Akin Osuntokun, former Political Adviser to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, lamented during an interview with The Sun that Nigerians were too focused on who became president while neglecting the more fundamental issue of constitutional reform.
Explaining why he believed constitutional reform was more important than electing a new president, Osuntokun argued that Nigeria’s challenges were rooted in structural defects within the constitution and governance system. He maintained that merely changing the occupant of the presidency without addressing those underlying constitutional issues would not bring about the meaningful transformation Nigerians desired.
According to him, whoever became president under the current structure was likely to disappoint Nigerians because the system itself was flawed. He noted that even if , whom he described as perhaps the closest and strongest opposition figure, became president, he would still have to operate within a compromised political structure, including the National Assembly and entrenched patronage networks.
Osuntokun further argued that any president in Nigeria was immediately subjected to political interests, regional demands and patronage expectations, which often compromised leaders from the moment they assumed office. He stated that if Obi became president, he would still have to work with the National Assembly and the judiciary, noting that the current composition and character of the National Assembly would likely remain unchanged and could hinder whatever reforms Obi intended to implement.
He added that Obi would likely face considerable frustration and would come to understand certain realities about Nigeria that he might not have fully appreciated before attaining the presidency.
He said, “He will encounter some of the things about Nigeria that maybe he did not realise before. Assuming he gets to the presidency, some people are already standing to prove to him that he was elected by their proxy; and therefore make unnecessary demands and positions. So effectively, from day one, the fellow is compromised. I do not know who can envision Obi with the kind of tax, patronage, tons of money which the National Assembly arrogates to themselves.”
“Nigeria is bogged down by patronage politics and excessive concentration of power. That is why I insist that the focus in 2027 should be constitutional reforms and not personality.”….Read_More…