By Rafiyat Sadiq.
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria and former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Chief Joseph Bodurin Daudu, has said that amending the constitution alone is not enough to guarantee good governance in Nigeria.
Daudu made the remark during the 14th edition of the Rule of Law Foundation’s one-day webinar series held to mark his 45 years at the Nigerian Bar and the 30th anniversary of his elevation to the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria.
Daudu (SAN) told participants and well wishers that Constitutional amendment does not guarantee an efficacious system while urged members of the National Assembly to ensure the proposed constitution review aligns with democratic best practices.
“The reason for bad governance and corruption in Nigeria is not the nature of the constitution but the attitude of the leaders and those at the helm of authority to the basic principles of governance.”
Presenting a paper titled “Addressing the Problems of Modern-Day Nigeria Through Constitutional Amendment – My Input as It Relates to the Ongoing Process of Constitutional Amendment,” Daudu (SAN) highlighted some areas the National Assembly is seeking to amend in the 1999 Constitution.
He identified critical areas such constitutional amendment pertaining to the judiciary reforms, creation of 46 additional states, as state policing, devolution of powers, and local government autonomy.
On judicial reforms, Daudu SAN strongly cautioned against any move to remove the Supreme Court’s authority as the final appellate court in election matters. “Such a move would be retrogressive,” he warned.
He proposed the establishment of a Trial Constitutional Court, limited to handling political and pre-election cases as well as judicial reviews of administrative actions.
He emphasized that, “Reforms should prioritize judicial efficiency, merit-based case filtering, and systemic safeguards without compromising the right of appeal to the apex court in high-stake disputes.”
Speaking on the issue of local government autonomy, Daudu said the recent Supreme Court ruling in favor of the autonomy was seen as a victory by some, but he maintained that, “Implementation is near impossible within the current constitutional structure.
“The legal arrangement under section 162(6)-(8) of the constitution provides for a state joint local Government account into which allocation from the federation account intended for local Government must be paid,” he said.
He called for a shift from rhetoric and judicial pronouncements to deliberate constitutional action.
Daudu also reacted strongly to the proposal for the creation of 46 new states, calling it “the most unreasonable of all the proposals for constitutional amendment.” He said, “The reasons are not far-fetched, and allowing this brazen political agenda to proceed unabated appears to be the greatest breach of faith committed by the present administration.”
He argued that considering the country’s current economic condition, the idea of creating more states is not realistic. “Based on the weak economic ground that the nation presently stands, what should be on the agenda is the transmutation of the current 36 states to the six institutionalized geo-political zones,” he said.
Daudu SAN further stressed, “The question to ask is whether our leaders subscribe to basic principles such as the rule of law, separation of powers, free and fair elections, and anti-corruption goals and targets.”
The event was attended by colleagues and senior members of the legal profession, many of whom paid tribute to Daudu’s contributions to the legal system. Audu Anuga, also a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, described him as “a man of great value who finds joy in helping others grow.”
Chief Joseph Bodurin Daudu was born on December 27, 1959. He is a distinguished jurist, a Bencher, and a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, with a legal career spanning over four decades.
