Former Minister of Education and CEO of Human Capital Africa, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, has described the ongoing constitutional amendment process by the National Assembly as a wasteful exercise that fails to address Nigeria’s core structural problems.
Speaking at the 7th Penpushing Anniversary and Annual Lecture in Abeokuta, Ogun State, on Wednesday, Ezekwesili criticised the amendment efforts, calling them “a charade and sheer waste of resources.”
“The ongoing constitutional amendment cannot work, it cannot address our problem, it is a charade and sheer waste of resources. The demand for a new constitution is a matter of life and death,” she said during her keynote address titled “Reworking Nigeria’s Federalism: Perspectives on Restructuring and Fiscal Federalism.”
Ezekwesili argued that Nigeria needs an entirely new constitution capable of resolving the deep-seated issues plaguing the country, including insecurity, poverty, unemployment, and political inequality. She insisted that these problems cannot be fixed by merely amending the current constitution.
“For instance, when the engineer tells us that the foundation of a building is structurally defective, is it not to take the whole building down because it will continue to constitute an endangerment to the people.
“You won’t say, Oga, can we just do some little adjustment to the building, no, it won’t work, and this is same with nation building. So this expensive charade that the National Assembly is embarking on and spending money on won’t take us anywhere,” she said.
Ezekwesili called on the media to take a leading role in pushing for a new constitution through a national constitutional conference.
“The media should take the front seat and be at the vanguard of a demand for new constitution. We must have a constitutional conference that enables the people of this country to have honest conversation around things that will make us make progress and make Nigeria work for all of us.
“If there is anything that will come out of this annual lecture it must be that the media should be at the vanguard of a push for a constitutional conference, one that will enable the constituent part of this country, a constituent assembly elected by the people, they go, they sit, they have the discussion on the basis of the issues that makes fiscal federal system of government to work and come out with issues that are eligible for constitution which is put before the people to vote in form of referendum.
“This is what Kenya did after almost collapsing, and since then, you never hear them talking about break-up, they will talk about the need for good leaders,” she said.
The former World Bank Vice President warned that political leadership across Africa has been hijacked by self-serving interests, likening them to criminal gangs undermining democracy and good governance.
“Unfortunately, today’s politics has been hijacked, what we now have is a criminal enterprise gang and this is not only in Nigeria but across the continent. A criminal enterprise gang has taken hold of politics and excluded the society and these people just sit at the table and just slice governance in the direction that suits them but that must not be made to continue,” she lamented.
She stressed the link between quality political leadership and economic progress, warning that without meaningful reforms, the continent could remain trapped in dysfunction for years to come.
Ezekwesili also reiterated that true fiscal federalism—one that ensures justice, equity, devolution of powers, and fairness—could help preserve national unity, drive development, and improve accountability in governance.
Also speaking at the event, former Nigerian High Commissioner to the UK, Sarafadeen Ishola, noted that while Nigeria claims to operate federalism, the system fails in practice.
He said, “True federalism is not only about devolution of power but about responsible governance, institutional clarity, fiscal equity, and citizen-driven accountability.”
Ishola called on Nigerians to view restructuring not as a divisive agenda but as a national renewal strategy necessary to overcome systemic failures in governance.
Founder of Penpushing Media, Mr. Dimeji Kayode-Adedeji, said the annual lecture is part of the platform’s efforts to promote national dialogue and uplift the country through impactful journalism.
He said Penpushing Media has contributed to capacity-building in the field of mass communication, training over 80 students and instituting annual awards for best graduating students in higher institutions.
Other notable attendees included former presidential spokesperson Mr. Femi Adesina; Chairman of the Penpushing Media Editorial Board and former NUJ Lagos Chairman, Deaconess Funke Fadugba; and Planning Committee Chair, Dr. Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi.
