By Eteteonline
The administration of General Sani Abacha (17 November 1993 – 8 June 1998) is perhaps the most vilified in Nigeria’s political history. But it left behind a legacy that has stood the test of time – the creation of Nigeria’s much cherished six geopolitical zones today.
In his maiden address on November 18, 1993, the Head of State, General Sani Abacha, promised the Nigerian people that a constitutional conference with full powers would be established to determine the future constitutional structure of Nigeria.
The Abacha administration established a 19-member National Constitutional Conference Commission (NCCC), with Justice Saidu Kawu as its chairman, and vested it with the responsibility of organizing the constitutional conference.
The commission conducted elections in wards across the country, and delegates emerged. In all, there were 369 delegates of the Constitutional Conference, out of which 273 were elected and the others nominated by the government. The membership of the Constitutional Conference cut across all facets of the Nigerian society, traditional rulers inclusive.
On Monday, June 27, 1994, General Sani Abacha inaugurated the Constitutional Conference with Justice Adolphus Karibi-Whyte as its chairman.
On June 27, 1995, the Draft Constitution was submitted to General Sani Abacha at the Africa Hall of the International Conference Center, Abuja.
Justice Adolphus Karibi-Whyte, the chairman of the Constitutional Conference, said at the presentation ceremony that it was unfair to condemn the country’s leadership and that, despite criticisms of the constitutional talks and the delegates, the conference went on well and ended successfully.
The Draft constitution, he said, was entirely the product of Nigerians for Nigerians based on the country’s political experience. According to the conference chairman, some of their decisions included:
- Principle of rotation of power in the elective office of the president of the country, governors of states, and chairmen of local councils
- Multi-party system.
- Proportional representation of parties in government.
- Multiple vice presidents.
Justice Karibi-Whyte later handed over the Draft Constitution and the conference report to the Head of State, General Sani Abacha.
General Abacha said further that the Draft Constitution was “the most innovative of all our constitutional experiments” and hoped that it would meet the expectations for a united Nigeria.
The main package in General Abacha’s speech was power-sharing to be rotated among six zones. The Constitutional Conference had recommended a rotational presidency with multiple vice presidents between the North and South. But the Provisional Ruling Council, in its wisdom, went beyond that. It is clearly aligned with the aspirations of minorities across the country and gives them equal opportunities with the majority tribes. Thus, Nigeria was divided into six geopolitical zones, namely North-East, North-West, North-Central (or Middle Belt), South-East, South-West, and South-South (or Southern Minorities). The offices to be shared and rotated were those of the president, vice president, prime minister, deputy prime minister, senate president, and speaker of the House of Representatives. Thus, the question of marginalization was buried in Nigerian politics.
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