1999 Constitution And The Crafty Christians of the Christian Social Movement of Nigeria (CSMN) and National Christian Elders Forum (NCEF).
Ndidi Uwechue, 06 June 2025
Saving their lives and their ancestral lands depends on it, so Nigerians need to be alerted to some misleading information put out by the Christian Social Movement of Nigeria (CSMN) and National Christian Elders Forum (NCEF). It is in their recent Prayer Points For The Week: Jun 2 - Jun 8 2025, NATIONAL PRAYER ALTAR, MARATHON PRAYERS on the CSMN website, link HERE:
The two points where there are factual errors are quoted below:
“1) The indigenous ethnic nationalities could write a new constitution, but that could take forever, as it is sure to be sabotaged.
2) Revert to an existing constitution originally negotiated when Nigeria became a country. The 1963 Republican Constitution was negotiated by the founding fathers of Nigeria. That constitution was unilaterally suspended by the military who later gave the country the fraudulent 1999 Constitution (as amended). The 1963 Republican Constitution was not abrogated, it was “suspended” by the military. The suspension should be lifted, the number of regions increased, and other amendments progressively done to reflect current realities.”
Tackling their Point #1:
It is incorrect and untrue. Firstly, Nigeria’s problem is honestly and rationally assessed as STRUCTURAL and is because the imposed 1999 Constitution, a known Forgery (!!!) codifies for a dysfunctional Constitutional Arrangement. It is therefore misleading for those who know the truth to keep on telling Nigerians that a new Constitution is needed when what is needed is to renegotiate a new Constitutional Arrangement (and after that is properly discussed and documented, then a constituent assembly will codify it all into a new Constitution). The CSMN and NCEF are without excuse because they have had meetings with the NINAS Leadership and the globally accepted process has been explained to them. They are misleading the public by making it look as if the problem is just a Booklet, so a new Booklet is needed – whereas it is the entire Constitutional Arrangement that is faulty. Moreover, the CSMN and NCEF continue to ignore the Constitutional Force Majeure (CFM) declared on 16 December 2020 making Nigeria a DISPUTED PROJECT, and the CFM Notice had explained the rationale and way forward to correct Nigeria’s faulty Constitutional Arrangement. We are not small children. There is a world of difference between telling people that we need a “new Constitution” when what is needed is to “Renegotiate a new Constitutional Arrangement”.
Furthermore, the CSMN and NCEF made out that it would take oh so very, very long for the indigenous Ethnic Nationalities to get involved, and that anything they do would be sabotaged. That is also not the case. The CSMN and NCEF are quite aware that most of the work to correct the Nigeria Union has already been done and is at the final stages, now requiring Nigerians to say aloud and to the hearing of the world that they Reject the 1999 Constitution, a Forgery imposed upon them and as a mark of that Rejection, insist that 2027 National Elections that will renew the life of that 1999 Constitution be suspended, so all political parties Close Shop, and Nigerians demand that instead the country goes to immediate Transitioning now, in 2025 for Constitutional Reconstruction – the NINAS Transitioning Template is “plug and play” ready, and has been on the Table since December 2020. In short, NINAS has a Process and a Timeframe to get Nigeria’s dysfunctional Constitutional Arrangement corrected. The NINAS Spokesman has in several interviews, public meetings and townhalls stated that from start of Transitioning to finish it can take as little as just several months, and up to 18-24 months depending on how negotiations go, but much less than the four years that South Africa took to Decommission their Apartheid Constitution, since for Nigeria much of the work has already been done. The rationale and sequence of tasks to be done is explained in this short NINAS article titled, “Anyaoku’s Proposal To Tinubu Is Like Building A House From The Roof; Rigging The Process To Fix The Outcome.” link: https://ninasmovementnews.substack.com/p/anyaokus-proposal-to-tinubu-is-like
For more information, and in the interest of space, please also watch this NINAS podcast, being the Recording of a NINAS Virtual Townhall Session explaining why NINAS rejects the 2014 Confab Report, rejects the adoption of the 1963 Constitution, and rejects the adoption of six Geopolitical Zones. (May 4, 2024)
Tackling their Point #2, “they” (in bold letters) here below being the CSMN and NCEF:
They say that the 1963 Constitution “was negotiated by the founding fathers of Nigeria” but craftily do not name who these founding fathers were. Was Jukun there? Was Ogoni there? Was Ijaw there? Was Idoma there?
The truth is that the 1963 Constitution was obtained through a Parliamentary Process dictated by the British-imposed non-indigenous 1960 Constitution (Independence Constitution) and therefore does NOT pass the Test of Autochthony! In effect what is known as the 1963 Constitution is just that 1960 Constitution amended to show that there was now Four Regions instead of Three. This is a historical fact. Very briefly, the 1960 Constitution which is the basis of the 1963 Constitution was not drafted by Nigerians themselves but came about by British Orders-in-Council and British legislation, then imposed upon Nigerians by the British government.
