Last Call For A Referendum To Save Nigeria From Catastrophe
By Chief (Barr.) Malcolm Omirhobo
LAGOS JUNE 11TH (NEWSRANGERS)-I find the just concluded primary elections of the Peoples Democratic Party and All Progressives Congress party characterised by greed , dishonesty , fraud and bribery as shameful , absurd, imprudent, an insult to the sensibilities and intelligence of Nigerians and consequently unacceptable . The police, the Economy and Financial Crime Commission and Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission did not help matters as they condoned bribery of such an embarrassing and gargantuan proportion , looking the other way as party delegates sold out the peoples’ mandate to the highest bidders. More damning is the fact that majority of the participants of the said primaries have not been able to explain the source of their wealth and also have not been able to answer the tons of corruption, fraud and criminal allegations against them.
In view of the above, I am calling for the immediate cancellation of the party primaries and the 2023 Nigeria general elections and in their stead the conduct of a referendum to save Nigeria from CATASTROPHE .
It is never too late and it is better late than never for the over two hundred and fifty ethnic nationalities in Nigeria expressed in thirty six states and a Federal Capital Territory to sit-down in brotherhood to renegotiate their coexistence and the structure of a new Nigeria via a referendum .
Conducting a referendum may be complex and tedious but it is possible if we want . The truth of the matter is that we can make the difference if we put country first before self, tribe and religion . The same energy, resources and timeline used for the conduct of the sham called party primaries is enough to conduct a referendum for Nigeria .
To conduct a referendum ,we do not need to create a new wheel as we have the Nigerian 1963 constitution to revert to , the Aburi accord of 1967 to look at and the Nigerian 1999 constitution to work with by simply devolving powers to the component parts of Nigeria to give them the powers and freedom that they need to prosper in a one Nigeria . Sure , It is that simple if we care and want it .
l am making this last call for us to stop the unwise choice of going on with the 2023 elections built on corruption and the stolen mandates of people . I am making this last call for us to stop building the future and foundation of Nigeria on quicksand and false unity . This last call is important because now we have the liberty to talk and the opportunity for those who want to be part of a great , united strong and powerful Nigeria to subscribe to it or unsubscribe without coercion , bad blood or rancur.
You may ask why call for the cancellation of the election ? Why can’t we go on with it just in case any of the other political parties, like the labour wins the election? . This arguement , I say is nothing but mere permutation because what happens if the other political parties losses to either PDP or APC ? Besides the way Nigeria is presently constituted and configured even if a saint wins the forth coming presidential election he will still have the problems of the structure , unity , insecurity and prosperity of Nigeria to contend with . All of which a referendum can solve but an election cannot .
So my take on all these is why don’t we sort out the structural , unity , insecurity and prosperity problems of Nigeria first before the election and not after the election? To me going on with the election without first conducting a referendum tantamount to cooking an expensive and delicious pot of soup with a leaking pot, without first patching the pot or getting a new pot to avoid waste .
It is imperative that we heed to this last call for a referendum failing which must be prepared for anarchy or senseless war .
Chief (Barr.) Malcolm Omirhobo, a human right activist writes from Lagos
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