Afe Babalola: 1999 constitution makes politics lucrative — we need a new one

Afe Babalola: 1999 constitution makes politics lucrative — we need a new one

Afe Babalola, founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, says Nigeria’s 1999 constitution makes politics a lucrative business.

Speaking at an event at the university on Saturday, Babalola said Nigeria needs a new constitution that will solve the imbalance, poverty and other problems the country is facing.

The senior advocate of Nigeria doled out N30 million grant in equipment and cash to 115 youths.

He said Nigerians do not want “transactional leaders anymore”.

“There is a very simple solution to that. We need a new constitution where the different nations can develop at their own rate,” he said.

“West was doing well under the old constitution, east was doing well under the old constitution, north was doing well under the old constitution.

“But the present constitution puts leadership in a position that politics becomes the only lucrative business in Nigeria.

“We don’t want transactional leaders anymore; we want transformational leaders, who will be able to transform this place. The solution is a new constitution – the constitution of the people.”

The cable