While Sowore noted that he believed Nigeria could be united with justice, he pointed out that with a brand new constitution, right to self-determination would be enshrined.
The African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate in the 2023 general elections, Omoyele Sowore, has called for a brand new constitution for Nigeria in which the right to self-determination by any region of the country can be enshrined.
Sowore, who pointed out that the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is one of the major causes of Nigeria’s problems noted that Nigeria was not put together as single entity by Nigerians, rather, it was put together as a business by Sir Lord Lugard, while everybody who came to join Nigeria as final entity in 1914 was forced into doing that.
While Sowore noted that he believed Nigeria could be united with justice, he pointed out that with a brand new constitution, right to self-determination would be enshrined which will determine at which point Nigerians should challenge the unity through a referendum and not violence.
He added that the right to self-determination is a fundamental right recognised by the United Nations.
According to Sowore, enshrinement of right to self-determination in the Nigerian constitution will make Nigerian leaders to be more serious with governing the country, knowing full well that some groups of people could challenge the unity of the country if things were not going well.
Responding to a question on his take on state policing during a town hall meeting for presidential candidates organised by News Central on Friday, Sowore said, “The Nigerian Constitution is one of the biggest problems at this point when it comes to foundational issues like this and that 1999 Constitution as a fraudulent document written by some military.
"It is a military constitution because the constitution must be promulgated into existence.
"Why it is fraudulent is the preamble, "we the people of Nigeria." Any book you see that tells such a lie is illegitimate and that is what they call the constitution. It was promulgated by a decree. It was put together by soldiers, to the point that when Obasanjo was going to be sworn in in 1999 they did not have a copy available.
"That 1999 constitution was so bad that a portion of it was found to mention America because part of it was copied from the US Constitution.
"I want a brand new constitution because the people of Nigeria deserve one. It is their own wish that is paramount. All these other presidents of Nigeria have tried to create a constitution but the reason they didn't come into existence is because they did not sacrifice their personal interests."
Also responding to a question of how he would ensure a secured Nigeria without human rights violation and unrest, the AAC presidential candidate said, "I think some people misconstrue unity as some kind of unbreakable bond for Nigeria.
"I need to give a little bit of historical background that Nigeria was not even put together by Nigerians. It was put together as a business by Lord Lugard.
"In fact, when Lugard was creating Nigeria, he had already created Port Harcourt. And the reason they created Port Harcourt was because they discovered coal in Enugu and they needed to export the coal, and Port Harcourt was created in 1912 and Nigeria was created finally as one entity in 1914.
"I am telling you that a country put together as a business did not become a nation. What are you killing yourself for? I believe that Nigeria can be united with justice. The Northerners are the most worried about the issue of unity but the Northerners were actually the first to be reluctant for Nigerian independence because they thought they were not ready.
"They put a lot of thought into joining the United Nigeria. That is why they delayed Nigeria's independence for a few years. We would have had our Independence around 1950 but the Northerners were thinking about it.
"That means that from the onset, the people on the other side of the divide had to be sure that they wanted to join Nigeria. So, everybody that came to join Nigeria was forced into that unity. For us to now make the unity happen, we must make a perfect union. That is why I talk about the constitution.
"I perfectly believe in the right to self-determination. In fact, if we put it in our Constitution, the right to self-determination, Nigerian leaders will be more serious about governing Nigeria. It is a fundamental right recognised by the United Nations. It is the reason I'm calling for a new constitution so that Nigerians can put in that constitution at which point Nigerians should decide to challenge the unity of Nigeria through a referendum, not violent."