[TOP STORIES] Constitutional reform: Roles monarchs can play — South-East residents

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas has restated the need for traditional rulers to be given roles in constitutional roles. What roles should royal fathers be given in the constitution?

Let them have constitutional mandate, resources to checkmate insecurity, screen politicians —Enugu monarch

The Traditional Ruler of Ibagwa-Nike in Enugu East Local Government Area of Enugu State, Igwe Emmanuel Ugwu thinks that top among powers which traditional rulers should be assigned in the constitution is the power to regulate security apparatus in their domains to ensure a lasting peace.

Igwe Ugwu also suggested that the Nigeria Constitution deserves to be amended to make different kingdoms, autonomous communities or political wards become the fourth tier of the government. He argued that the traditional rulers are in the best position to attest to the character and pedigree of any political appointee or aspirant to elective offices, and suggested constitutional mandate for monarchs who know the character and temperament of their subjects better to attest to them.

Ugwu said: “Traditional rulers deserve powers to regulate security and peace in their various kingdoms according to their native laws not contrary to human rights.

“We also deserve power to arbitrate over customary/civil matters and minor offences such as stealing, defamation of character, etc, and power to attest to political appointees who are their subjects and are well known to them.

“The constitution also needs to recognise various kingdoms or political wards as the fourth tier of government”, the monarch proffered.

The traditional ruler of Obosi Kingdom in Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State, Igwe Chidubem Iweka III, said traditional rulers already know the roles they ought to play in their various communities but problem is that they are not backed up by the constitution.

“In Anambra State, for instance, right from the administration of former Governors Chinwoke Mbadinuju, Chris Ngige, Peter Obi up to Willie Obiano and now, Prof. Charles Soludo, traditional rulers have been shouldered with the responsibility of being Chief security custodians of their various communities and grappling to meet up with the expectations with neither executive nor financial support from government.

“Since the police are poorly funded by government, traditional rulers often have to raise resources to ensure that proper support is provided for adequate security logistics in anti-crime engagements in their respective domains”.

According to the monarch, “Traditional rulers are functional integral parts of the state government and by extension, the Federal Government. Therefore, their roles in the scheme of governance should be legislated and made constitutional. The government enjoys the roles of traditional rulers but the monarchs do not have commensurate support to make their efforts effective.

“The efforts of traditional rulers are grossly undermined and unappreciated. Traditional rulers are threatened, attacked and in some cases, killed especially for their roles in crime fighting yet no proper security provisions are made for them and most of them cannot afford permanent police or vigilante in their palaces.”

“Constitutional roles should be given to royal fathers. Let there be legislative approach to provisions of security for royal fathers. The traditional rulers’ council leadership should endeavour to prevail upon the state and federal legislators to effect bills that will improve their conditions officially by law; addressing us as chief security officers and our striving to live up to that expectations must be backed by the constitution.”

Constitutional advisory role for royal fathers overdue

The hint by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abass that the country’s traditional rulers would be given constitutional roles to play in the nation’s polity has been described as a welcome development.

Respondents in Anambra State observed that many traditional rulers across the country possess enormous academic qualifications and leadership qualities to play significant constitutional roles that would help move the various communities and to a large extent, federal and state governments forward.

A community leader in the state, Chief Oliver Ekemezie, said that making traditional rulers constitutionally relevant in the scheme of things is not new and recalled that the defunct Eastern Nigerian Government had House of Chiefs that performed advisory role for the government.

Ekemezie said: “I believe it will be a welcome development. With their fatherly role, the monarchs, who will be selected from among the best in their states, will be in a position to douse tension whenever the need arises.

“One problem that may face the proposal is determining the membership of such a council as governors may want to wield their influence. To avoid that, I suggest that the Traditional Rulers’ Council of each state should nominate those to represent their states at the national level.

“The members should be paid only sitting allowance and their meetings should be quarterly, or when there is an emergency.

