Tony Nnadi, NINAS
13 October 2023
Comment: In the video clip above, Dr. Haruna Goroh is calling for a mass-based action that does not wait for or depend upon what the Supreme Court would do to reverse the ongoing State Capture via the Electoral Robbery currently unfolding before us. Beyond the Question of Electoral Mandate from the 2023 Presidential Election, this clarion call by Goroh pointedly invites those who genuinely seek change to look in the direction of the NINAS Union Reconfiguration Propositions as a matter of urgency before the mischief anticipated from the Supreme Court happens, especially considering the disasters that could accompany that mischief.
(The 10-Point Summary below speaks to what could guide the actions of the Victims of the 2023 Presidential Electoral Robbery who Goroh was addressing in his video podcast).
By Ben Agbo (Rev Fr)
October 10, 2023.
10 Reasons Why I Think Protesting Now for Constitutional Renegotiation (Referendum) Is Better than Protesting for Mandate Recovery
1. It tackles Nigeria’s problem from the roots rather than at the branches.
2. It guarantees a better future and a better economy.
3. It is less risky, and no one can arrest or accuse someone of a treasonable felony for asking for Referendum, Renegotiation, or even Restructuring, which has been in the Campaign mantra of many Political Parties.
4. It is not an Igbo agenda. Even the Yoruba, Niger Delta, and Middle Belt need it more than the Igbos.
5. It is easier to Transition the Country now for Constitutional Renegotiation as the Presidency of Tinubu is becoming more and more illegitimate (with his case of Certificate Forgery) than when the Supreme Court finally legitimizes it.
6. Nobody will be able to arrest Peter Obi if we protest for Constitutional Renegotiation. Even PDP, Self-Determination Agitators, Labour Unions, and Student Unions can champion the crusade. It cannot be linked to one party.
7. The difference between Constitutional Renegotiation and Constitutional Amendment is that the former is the business of the People while the latter is the business of the Legislators. The former requires Transitioning, while the latter doesn’t.
8. Even Peter Obi himself will have better chances of reforming this Country if we Transition now than if we don’t.
9. Constitutional Renegotiation is the safest grounds for alliance than mandate recovery or any form of insurrection or military intervention.
10.The Supreme Court will be left with the final choice after this protest to either unite or divide Nigeria.
Benedict Agbo (Rev Fr)
October 10, 2023.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
In this section, you will find the text of two Resolutions of NINAS Townhalls with leaders of thought (On 24 September and 8 October 2023), which are the Resolutions agreed by those who collaborate with NINAS. Also, here are two NINAS video broadcasts: one being Transitioning as Alternative to Chaos and the other being the NINAS offer of amicus curiae to the Supreme Court.
1) Resolutions Of The Second NINAS Townhall with Leaders Of Thought Across The Nigerian Society on 08 October 2023
At a Virtual Townhall Meeting of the NINAS Outreach Team with Leaders of Thought across Various Segments of the Nigerian Society, held October 8, 2023, the following Resolutions were Proposed and Adopted:
(1) That it is now past debate that the imposed Unitary Constitution of Nigeria (1999) is the Instrument by which the Sovereignty, Assets, and Rights of the Constituent Components of Nigeria are hijacked and confiscated.
(2) That the Unitary Constitution creates the system that delivers everything we now lament, including Corruption, Impunity, Insecurity, Mass Poverty, Humongous Cost of Governance, Serial Electoral Heist (including the inconclusive 2023 Presidential Election), Bad Governance, Absence of Rule of Law Infrastructural Decay, and everything else tormenting the Peoples of Nigeria.
(3) That the Unitary Constitution of Nigeria is the Tap from which ALL our Woes, Failures, and Miseries flow. That Constitution is the Chief-Enabler of the many Malfeasances exhibited by People in Power, System Failure, and Erosion of Faith in the Nigerian Union, all leading to the State Failure that Nigeria presently exemplifies.
(4) That in the light of Resolutions 1, 2, and 3 above, the Task of “Taking Back Our Country” must of necessity be first about Taking Down the Unitary Constitution of Nigeria, and that any other kind of redemptive effort that does not first deal with this Fundamental Question of Basis of Union and the Union Arrangements (i.e., the Constitution as written), is FUTILE and most probably driven by Lack of Knowledge.
