NIGERIA CONSTITUTIONAL REVIEW: SPEECH DELIVERED BY ABUBAKAR BUKOLA SARAKI AT THE RETREAT ORGANISED BY THE SENATE AD HOC COMMITTEE

SPEECH DELIVERED BY HIS EXCELLENCY (DR.) ABUBAKAR BUKOLA SARAKI, CON, PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE, AT THE RETREAT ORGANISED BY THE SENATE AD HOC COMMITTEE ON CONSTITUTIONAL REVIEW ON 17TH JUNE, 2016.

PROTOCOL

1. Distinguished colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, you would recall that in earlier this year upon the inauguration of this all important committee, I did make the point that the members of this committee had been arrived at in recognition of the enormity and solemnity attached to the exercise of constitutional review.

2. This is why the essence of this retreat cannot be overemphasized.

3. Since, independence, our nation has sought to develop for itself workable Constitution on which her unity can be perfected. Other nations have trodden a similar path. For instance, following the Declaration of Independence and the Revolutionary War in 1776, the original 13 States of the United States of America operated an Article of Confederacy, a necessary but unwieldy document that institutionalized a central government. The Article lasted for 8 years before it was jettisoned for the current Constitution of the United States.


4. Constitution making has always been a challenging issue in any polity. Because it is expected to put together the aspiration, commitment, values and agreement of different communities, debates can be polarizing, contentious and in some cases conflictual. These defaults issues should be viewed as part of the process of building consensus and strengthening our democracy. As polarizing as these issues are, with robust engagement, inclusive participation and process-led initiatives we can resolve the contentions and agree on some of the issues.

Rolling Stone magazine accidentally put John Hancock's signature above the Julia's bottom, even though he never signed the US Constitution (PHOTO)

As stunning as Julia Louis-Dreyfus remains at 53, when she decided to pose naked on the cover of the upcoming issue of Rolling Stone the biggest response was a U.S. history lesson.


On the cover, hitting newsstands on April 11, the 'Veep' star poses with a copy of the document inked on her back and signature of founding father John Hancock scrawled just above her posterior.