The Civil Society Organization (CSO), Movement for National Reformation (MNR), has stated that it will not permit champions of ethnic chauvinism to extinguish civil democracy, despite its imperfections.
During nationwide demonstrations against hunger and hardship, photos and videos of protesters in Kano waving the Russian flag went viral. The demonstrators chanted in Hausa, “We don’t want bad government.” Hundreds of mostly underage youths urged President Vladimir Putin of Russia to intervene in Nigeria.
“We are raising the Russian flag because we believe Tinubu is following the scripts of his imperial masters – the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the United States of America,” a protester reportedly told TheCable.
Reacting to the development, a statement jointly signed by National Vice Chairman HRH Dr. Samuel Adai Onimisi and National Secretary Dr. Philip Ideawor urged the youths to embrace dialogue.
Reading the text at a press conference in Abuja yesterday, MNR convener Da Jonathan Sunday Akuns said those who are converting the platform of the “end bad governance” protest to advocate for the dismemberment of Nigeria or calling for a military coup and flying foreign flags are existential threats to Nigeria’s sovereignty and national interests.
“Consequently, we in MNR wish to urge President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to thoroughly investigate such unpatriotic acts and bring the culprits to justice. We urge citizens to embrace dialogue and conversation, as initiated by President Tinubu’s national broadcasts regarding the policies of the Federal Government aimed at revamping the economy and restoring sociopolitical balance in Nigeria.”
Jonathan added that while MNR recognizes some of President Tinubu’s policies have not sufficiently addressed the challenges faced by Nigerians, it strongly condemns proponents of regime change outside the ballot box.
“We are also concerned about the silence of Federal Government Ministers, especially the Ministers of Defence, Police, and Information, in addressing the protesters to complement President Tinubu’s broadcast.”
While calling for a new constitution, Jonathan said MNR has been a strong advocate for restructuring Nigeria based on true federal tenets since its inception in December 1992.
“We at MNR believe the return to democratic civilian governance since 1999 has provided a golden opportunity to re-examine the legitimacy of many constitutional issues, including Nigeria’s federal structure.”
“This requires a reset and paradigm shift away from the distorted federalism foisted on Nigeria by the heavy reliance on decrees during military interregnums from 1966 to 1979 and 1983 to 1999.”
“The broad agitation for Nigeria’s restructuring is anchored on the demand to restore true federalism, as the current document dubbed the 1999 Constitution is a unitary document that emerged from Military Decree 24 of 1999.”
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“It did not derive from a consensus of ‘We the People’ of Nigeria as the basis of a republican and democratic document, unlike the 1963 Constitution.”
“This vitiates the document dubbed the 1999 Constitution of any legitimacy. Since the 1963 Constitution was suspended and never abrogated, it remains the only legitimate federal constitution bequeathed to Nigeria by our Founding Fathers.”
“Therefore, restoring the 1963 Constitution is the wish of all indigenous ethnic nationalities in Nigeria. This is a critical element of MNR, NADECO, PRONACO, and Nigeria’s indigenous ethnic nationalities’ manifestos.”
“We agree with the youths that things are very bad, and it’s understandable if they have no confidence in politicians and some elders. However, we believe the effective strategy is to first address the structural problems.”
