By Yunusa Abubakar
The Civil Society Organization (CSO), the Movement for National Reformation (MNR), stated that it will not permit the champions of ethnic chauvinism to extinguish civil democracy, no matter its imperfections.
It was recalled that during the nationwide demonstrations against hunger and hardship, photos and videos of protesters in Kano waving the Russian flag went viral. The demonstrators chanted in Hausa, “We don’t want bad government.”
Hundreds of mostly underaged youths urged President Vladimir Putin of Russia to intervene in Nigeria.
“We are raising the Russian flag because we believe Tinubu is following the scripts of his imperial masters—the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the United States of America,” a protester reportedly told TheCable.
Reacting to the development, a statement jointly signed by National Vice Chairman HRH Dr. Samuel Adai Onimisi and National Secretary Dr. Philip Ideawor urged the youths to embrace dialogue.
Reading the text at a press conference in Abuja yesterday,MRN convener,Da Jonathan Sunday Akuns said those who are converting the platform of the “end bad governance” protest to advocate for the dismemberment of Nigeria, or calling for a military coup and flying the flags of foreign countries, are existential threats to the sovereignty and national interests of Nigeria.
“Consequently, we in MNR wish to urge President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to thoroughly investigate such unpatriotic acts and bring the culprits to justice.
“We urge citizens to embrace dialogue and conversation, as initiated by the national broadcasts of President Tinubu, regarding the policies of the Federal Government aimed at revamping the economy and restoring sociopolitical balance in Nigeria.”
Jonathan added that while MNR recognizes that some of President Tinubu’s policies have not sufficiently addressed the challenges faced by Nigerians, it strongly condemns proponents of regime change outside of the ballot box.
“We are also concerned about the silence of Federal Government Ministers, especially the Ministers of Defence, Police, and Information, in addressing the protesters to complement the President’s broadcast.”
While calling for a new constitution, Jonathan said that since its inception in December 1992, the MNR has been a strong advocate for restructuring Nigeria based on true federal tenets, where the federating units, as elsewhere in the comity of nations, play a significant role.
“We at MNR are of the view that the return to democratic civilian governance since 1999 has provided us a golden opportunity to re-examine the legitimacy of many constitutional issues, including the federal structure of Nigeria.
“This requires a reset and a paradigm shift away from the distorted federalism foisted on the Federal Republic of Nigeria by the heavy reliance on decrees during the long periods of military interregnums from 1966 to 1979 and 1983 to 1999.
“The broad agitation for the restructuring of Nigeria is anchored on the demand to restore and revive true federalism in Nigeria, as the document currently dubbed the 1999 Constitution is a unitary document that emerged from Military Decree 24 of 1999.
“It did not derive from a consensus of ‘We the People’ of Nigeria as the basis of a republican and democratic document, as was the case with the 1963 Constitution.
“This vitiates the document dubbed the 1999 Constitution of any iota of legitimacy. Since the 1963 Constitution was suspended and never abrogated, it remains the only legitimate federal constitution that our Founding Fathers bequeathed to the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“Therefore, a restoration of the 1963 Constitution is the wish of all indigenous ethnic nationalities in Nigeria.
“This is a critical element of the manifestos of MNR, NADECO, PRONACO, and Nigeria’s indigenous ethnic nationalities.
“We agree with the youths that things are very bad, and it is quite understandable if they have no confidence in politicians and some elders. However, we believe that the effective strategy is to first address the structural problems.”