“With politicians creating so much tension in the polity, the royal fathers should serve as a buffer, which is the reason only respectable ones among them should belong to the National Traditional Rulers Council.”

Another Anambra resident, Chief Nwabufo Igwilo also welcomed the development, but cautioned that care must be taken to avoid politicizing the traditional institution. He warned that state governors should not interfere with the membership of the council, otherwise the aim would be defeated.

“Each state should provide two members in the council, with the Federal Capital Territory providing one. Their function should center on conflict resolution and their leadership should be rotational among the six geopolitical zones of the country”, Igwilo said.

Let there be constitutional provision of funds to tackle insecurity at local level —Ukuta

In his contribution, the traditional ruler of Iggah Ancient Kingdom in Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of Enugu State, Igwe Herbert Ukuta, suggested that the constitution should make provision for monthly security votes for traditional rulers in the country to enable them tackle insecurity in their domains by nipping crimes and criminalities in the bud as the traditional rulers live in their communities and know all the bad eggs around.

“There are so many constitutional rules the Federal Government can assign to traditional rulers. The most important amongst them is the issue of security. Let the constitution provide monthly security votes to traditional rulers as it does to local government chairmen. With that, there would be ripple effect of tackling insecurity among communities in the country.

“As the Chief Security Officers in the communities, no traditional ruler would deny the fact that he knows all the bad eggs in his communities but they can’t fight them with their bare hands, they need government’s backing”, the monarch said.

However, the Presiding Archbishop, Divine Power Church and Ministry International, Archbishop Professor Princewill Ariwodor, rather advocated that the role of conflict resolution be assigned to religious leaders in the proposed constitution amendment.

He equally advocated that religious leaders, because of the grace they carry and the spiritual powers they manifest, should be assigned the role of rehabilitating drug addicts and the mentally deranged.

The cleric who doubles as the Chairman, Abia Elders Consultative Forum, further canvassed that religious leaders be constitutionally assigned arbitration role to serve as Assistant Magistrates to handle cases in rural communities.

“Religious leaders have the grace of praying for the mad and they get healed. So, they can be assigned roles to help in rehabilitating drug addicts and the mentally deranged. Such people can be confined in a facility to be provided by government and then the religious leaders would have the constitutional responsibility of overseeing them so they can be rehabilitated and re-integrated into society. Such people can tomorrow, become good materials and resource men and women.

“Religious leaders, who are Justices of Peace, can be constitutionally assigned to handle cases in rural communities as Assistant Magistrates where Magistrates run away from. They will do better than the legal arbitration system. Apart from going to the rural communities, they can equally be involved in the alternative resolution system known as Multi-door. This is a way of amicably resolving matters that are already in courts instead of winner takes it all. They will bring all the parties together and resolve their differences so that peace will reign because winning court cases is not winning the peace”, the cleric explained.

Don’t give them any constitutional roles, it’s an aberration —Lawyer

But an Owerri based lawyer, Eze Eluchie, rejected the proposal to grant monarch’s any constitutional roles, describing such action an aberration.

“Any likelihood for substantive roles for persons who do not emerge from a democratic process, would be an aberration”, Eluchie said.

“Some of our elected officials seem not to be fully abreast of the structure and nature of the Nigerian Federation. If indeed the Speaker of the House fully appreciates the meaning of the democratic system of government enshrined in our Constitution, which is predicated on the principle of Universal Franchise, one man one vote, he would have realized that any likelihood for substantive roles for persons who do not emerge from a democratic process, would be an aberration.

“The non-binding advisory roles traditional rulers are saddled with, suffices. Any substantive roles for non-elected persons in a democracy will diminish the quality of our democracy.

“Speaker Abass also seems to forget that not all parts of the country have institutionalized traditional ruler systems. The fact that these traditional rulers, to all intents and purposes, are appointees of State Governors, further makes it superfluous for them to be saddled with any roles beyond the mere advisory roles they currently have”, he said.