(5) That it is Self-Evident that as long as the current Unitary Constitution of Nigeria remains in place, the Postulation that ”A New Nigeria Is Possible” is simply Not Logical as No New Nigeria can be built on the Imposed, Fraudulent, Unworkable Unitary Constitution of Nigeria (1999).
(6) That we must now Turn Off the Tap instead of Mopping in Futility as we have done across the last 24 years since 1999.
(7) That guided by a Cause-Effect Analysis of why Nigeria is where it is now, the Most Potent Strategy by which those who are now face-to-face with the Monstrosity of Unitary Nigeria (including those who seek Mandate Recovery) can Successfully Grapple with and Overcome the Evil System entrenched by Unitary Nigeria, is to now Elevate our Post-Election Demands to include an immediate TRANSITIONING for Constitutional Reconstruction in addition to the Question of Electoral Mandate, since the 1999 Constitution is the Direct Cause and Enabler of the Daylight Electoral Robbery executed by INEC and Ratified by the Judiciary September 6, 2023.
(8) That success in this Demand will not only oust the Impostors from Power, but it will also bring us to Transitioning for Union Reconfiguration that will deliver the Actual Changes we sought when we first plunged into the Task of Enthroning a Better Leadership in Nigeria by way of Elections, or when we first plunged into uncharted Self-Determination Campaigns such as Biafra Restoration, Oodua Republic, and Resource Control.
(9) That placing this Demand for Immediate Constitutional Reconstruction on the Table by those injured on February 25, 2023, Charade, and the Daylight Robbery of September 6, 2023, completely changes the dynamics of the Disputations around Nigeria’s Bungled 2023 Presidential Election since the Ousting of the 1999 Constitution immediately upturns whatever manipulations INEC and the Courts may have done to arrive at the Dubious Verdict of September 6, 2023.
NINAS Secretariat will be available to guide all who wish to join the urgent Task of Constitutional Reconfiguration that begins with Transitioning Arrangements.
NINAS Secretariat
Tel: +234 912 993 1551
Email: info@ninasvoice.org
2) Resolutions Of NINAS Townhall with Thought-Leaders Of Various Sectors Of The Nigerian Society, Held September 24, 2023
At the Virtual Townhall Meeting of NINAS Outreach Team with Thought-Leaders of Various Segments of the Nigerian Society, held September 24, 2023, to chart a Safe Way Forward for the Distressed Nigerian Federation in the aftermath of Nigeria’s Bungled 2023 Presidential Election amidst Nigeria’s Disputed Unitary Constitutional Arrangements, the following Resolutions are Proposed and Adopted:
(1) It is now self-evident to all in Nigeria that the Imposed Unitary Constitution of Nigeria (1999) is the source of the intractable Problems of Nigeria, including Killings, Corruption, Impunity, Mass Poverty, Insecurity, Infrastructural Decay, Bad Leadership, Serial Electoral Malfeasances, System Dysfunction, Hopelessness and State Failure, with clear and present danger of catastrophic collapse; Not Leadership as many have been led to believe, especially the younger generation. NINAS Posits that the Unworkable Unitary Constitution of Nigeria is, in fact, responsible for the Leadership Outcomes that have bedeviled Nigeria for over fifty years.
(2) In view of the fact that the Constitutional Arrangements of Nigeria are the Main Problem with Nigeria, it is self-evident that the urgent Remediation required is for Constitutional Reconstruction rather than Change of Leadership.
(3) That the Mechanism for Constitutional Reconstruction is Transitioning rather than Elections since Elections will culminate in the Reinforcement of the Disputed Constitution while Transitioning will yield new Constitutional Arrangements that could be FEDERATION, CONFEDERATION, or the Emergence of Independent Units of Successor Sovereign States from the Defunct Federation of Nigeria.
(4) That going by Resolutions 1, 2, and 3, the Action required now is for immediate Transitioning for Union Reconstruction and not Mandate Recovery.
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These Resolutions will be the Basis of NINAS Collaboration with willing groups for how we rescue ourselves from what the Union of Death Unitary Nigeria has become for its Constituent Components.
NINAS will, therefore, await the response of the groups represented in this Meeting to these Resolutions as the Basis of Collaboration.
3) Transitioning as Alternative to Chaos: Looming Constitutional Crisis. (21 May 2023)
4) Disputed 2023 Presidential Election: A Memorandum to the Supreme Court of Nigeria. (02 August 2023)