About Nigeria's Constitution

About Nigeria's Constitution

The Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary defines a constitution as the system of laws and basic principles that a state, a country of an organization is governed by.
According to Webster’s Universal Dictionary and Thesaurus; a constitution is the fundamental physical condition; disposition; temperament; structure, composition; the system of basic laws and principles of a government, society etc; a document stating these specifically.
From the above definitions we can draw that a constitution is an autobiography of a nation. It chronicles the history and developments of the nation. Nigeria as a sovereign nation has endured a chequered constitutional and political history. The various constitutional developments the country has undergone in her colonial and post – colonial era have shaped its current political landscape. The 1999 constitution which Nigeria currently operates is a product of a long constitutional history dating back to 1922 when the first constitution for the country was promulgated by Sir Hugh Clifford as part of colonialist administration’s effort to consolidate their grip on the then protectorate of Northern and Southern Nigeria. After this constitution Nigeria has witnessed incessant clamor for one form of constitution or the other. This clamor has been met with various constitutions which has in one way or the other failed to address the critical issues plaguing the country. The current constitution was enacted on 29th May, 1999 after which it has met two amendments while the third one is under review. This write-up talks about suggestions and views of persons and groups on the amendment of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Since the senate opened the window for the amendment, the SCRC has received 231 memoranda in addition to 56 other memoranda proposing the creation of additional state across the country.
Among those who have submitted memoranda to the senate panel and proffered suggestions on how to make 1999...

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