TheCable

Femi Gbajabiamila, speaker of the house of representatives, says the national assembly’s objective is to deliver a more inclusive constitution — and not a perfect one.

In the past few months, there have been a series of public hearings on the review of the 1999 constitution.

Delivering the 112th founder’s lecture of the King’s College Old Boys Association (KCOBA) on Saturday in Lagos, Gbajabiamila said the house of representatives would put in place mechanisms for holding the institutions of state accountable.

“We took ownership of our country by sacrificing blood, sweat and tears to secure democratic governance and make Nigeria into a place where grand visions can be made real by determined effort and where hope can thrive,” he said.

“As in the words of our old national anthem, we have made of this nation where ‘though tribes and tongue may differ in brotherhood we stand’.

“The creation of this union was divinely ordained. Therefore, it is our sacred duty as citizens of this great country to identify the purpose of this divine creation and give ourselves to those activities that will make real the divine purpose of our national union.”

“In the house of representatives, we are currently in the process of a substantive review of our nation’s constitution. Our objective is to deliver a constitution that more effectively organises our politics to make it more inclusive, enshrine efficient mechanisms for holding the institutions of state to account and put an end to the debilitating conflicts that continue to tear our nation apart.

“We will not produce a perfect constitution; no such thing has ever existed in the world. However, together we can, by the choices we make and our actions, use our constitution as the foundational document of our nationhood to give life to the best promise of Nigeria.”

The speaker said Nigerians must make a conscious effort to reject the formulation of thought and actions that elevate every point of difference and disagreement into a seismic breaking of alliances.