and poor governance could only be addressed through a people-driven constitution that guaranteed devolution of powers, equity, and justice across ethnic and regional lines.
“The ongoing constitutional amendment cannot work; it cannot address our problem. It is a charade and a sheer waste of resources.
The demand for a new constitution is a matter of life and death,” she said.
Using a construction analogy, she stressed the futility of trying to fix a flawed structure with patchwork solutions.
“For instance, when the engineer tells us that the foundation of a building is structurally defective, is it not to take the whole building down? Because it will continue to constitute an endangerment to the people.
“You won’t say, ‘Oga, can we just do some little adjustment to the building?’ No, it won’t work.
“And this is the same with nation-building. So this expensive charade that the National Assembly is embarking on and spending money on won’t take us anywhere,” she added.
Ezekwesili called on the media to take the lead in advocating for a new constitution that reflects the will of the people.
“The media should take the front seat and be at the vanguard of a demand for a new constitution.
“We must have a constitutional conference that enables the people of this country to have honest conversations around things that will make us make progress and make Nigeria work for all of us.
“If there is anything that will come out of this annual lecture, it must be that the media should be at the vanguard of a push for a constitutional conference, one that will enable the constituent parts of this country, a constituent assembly elected by the people, to sit, discuss the issues that make fiscal federalism work, and come out with proposals eligible for a constitution, which will then be put before the people to vote on in a referendum.
“This is what Kenya did after almost collapsing. Since then, you never hear them talking about break-ups, they talk about the need for good leaders.”
Ezekwesili emphasised that good governance is not a mystery and can be replicated in Nigeria if the political will exists.
“There is nothing mysterious about good governance. This thing has been done elsewhere and could be replicated here in the country.
“Unfortunately, today’s politics has been hijacked. What we now have is a criminal enterprise gang, and this is not only in Nigeria but across the continent.
“A criminal enterprise gang has taken hold of politics and excluded society. These people just sit at the table and slice governance in the direction that suits them. But that must not be allowed to continue,” she added.
The former minister also linked the quality of politics to the economic development of nations, warning that no real progress could be made in Africa without significant improvement in the quality of political leadership.
According to her, a true fiscal federal structure would not only promote regional autonomy and accountability but also satisfy demands for self-determination without jeopardising the unity of the country.
“Fiscal federalism will boost productivity, improve leadership capacity, and foster genuine collaboration among the regions,” she said.
Also speaking at the event, the immediate-past Nigerian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Amb Sarafadeen Ishola, stated that Nigeria’s current federalism, while adopted in principle, failed in practice.
“It neither delivers the autonomy expected by the federating units nor promotes the developmental competition required for national growth,” he said.
Amb Ishola, who chaired the occasion, emphasised that true federalism entailed not just devolution of power but also responsible governance, institutional clarity, fiscal equity, and citizen-driven accountability.
“Nigerians must not see restructuring as a sectional agenda but embrace it as a national rebirth strategy to address key challenges facing the country,” he added.
Earlier, the founder of Penpushing Media, an online platform, Mr Dimeji Kayode-Adedeji, said the annual lecture was designed to elevate national discourse and inspire solutions to Nigeria’s most pressing problems.
He said Penpushing Media continued to grow while contributing significantly to improving the national narrative through credible journalism and impactful philanthropic activities.
He added that the platform had helped train over 80 Mass Communication students from various institutions and instituted an annual award for the best graduating students in the field.
The event also featured goodwill messages from former spokesman to the late President Muhammadu Buhari, Mr Femi Adesina; Chair of the Penpushing Editorial Board and former Lagos NUJ Chair, Funke Fadugba; and the Planning Committee Chair, Dr Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, among others.
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