Time To Amend Our Lives

PROPOSED amendments to the Constitution are the latest efforts to creating a “WORKING” Nigeria, a country where the burdensomeness of politics is replaced with practical lawful steps to enhance the efficiency in governance.

Our assumption is that politicians are capable of such goodness for the common good. However, the proposed 71 amendments have ringing familiarity with the affinity of politicians to help themselves. Is the challenge with local government ADMINISTRATION, for instance, autonomy, or the non-punishment of those who devour local government resources? Will autonomy of local governments mean more accountability? Did autonomy make States accountable?

How would creation of more States make governments more answerable to the people? Why are concerns for the people never items in constitutional amendments? When would our common lives be subject of importance to politicians?

The frustration with the Constitution derives from unwillingness of its operators TO WORK for the common good? Every politician pushes for advantage in the contest, not just for power, but mainly the appropriation of our resources. The powers of their positions are used to improve their material prosperity at the expense of all Nigerians.

Lives of Nigerians are unimportant. Politicians only complain when budgetary provisions affect their welfare. The BUSINESS of catering for themselves manifests in expeditious approvals of measures that protect them from accounting to the people, the ones they claim to serve.

After almost 16 years of unbroken civilian rule, politicians fail to realise that the challenges with the Constitution are not its provisions – though some REQUIRE amendments – but the characters of those implementing the Constitution. In those years, provisions that are for the benefit of the people have been totally ignored.

Even the proposed amendments run the same course. Minimised concerns for ordinary Nigerians remain cardinal indices of our governments. Whether it is security, health, education, protection of the environment, or provision of basic infrastructure like electricity, roads, water, our governments have failed to share the agonies of millions of Nigerians who are falling into abject poverty through poor government policies.

Has the National Assembly bothered about Section 16(2d) of the Constitution? It states, “The State (country) shall direct its policy towards ensuring: that suitable and adequate shelter, suitable and adequate food, reasonable national minimum living wage, old age care and pensions, and UNEMPLOYMENT, sick benefits and welfare of the disabled are provided for all citizens”.

Provisions like this, including Section 14 (2b), “the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government,” never reflect in governments’ policies.

Constitutional amendments always overlook the non-implementation of provisions to improve lives of our people. We need care for our people more than constitutional amendments

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