Mike Ozekhome, a well-known Nigerian legal expert, recently highlighted the pressing need for a thorough revision of Nigeria’s constitution to better represent the nation’s diverse makeup. He stated that a constitution is akin to a nation’s birth certificate, outlining the rules by which its citizens coexist.
Ozekhome pointed out that countries with pluralistic societies, such as Switzerland, Sweden, and India, have successfully integrated diversity into their constitutions, often through referendums.
This inclusive approach has fostered “unity in diversity,” unlike nations like Yugoslavia, the USSR, and Czechoslovakia, which fragmented due to their inability to manage diversity effectively.
He drew a parallel with Sudan, which recently split because its leaders failed to incorporate its diversity into the constitutional framework.
Reflecting on a historic conversation between Nigerian leaders in the 1940s, Ozekhome recalled how Nnamdi Azikiwe advocated for unity despite differences, while Tafawa Balewa emphasized that Nigeria’s ethnic and religious diversity could not be ignored.
Ozekhome’s message underscores the importance of acknowledging and respecting Nigeria’s diverse identities to create a more cohesive nation.
In his own words, “Let me tell you why we need to really look at our constitution. The constitution is the birth certificate of a nation, right? It sets out how we live together—the rules of engagement.”
He further said, “That was why, I think I said it here some time ago, or somewhere else, when Tafawa Balewa and Nnamdi Azikiwe were having a conversation in the 1940s, Zik told Balewa, “Let us be together as one people.
Let us take our differences together as one people.” The answer that Balewa gave him was, “No, we can’t be one people. We are different. You are an Igbo man, an Easterner, and a Christian. I’m a Northerner, a Fulani, and a Muslim….Viêw_ More
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