Babalola to AGF: give Nigeria new constitution.

Babalola to AGF: give Nigeria new constitution.

The Founder of Afe Babalola University at Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), Chief Afe Babalola (SAN), has urged the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), to work towards giving Nigeria a new Constitution.

He said in the Constitution he proposed, politics should not be regarded as a transactional business.

The legal icon noted that the new constitution “shall mandate political office holders to treat their offices as avenues for rendering service to the people and not for making money, as well as deemphasise politics as lucrative business”.

Babalola, who spoke at the weekend during a reception in honour of the Justice minister, said: “This is why many Nigerians, including myself, have been urging the government to tackle the fundamental structures that have caused the inequality and poverty in the country.”

The legal luminary stressed that tackling the N87 trillion debt the current government inherited could not be by merely scratching the surface of the fundamental problems besetting the country.

“It is a common saying that when a person inherits a suffocating debt, he does not only lose his sleep; he cannot plan for any capital investment. While the government may be studying the situation, the truth is that Nigerians are becoming more and more impatient.

“The age-long adage is that we should not treat leprosy with the drugs meant for scabies. I repeat that what we need is a new Constitution.”

Babalola eulogised the Justice Minister for his legal accomplishments over the years.

He said: “Fagbemi is a pride to the chambers. He had learnt how to turn things around. Ladies and gentlemen, I believe that with his experience, Prince Fagbemi can turn things around and build a new Nigeria through a new constitution under which politics shall no longer be regarded as a transactional business.”

Reacting to Babalola’s promptings, Fagbemi said: “I have accepted that what I now need is advice. We can’t say that we don’t like the way they do things and leave them. We have to be involved, even though I am not a politician.

“I don’t want to just savour the encomiums of today without looking at the flipside. The flipside is the challenge the appointment and the office has posed.

“The issues before the country are not a one-man thing. People have the wrong impression that it is the Federal Government alone. We must appreciate the fact that Nigeria is a federation. When you talk of a federation, each has to man its post.

“If we must make a meaningful impact, we need to engage these tiers of governments. Let all of us be on the same page to fast-track development of the country,” he said.

Dignitaries at the event included Ekiti State Governor Biodun Oyebanji, eminent lawyers from the Bar and some judges from the Bench, including Chief Adeniyi Akintola (SAN), and a former Attorney General of the Federation and Justice Minister, Chief Akin Olujimi (SAN).

Credit: The Nation Newspaper