The sovereignty of the constitution
SIR: The famous political thinker, Thomas Hobbes, was of the view that the principle and primary responsibility of a government is the maintenance of law and order. Thus, to forestall manÕs natural tendency to be self-centred and lawless; to avoid a situation where the existence of the citizens of a state becomes "nasty, brutish and short," Hobbes postulated that the citizens collectively surrender their unrestricted freedoms to a sovereign entity which shall thereafter have the responsibility of guaranteeing the rights and freedom of all citizens within the state.
Assimilating the above views to our political framework, the 'citizensÕ collectively is Nigeria while the sovereign entity is the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The above premise is to give the people of Nigeria a little insight regarding the recent and on-going call for a "Sovereign National Conference". Agreed that the present constitution is bedevilled with some flaws (thanks to the last military regime!) Agreed also that a forum ought to be set up where representatives (elected or otherwise) from all the geo-political spectrum of the country, on behalf of the people they represent, can come together to discuss fundamental issues concerning the nation and not as many politicians are presently advocating, Ôthe basis of Nigeria's unityÕ, the fact still remains that we the citizens of Nigeria swore and pledge our allegiance to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, a constitution that provides for elected representatives in the three tiers of government " which we have so elected!
Thus the issue at hand is for the Nigerian citizen to guarantee the success of and support the present administration under the leadership of President Olusegun Obasanjo and for us collectively as Nigerians to prove to other nations and indeed ourselves that we can surrender our guaranteed freedoms and rights to the sovereign entity " the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Olarenwaju Ibiayo,
Lagos
