An elder statesman, Ayo Adebanjo, had said President Bola Tinubu and his colleagues who were South-West Governors in 1999 failed Nigerians.
The chieftain of the Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere, said the former governors were scared to insist on a new constitution when they were in power and had the opportunity to do so.
He said Tinubu and his colleagues failed to demand a Sovereign National Conference after the then-military Head of State, Abdulsalami Abubakar, decided to return the country to democracy after the death of ex-military dictator Sani Abacha.
Naija News reports that Adebanjo stated these during an appearance on Inside Sources with Laolu Akande, which was aired on Channels Television on Friday.
The elder statesman said Tinubu now has the opportunity to rewrite the 1999 Constitution as President, having failed to insist on federalism as Lagos governor in 1999.
He said a brand-new people’s constitution will end some of the existential problems in the country, especially the menace of insecurity, as a people’s constitution will make room for state police.
Adebanjo said, “There was a clamour for a Sovereign National Conference at that time (in the buildup to the 1999 election). The military said they were going back to the barracks, and we said, ‘Well, go back to the barracks with your constitution; it’s your baggage and return us to where you met us. If you are not going to do that, schedule another conference, and we will agree on how to live together.
“He said the Yoruba socio-political group Afenifere refused to participate in any deliberations with the Abdulsalami Abubakar regime but later agreed to participate in the 1999 election after getting assurances that there would be a Sovereign National Conference thereafter. So, we contested that election on protest.
“This is why I disagreed with ex-Governors (Bisi) Akande and (Segun) Osoba. When we were campaigning for them to be governors, it was on the heels of federalism and the Sovereign National Conference.
“We insisted that the constitution must be changed. So, when we (Alliance for Democracy) came in, we got the people’s mandate; we won the election in the whole of the Western Region. We told all our governors, including Bola Tinubu, not to go to Abuja until the Federal Government changed the constitution, but they chickened out; they were involved in the paraphernalia of office. That is the beginning of Nigeria’s struggle.”