Elder statesman and former Osun State governor, Chief Bisi Akande has blamed the current economic recession and poverty in Nigeria on the deficiencies in the 1999 Nigerian constitution.
Akande, a former Acting Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who spoke in Iwo Town in Osun State at the weekend, lamented that the 1999 constitution in particular, which he described as bad, served as a platform for socio-economic inequality.
According to him, the constitution stimulated demands for ethnic self- determination and economic security otherwise known as resource control or restructuring.
Akande, who attributed the current hardship in the country to the dictates of the constitution, lamented that only a few people benefited from the increasing national wealth, while majority continue to suffer from poverty, penury and deprivation, which, he lamented, fueled agitation, disharmony and violence among the aggrieved.
“What we are saying, for instance, is that the constitution, which (according to 1999 census) gave Lagos State with 5,725,153 population 20 local governments, also gave Kano State with 5,810,494 population 44 local governments.
“The same constitution, which gave Anambra with 2, 796,510 population 21 local governments, also gave Jigawa with 2, 875,559 population 27 local governments.
“Such constitutional provisions seem capable of denying the federating components of Nigeria equal opportunities for accessing the national revenue allocations; hence the agitation for restructuring and resource control.
“Such agitations may not be healthy for community harmony, national security, peace and economic development”, he said.
He, however, assured that the APC-led administration was in politics to influence the change for the better.
“The constitution that can move Nigeria forward is the constitution that recognises the culture of the people in relation to their occupation,” he added.
