The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, said it has become necessary to review the extant definition of federal character in the Nigerian constitution.
According to him, federal character, as currently defined in the Nigerian constitution, did not reflect the current realities of the country, as it limits national opportunities to geographical location alone, without consideration to gender, persons living with disabilities and age classification.
Gbajabiamila said this on Saturday, while declaring open the Young Parliamentarians Forum’s National Strategy Meeting and Retreat in Abuja in statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Lanre Lasisi, titled, ‘Gbajabiamila Moots Amendments to Federal Character Laws.’
The Speaker also urged the young legislators to chart the course in preparation for the Nigerian youth in taking the mantle of leadership at all levels of government in the country.
He said, “In thinking outside the box, I think we should consider an amendment in the constitution to the definition of federal character because when we talk about federal character within the context of appointments, infrastructure and the rest of it in the constitution, federal character, as it is, is limited to where you are from, like your ethnicity.
“In other words, the constitution says appointment and all those other things shall be based on federal character and we have the Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba. There should be a geographical spread. I think it is time that we expanded the definition of federal character because the character of a nation is not just based on your tribe. It is based on religion, where you are from, your sex and your age.
“So, when you are talking about federal character, you look at all those things and they are what make up the federal character. You talk about the percentages of women and youth; that is the true meaning of federal character and I think that is what should be reflected in the constitution.”
While commending the initiative of the YPF in taking up the youth matters, Gbajabiamila challenged the young lawmakers on proffering answers to some pertinent questions.
He said, “This is an inspired choice because we know from the evidence of numbers that any vision of our nation’s future that doesn’t address the expectations of Nigeria’s youth and fails to meet them at the point of their needs will fail. Therefore, in thinking about the future, we must dedicate ourselves to asking three crucial questions.
“The first is, how do we provide jobs that pay a living wage that allows young people to live full lives of achievement and contribution to our society? The second question is, how do we ensure that young people who want to participate in governance and who have valid contributions to make have a clear path to political participation at all levels? And how do we ensure that the systems of justice in our country are sufficiently robust to protect our nation’s young people from exploitation and abuse in whatever form it might take?
“Intricately linked to these three questions is a fourth, more fundamental question about education in Nigeria. Education is the silver bullet that solves problems and a key that opens doors. Education is how we ensure that our young people can participate fully in the 21st Century knowledge economy. Education allows a child born in Nigeria to dream beyond their station and to compete with peers everywhere in the world.
“Yet, we know that from primary through to tertiary (levels), we still have an education system that isn’t designed to achieve innovation and transform society. How do we change that?”