Was the 1963 Constitution given out to Referendum to legitimise it like a true Constitution ought to have been? No! It was not. They craftily hide this key aspect that makes any Constitution legitimate. Quoting from online sources: “Essentially, the 1963 Constitution was not a product of direct democratic participation or a vote by the citizenry to legitimize it.”
We should stop right there since the 1963 Constitution was not a proper Constitution and not bother with it any more in any way since it does not make sense to pretend it is autochthonous.
The questions that honest Nigerians ought to ask the CSMN and NCEF are these:
**-You acknowledge that Nigerians have no legitimate Constitution, so on WHAT document is the Nigeria Union you have assumed somehow exists, based on?
**-You acknowledge that Nigerians have no legitimate Constitution, so on WHAT document does government get its authority from?
**-You acknowledge that Nigerians have no legitimate Constitution, so WHAT procedure have you got to remove the 1999 Constitution that is there now, and that stands in the way?
**-You acknowledge that Nigerians have no legitimate Constitution, WHAT time frame have you got to START the corrective work and to FINISH it?
(Given that the 1963 Constitution is not autochthonous it makes no sense to ask questions relating to its suspension and suspension lifting as the CSMN and NCEF propose.)
Conclusion of the matter
The Nigeria Union question has been unresolved since the Aburi Accord in 1967 got unilaterally and unethically terminated. So, for over 58 years the question of WHEN will Nigeria be fixed to benefit its peoples, WHAT is the time frame to get it done – have been deliberately avoided and blocked.
The CSMN and NCEF now are joined in stalling the work of resolving the Nigeria question. We are not children so should not act like such, adult Proposals for fixing the Nigeria Union should therefore explain:
1. HOW (what procedure) will the obstructing fraudulent 1999 Constitution be removed?
2. WHAT is the time frame from start to finish to get the work done?
3. WHO (what class of people) will get the work done?
Scrutinising what CSMN and NCEF have put out reveals it to be ill-thought out and not based on facts. Is this just their ploy to distract attention from the potent NINAS Proposition so that Nigerians get dragged to 2027 National Elections to renew the life of the fraudulent neocolonial 1999 Constitution, source of miseries and existential threats!? Given the relentless slaughter of indigenous people as the Fulani Conquest Agenda that is empowered by the 1999 Constitution proceeds, the need to Terminate the 1999 Constitution has become extremely urgent.
The NINAS Proposition answers all three questions, making it plain that the 1999 Constitution gets TAKEN DOWN by shutting down preparations for 2027 National Elections and instead going to Transitioning. Plus, the NINAS Proposition has identified that it is the owners of Sovereignty thus the indigenous Ethnic Nations who will MEET and DISCUSS to negotiate the kind of Union they want to be in during a time-bound period of TRANSITIONING where there will be no power vacuum since existing governance structures would remain in place in transitional capacity.
It has NEVER happened before at any time that indigenous Ethnic Nations have negotiated a Union for themselves – everything has always been imposed on them. The NINAS Transitioning Template brings about Complete Decolonisation and the kind of country indigenous Ethnic Nations want to be in, as either a Federation, Confederation or independent Successor Countries. Whatever it will be, we do not know. But, we know that it will not be an imposition and will be truly what “We the peoples” desire.
Ndidi Uwechue is a British citizen with Igbo heritage from the Lower Niger Bloc. She is a retired Metropolitan (London) Police Officer, she is a signatory to the Constitutional Force Majeure, and she writes from Asaba.
NOTES:
1)
2)
Question: Was there a referendum to legitimize the 1963 constitution of Nigeria?
AI Overview response:
No, the 1963 Republican Constitution of Nigeria was not directly legitimized through a referendum. While the constitution was enacted by the Nigerian parliament, it was not subject to a vote by the people as a whole.
The process for creating the 1963 Constitution involved amendments to the Independence Constitution, which was then enacted by the parliament. While there was a referendum held in connection with the creation of the Mid-Western Region, this was part of a specific provision for new states and did not represent a referendum for the entire constitution.
Essentially, the 1963 Constitution was not a product of direct democratic participation or a vote by the citizenry to legitimize it.
3)
AI Overview on Nigeria’s 1960 Constitution (Excerpt):
The 1960 Independence Constitution of Nigeria was enacted by the British government through a series of Orders-in-Council, according to Wikipedia. It came into effect on October 1, 1960, the date Nigeria gained independence. This constitution established the framework for Nigeria's new government, including a parliamentary system, the retention of the British Monarch as ceremonial head of state, and the entrenchment of fundamental human rights.
Here's a more detailed breakdown:
• British Legislation:
The constitution was not drafted by Nigerians themselves but was imposed by the British government through a series of Orders-in-Council.
• Limited Nigerian Involvement:
While consultations may have occurred, the final document was largely determined by the British government, highlighting the limited participation of Nigerian representatives in its creation.
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