A former Minister of Education, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, has described the ongoing constitutional amendment efforts by the National Assembly as a “charade” and a waste of public funds.
Speaking during her keynote address at the 7th Penpushing anniversary lecture titled “Reworking Nigeria’s Federalism: Perspectives on Restructuring and Fiscal Federalism,” Ezekwesili said the process is meaningless without a complete overhaul of the current constitution.
“The ongoing constitutional amendment cannot work, it cannot address our problem, it is a charade and sheer waste of resources. The demand for a new constitution is a matter of life and death,” she said.
She likened Nigeria’s current structure to a defective building, arguing that minor adjustments won’t fix the deep-rooted problems. “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 same with nation building,” she stated.
According to her, what the country needs is a constitution created by the people, not elite politicians. “This expensive charade that the National Assembly is embarking on and spending money on won’t take us anywhere,” she said.
Ezekwesili urged the media to lead the push for a people-driven constitutional conference. “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 conversation around things that will make us make progress and make Nigeria work for all of us.”
She said such a process must be inclusive, transparent, and result in a referendum. “We need a constituent assembly elected by the people; they sit, discuss the issues that make fiscal federalism work, and come out with proposals eligible to become the new constitution, which should then be put before the people in a referendum,” she added.
Citing Kenya as an example, she said, “This is what Kenya did after almost collapsing, and since then, you never hear them talking about break-up. They will talk about the need for good leaders.”
Ezekwesili also warned that the current political system has been taken over by what she called a “criminal enterprise gang.”
“Unfortunately, today’s politics has been hijacked. What we now have is a criminal enterprise gang—this is not only in Nigeria but across the continent. They have 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 made to continue,” she said.
She stressed that the demand for restructuring and a new constitution goes beyond regional interest. According to her, a new, people-driven constitution is essential for resolving insecurity, unemployment, poverty, and general maladministration in the country.
“There is nothing that is mysterious about good governance. This thing has been done elsewhere and could be replicated here in the country,” she said.
Also speaking at the event, Nigeria’s former High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Sarafadeen Ishola, said the federal system in Nigeria exists only in principle and fails in practice.
He stated, “True federalism is not only about devolution of power but about responsible governance, institutional clarity, fiscal equity, and citizen-driven accountability.”
Ishola called on Nigerians to view restructuring not as a sectional demand, but as a necessary national rebirth to fix systemic failures.
Earlier, Penpushing Media founder, Mr. Dimeji Kayode-Adedeji, said the aim of the annual lecture is to stimulate informed conversations that could move Nigeria forward. He highlighted the platform’s contributions to journalism training and its efforts to uplift society through public service initiatives.
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