THE Senior Pastor of the Later Rain Assembly, Lagos, and former running mate of President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2011 general elections in Nigeria, Tunde Bakare, said institutional reforms and constitutional amendments are required if Nigeria must overcome its systemic national challenges.
Bakare, speaking at a public policy forum in Lagos to provide solutions to the present challenges facing Nigeria opined that Nigeria’s problems are not a product of the global economic cycles, but the consequence of counterproductive national standards and self-limiting frameworks.
The convener of Save Nigeria Group (SNG) stressed that three factors contribute to political stability, which according to him included the type of constitution, the form of government and the caliber as well as character of the political leaders in and outside of government, adding that “Integrity is not enough to run a nation, Nigeria must be born again,” he said.
The clergyman said that the solution to the present challenges was setting up a Presidential Commission for National Reconciliation, Reintegration and Restructuring that would adopt a new constitution.
“This commission should be mandated to work closely with the stakeholders and power-plugs, as well as legislative houses to create a new national identity for the Nigerian people and facilitate the creation of an acceptable functional governmental structure for Nigeria,” he said.
Pastor Bakare called for a process of constitutional rebirth that would culminate in a referendum by which Nigerians adopt a new constitution.
