*No. We’ll stay outside to checkmate you — Ozekhome
*Legal fireworks dominate Day 3 at NBA Conference in Port Harcourt
Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal has challenged two legal icons: Femi Falana (SAN) and Mike Ozekhome (SAN) to vie for elective posts in order to exercise dynamic influence for good governance and strict adherence to rule of law.
But Ozekhome has replied that civil society activists like him would prefer to stay outside to checkmate infractions by elected political leaders.
Tambuwal spoke on Wednesday while speaking among panelists, including Falana, Ozekhome and others over the topic: “We The People”, A Debate on Constitutional Amendment at Day 3 of the ongoing Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Though Ozekhome argued that with constitutional inferences on the possibility to write an entire new constitution with or without the National Assembly’s consent, the dominant opinion among other panelists and contributions from the floor was that a peaceful, workable constitutional renewal can’t be achieved without the legislative framework for Referendum Commission or a process of referendum to lead the desired constitutional change.
Tambuwal also dwelled on the reluctance or lack of political will of National Assembly and government of the day to concede to the new constitution the “We The People” so need.
The Sokoto Governor further challenged members of the Bar to show more interest in occupying the political leadership space to make difference from inside.
Tambuwal said, “The fastest way to change the constitution is for the President to send an executive bill to the National Assembly, seeking establishment of either a Referendum Commission or that the process for or a referendum to be introduced into the constitution.
“People like Mike Ozekhome; you should vie for the House of Representatives or be governor of your state.
“You can’t be shooting from outside. Go into the down field and challenge the status quo.
“You have the right, you have the privilege, you have the capacity, well known, respected.
“We should take the courage to go into politics, no matter how difficult it is.
“You have the right, you have the privilege, you have the capacity, well known, respected.
“We should take the courage to go into politics, no matter how difficult it is.
“So collectively, we can have special, committed people on the inside so that we work together to reform the system.
“As long as you remain outside, it becomes difficult to achieve that reform we are looking for.
“The same goes for our sister Ann-Kio Briggs, and Femi Falana; they should consider running for the Senate.
“After all, it is not rocket science. Then you meet the career politicians like me, on the field, bumper to bumper, and slug it out and see how best we can collectively work together to reform the system.”
On why as a Speaker he failed to move for constitutional change, Tambuwal said, “Truly, no such bill was introduced in my time.
“In the course of the 360 public hearings we carried out, we had no idea from any participant about a referendum introduced by way of bills presented to me.
“As at that time, that thought didn’t come to us as a Parliament. There is nothing wrong as a need to move forward, having realised it as much needed, thinking out of the box.
“Nothing stops us from doing it now, and summoning the political will to do so.”
But Ozekhome in his response, said, “We cannot all be politicians. We have to leave some people who will police the police and that is what we call the civil society.
“Rosa Parks who started the civil rights movement at Montgomery, Alabama, United States was not a politician.
“Martin Luther King Jnr, who took it to an higher altitude, was not playing politics.
“Fela Anikulakpo Kuti, who agitated for good governance was not in politics. It is not only in politics we can make our contributions.
“Some of us have to be there to watch over these people so that they don’t commit malfeasance or kill our hard-earned democracy.”
