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By Bolaji O. Akinyemi

In a season where nations prepare their future with clarity and conviction, Nigeria appears once again to be rehearsing her tragedy — in grand legislative theatre. The National Assembly, that sacred chamber of the people’s mandate, has announced what it calls a “landmark” step toward constitutional reform. The Senate says Nigerians should gather across six geopolitical zones — Lagos, Enugu, Ikot-Ekpene, Jos, Maiduguri and Kano — for public hearings scheduled for July 4 and 5, 2025.

A noble idea? Perhaps.
A timely call? Certainly.
But here comes the question that breaks the illusion: Where are the venues?

Today is June 24. We are exactly 10 days away from this supposed constitutional convention, and neither senators, nor honourable members, nor even staffers of the National Assembly can tell you where to show up in your region. I challenge you: Call your representative or senator. The response you’ll likely receive is a frustrating cocktail of guesswork and confusion.

Even more curious: This same National Assembly that has failed to release basic logistical information for a national civic exercise had the time — and clarity — to host a dinner for the diplomatic community at the National Assembly Complex. Foreign dignitaries are dining while Nigerians are left in the dark about how to participate in a reform that will shape their future.

Is this a public hearing or public deceit?

Smoke Screens and Shadow Games

One cannot help but wonder: Is this hastily thrown-together constitutional “hearing” a strategic distraction from the storm brewing around the President’s Chicago school records, or perhaps the Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan revelations which have recently taken over social media timelines? Or is it another ruse to satisfy international partners with the optics of democracy while evading its true obligations?

In ten days, we are supposed to gather in regions spread across a nation of failing infrastructure and insecurity, yet the federal legislature cannot provide clarity or coordination. The truth is this: a public hearing without a public plan is legislative gaslighting.

A Legislature Lost in Transit

Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu and Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin may speak the right grammar and quote democracy’s gospel, but their failure to organize and communicate is symptomatic of a National Assembly adrift. We now have 87 constitutional amendments under consideration, and thematic areas ranging from gender equity to state police. Important conversations, no doubt. But a car without a steering wheel still crashes — even if the engine is brand new.

How can the people own a process they cannot access? How can the nation reform a constitution when the roadmap is hidden? Who calls for a national gathering without telling citizens the address?

This is not oversight.
This is not administrative delay.
This is legislative recklessness.

The Price of Our Passivity

Fellow Nigerians, we must wake up. The Constitution is not the property of the National Assembly. It is ours. Their role is to midwife our aspirations into law, not to hijack or mismanage the process. We cannot continue to allow silence to be our contribution and confusion to be our consent.

Constitutional reform is the most serious civic business of a nation. If we, the people, do not insist on order, transparency and access, then we have no right to complain when the outcome of the process preserves the old rot, protects the elite, and plunders the powerless.

Call to Action

To the National Assembly, I say: Get your house in order. Release the venues. Publish the agenda. Give us time to prepare. You owe Nigerians clarity, not cocktails with foreign dignitaries.

To every Nigerian who still believes in this nation: Be vigilant. Be vocal. Be present. This process must not happen without us. Our silence today may become the law that binds us tomorrow.

July 4 and 5 must not become another footnote in Nigeria’s long history of dashed hopes. We must refuse to be fooled, again.

Democracy without participation is dictatorship in disguise.

Dr. Bolaji O. Akinyemi is an Apostle and Nation Builder. He’s also President Voice of His Word Ministries and Convener Apostolic Round Table. BoT Chairman, Project Victory Call Initiative, AKA PVC Naija. He is a strategic Communicator and the C.E.O, Masterbuilder Communications.

Email: bolajiakinyemi66@gmail.com
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Phone:+2348033041236

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