Elder statesman and legal scholar Aare Afe Babalola spoke Monday in favour of quick action to decrease Nigeria's enormous foreign debts, saying any Nigerian with presidential aspirations should be concerned about the nation's debt profile.
Babalola stated at a news conference that the successor to President Muhammadu Buhari should bargain with the nation's creditors for either complete debt forgiveness or a significant reduction of the debts. In answer to inquiries over former president Olusegun Obasanjo's support of Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, he said this.
Babalola asserted that it was within Obasanjo's right to voice his view and opined that the former president's support for Mr Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, may have something to do with the latter's well-regarded sterling education and spotless record.
However, he asserted that a moneybag, not the most qualified candidate, would prevail in the upcoming presidential election. He believes that the winner of the presidential election would be the one with the biggest financial resources.
Once more, Babalola claimed that the 1999 Nigerian Constitution would not guarantee the election of dependable officials.
He asserted that until a new constitution is put in place that is similar to the constitutions of 1960 and 1963, with the necessary amendments, none of the contenders can save Nigeria from complete collapse.
The eminent attorney recalled his request to the Federal Government to postpone the elections and instal an interim administration.
He was quoted as saying, “I still stand by my suggestion that any election conducted under the 1999 Constitution cannot and will not produce new leaders with new ideas.
“Any election conducted under the 1999 Constitution will merely result in recycling the same people who brought Nigeria to grinding poverty, mass unemployment, underfunded education, insecurity and huge external debts.”
To create the kind of change agent and progressive leader Chief Obasanjo envisioned, he said, the 1999 Constitution needed to be changed.
“If I contest for political office today, I will fail, not because I am not qualified, but because the system will make me not win. I have no sympathy for any Nigerian aspiring to rule Nigeria in any form, whether as a legislator, governor or president.
“The fact remains that the 1999 Constitution, on a large scale, is the root cause of economic, social, political and religious problems in the country today.”
“The new constitution should provide for stringent conditions in respect of age, academic qualifications, character and personality, as well as the family background of candidates, especially for the presidency and the National Assembly,” he said.