President, African School of Governance (ASG) in Kigali, Rwanda, Professor Kingsley Moghalu, has said Nigeria needs a new constitution to overcome the problem of its state formation and the state of the economy.

He stated that many Nigerian leaders have continued to shy away from the conversation about a new constitution.

Moghalu spoke during a webinar on Leadership in Africa concerned by foremost historian, Professor Toyin Falola, as part of the Toyin Falola interview series.

The political economist who is a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and one time Presidential candidate stated that there must be consensus among ethnic nationalities in order to have peace and stability.

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While responding to question about the 2027 election and the need to have a new constitution, he said, “I think my position has always been very clear that Nigeria needs a new constitution if Nigeria is to overcome the problem of its state formation and the current state of the economy and the polity.

“We need to go back to the drawing board, we need to manufacture consent to use the phrase of Walter Lippmann in the United States, the ethnic nationalities need to sit down and say ‘what does Nigeria mean to us and what are our rights in Nigeria’

“If there’s a consensus, there can be more stability and more peace. If that will happen I cannot say but the sooner it happens the better.”

He stated that many political leaders continue to shy away from conversation about nationhood and having a new constitution due to the struggle for the control of the resources.

“President Jonathan called the national conference which addressed it but he did not move immediately to begin to implement some of those recommendations, instead he deferred it, hoping he would get a second term and he didn’t get it.

“Today the next President said the National Conference’s recommendations and old deliberations belong to the past.

“But we cannot escape this question if we are to make progress as a nation.

“The very idea of nationhood is underrated and marginalized in Nigeria. Our political leaders do not understand that without nationhood government cannot function well.

“And I said in 2023 after the election that one of the reasons Nigeria’s economy is the way it is, is because there is no sense of nation. Politics is all about who will control the gates, it’s call the gatekeepers’ state, who will control the spoils of natural resources and it’s done turn by turn. So long that is the case, the economy will not become productive.”