Public Memorandum ………/2
To: Â
The People of Nigeria
Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
House of Representatives of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
President Bola Tinubu
By: Obiageli “Oby” Ezekwesili
The Urgency to Restructure Nigeria: Why a Single‑Issue Constitutional Amendment Can No Longer Wait
A Citizens‑Led Sovereign National Conference, properly constituted, would negotiate the federal structure, fiscal arrangements, security architecture, human rights protections, and national identity that a modern Nigerian state requires. Its composition must be broad enough to prevent political class capture and inclusive enough to reflect the country’s true diversity - ethnic nationalities, women, youth, labour, civil society, persons with disabilities, traditional institutions, faith communities, the private sector, diaspora Nigerians, and elected representatives. Its proceedings must be transparent, participatory, and accessible to the public. And its final draft must be ratified through a national referendum.
Some have argued that the Tinubu administration has already “achieved” restructuring through scattered policy reforms. But piecemeal adjustments are not restructuring. They are, at best, administrative conveniences. At worst, they are distractions that obscure the deeper crisis. True restructuring requires a collectively owned, citizen‑driven constitutional process - not executive‑led policy tweaks that leave the underlying power imbalances intact.
Nigeria cannot continue outsourcing its future to elite bargains. A country of more than 200 million people cannot be remade through backroom negotiations. The National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly must therefore be called upon - through collective civic action - to pass one urgent amendment: the amendment that returns constitution‑making authority to the people.
Not many amendments. Not cosmetic amendments. Not amendments that pretend to restructure Nigeria on behalf of the people.
Just one: the amendment that empowers Nigerians to restructure Nigeria for themselves.
Our condition is dire. Our window is narrowing. The insecurity that now engulfs the country is not merely a failure of policing; it is the predictable outcome of a constitutional order that concentrates power without accountability, centralizes authority without capacity, and imposes unity without consent. Nigeria cannot survive the next decade on the foundation of the last one.
The demand before us is simple: create the pathway, mandate the Conference, submit the draft to a referendum, and let Nigerians decide.
There is no reason to be paralyzed by the fear that a constitutional referendum will unravel Nigeria. Far from it. Look across at Kenya which escaped the abyss of the worst ethnic conflict by using its 2010 constitutional referendum to give their citizens the power to remake and unify their country - a lesson Nigeria can no longer afford to ignore.
Now is the next best time to reset Nigeria since independence. The question that is to be answered by each of us is the one that has haunted our national journey for decades.
Can Nigeria ever Become and lead the rest of Africa to “Claim the 21st Century?”
The answer, dear compatriots is in our hands because as the GenZs would say, Nigeria desperately needs those who will step up to “carry her matter for their heads”.
Are you in for the right kind of collective actions that Nigeria deserves from her citizens?
The answer is in your hand.
Obiageli “Oby” Ezekwesili
Founder, SPPG - School of Politics, Policy and Governance
June 17, 2026
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