Renowned constitutional lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mike Ozekhome, has described the 1999 Constitution as a “curse” hindering Nigeria’s progress, insisting that no number of amendments can resolve the country’s deep-rooted problems.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, Ozekhome dismissed the ongoing efforts to revise the constitution, stating that the document, handed down by the military, lacks legitimacy and is fundamentally flawed.
“What we need is a brand-new constitution that is people-driven. You can’t amend a bad document. A document that is already afflicted with an ailment cannot be amended,” he said.
Using a metaphor to buttress his point, the Senior Advocate argued, “If your house is cracking, the solution is not to patch the walls endlessly. You rebuild. Amendment, one million times, cannot solve the problem.”
Ozekhome faulted the military’s imposition of the constitution in 1999, saying it was not the product of popular consensus and has continued to concentrate power in the centre, to the detriment of regional development and autonomy.
He said that Nigeria’s political, economic, and security challenges are a direct result of a “unitary system disguised as federalism,” and warned that continued reliance on the document would only deepen national discontent.
The senior lawyer also called for an urgent return to the people’s will through the drafting of a new constitution that reflects modern realities, regional aspirations, and genuine federalism.
