CONFERENCES, TRAINING, COLLOQUIA AND WORKSHOPS ORGANISED BY CFCR BETWEEN 1999 – 2002

	The 1999 Constitution and the Future of Democracy In Nigeria.
	Public Participation, Conflict Management and Negotiation Training
	Colloquium on Engendering the Language and Contents of the 1999 Constitution
	Colloquium on Independent Commissions.
	Colloquium on Citizenship and Residency Rights.
	Colloquium on Federalism
	Colloquium on Social and Economic Rights.
	Colloquium on Freedom of Association and Political Parties
	Colloquium on Derivation Principles and Revenue Allocation.
	Colloquium on Access to Justice and the Rule of Law.
	Colloquium on the Role of the Security Forces and Security Sector Reform.
	Review Meeting on the Position of the CFCR Submitted to the Joint Committee of the National Assembly on the Review of the 1999 Constitution.
	Train the Trainers Workshop

29 June – 2 July 1999; Nicon Hilton Hotel, Abuja: 

The 1999 Constitution and the Future of Democracy In Nigeria.

This was a conference organised by the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), London in which more than fifty participants were in attendance. They came in from academia, civil society groups, the legal and other professions, within and outside Nigeria, to deliberate extensively on the above stated subject.

By the time the conference came to an end, participants were unanimously agreed that the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is fundamentally flawed and projected no hope for the cultivation of a sustainable democratic culture in the country. And the need for a civil society coalition as response for mobilising grassroots opinion and the independent monitoring of the constitutional review process was agreed upon.

These factors provided the immediate context for the establishment of the Citizens’ Forum for Constitutional Reform in 1999; and the forum has a National Coordinating Committee, Zonal Coordinators for the six geo-political zones in Nigeria, and co-coordinators for the thirty-six states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

13 – 17 March 2000; Amana Suite, Abuja:

 Public Participation, Conflict Management and Negotiation Training

This was organised by CFCR for its National Coordinating committee, Zonal and state Coordinators and its secretarial staff. Foreign experts such as Dr David Everatt and John Tsalamandris form South Africa, and the Director of CDD, Dr Kayode Fayemi gave guest lectures, while the Secretary of the Presidential Technical Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, Dr Maxwell Gidado was a participant at the training. Drs David Everatt and Kayode Fayemi spoke extensively on the principles and mechanisms of constitution making, and Everatt took this further by examining the challenges presented in the Nigerian process through the perspective offered by the South African experience. John Tsalamandris enlightened participants on conflict management and negotiation skills. The training lasted for five days.

17 – 20 May 2000; FSP Hotel, Lagos: 

Colloquium on Engendering the Language and Contents of the 1999 Constitution.

This was organised by CFCR with financial support from CDD, and it had Ms Joy Ezeilo, Margaret C. Oumo and Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi from Nigeria, Uganda and UK as the guest speakers. Both Bisi and Margaret shared comparative information with other participants on how to rid the language of the 1999 Constitution of its gender bias.

17 - 20 May 2000; Excellence Hotel, Lagos: 

Colloquium on Independent Commissions.

It was organised with financial assistance from the Centre for Democracy and Development. Guest speakers at the event included Professor Pita Agbese from lowa State University, Dr Fayemi of CDD and Ayo Atsenuwa of the Faculty of Law, University of Lagos. And participants considered the various independent commissions that had been established in Nigeria in great detail. At the end of the event, the strand of agreement running through opinions expressed was that the operations and financial dependence of commissions being established in Nigeria needs to be constitutionally evaluated. It was concluded that despite the recognition of these commissions as independent in the 1999 Constitution, they are still essentially state controlled insititution, which have not been imbued with sufficient powers to make them truly autonomous decisions.

The colloquium recommended that:

(a)      Independent commissions must be able to stand free of legislative and executive influence and autonomous funding for them must be guaranteed through a consolidated fund.

(b)   Membership of these bodies must be made as open and democratic as possible.

Provisions for the establishment of the following independent commissions were recommended for inclusion in the constitution:

1. The Human Rights Commission.

2. The Anti-corruption and Public Accountability Commission.

3. The Independent Electoral Commission.

4. The Gender Equality Commission.

5.  The Civic Education Commission.

29 - 30 May 2000; Day Spring Hotel, Abuja: 

Colloquium on Citizenship and Residency Rights.

Organised in collaboration with the African Centre for Democratic Governance, Abuja, the colloquium was aimed at examining and engaging a critical analyses of the 1999 Constitution as it relates to the above mentioned theme and the ways through which could be resolved constitutionally. The guest lecture was given by Dr. Sam Egwu of the Political Science Department at the University of Jos, Nigeria. In his presentation, "The Challenge of Citizenship and Residency Rights in the Nigerian Constitution", he emphasised the need for the aspects of the document relating to 'indigeneity' to be changed to 'residency rights'. After the discussions, a communiqué that described indigeneity as being anti-progressive, since it has led to communal, state and national disasters, was issued. More so, participants recommended that the word “indigene” should be expunged from the 1999 Constitution in favour of 'residency rights', that the plural nature of society should also be recognised in all appointments, and that the notion of citizenship should be included in school curricula.

**See the colloquia reports for additional information.

8 - 11 June 2000; Country Home Hotel, Jos: 

Colloquium on Federalism

This was organised with financial assistance from the African Centre for Democratic Governance (Afrigov), while foreign alongside Nigerian experts on federalism constituted the resource persons that set out on thinking through the challenges presented by the political problems evolving from the above stated subject.

Professor Eghosa Osaghae of University of Ibadan, Nigeria and Dr Boye Ejobowah of the University of Toronto, Canada were guest speakers at the event. The colloquium contemplated the concept of federalism, its origin and application in Nigeria, particularly how it operates in the 1999 Constitution.

At the end of the colloquium, participants agreed on the following:

·  That the federal system of government is ideal for Nigeria due to its multi-ethnic, cultural and religious composition.

·  That there is urgent need for Nigeria to devolve power from the centre downwards.

·  That the 1999 Constitution violates many of the principles and minimal standards of the operations of a federal system; hence, participants suggested that certain amendments be made to the document.

 **See the CFCR report of the colloquia for further details.

 5 - 8 July 2000; Chelsea Hotel, Abuja: 

Colloquium on Social and Economic Rights.

 Organised in collaboration with the International Human Rights Law Group, participants considered the social and economic rights of Nigerians within the context of previous constitutions that had been made in the country and specifically the 1999 Constitution, in great detail. Guest speakers included Professor Osita Eze and Eze Onyekpere of Shelter Rights Initiative, an organisation committed to advocacy in terms of economic rights and the right to living space.

 Participants made the following observations:

·        That the 1999 Constitution does not provide for social and economic rights that are enforceable.

·        That Nigeria signed and ratified many international human rights instruments, which it is yet to domesticate.

 The colloquium then suggested that the following amendments to the 1999 Constitution be made:

 ·        That Section 12, which states that the National Assembly should enact treaties into law before they become imbued with the force of law, should be amended. And that treaties should gain the force of law after they have been presented to and passed by the National Assembly for ratification.

·        The following social and economic rights should be added to Chapter 4 of the Nigeria constitution for enforceability:

 (i)         The right to adequate housing.

(ii)        The right to education.

(iii)       The right to health.

(iv)       The right to social security, including care for aged.

(v)        And the entrenchment of a commission for economic and social justice.

 **See the report of CFCR's colloquia for more details.

 12 - 15 July 200; Day Spring Hotel, Abuja: 

Colloquium on Freedom of Association and Political Parties

 This was jointly organised with the Human Rights International Law group, and it sought to evaluate the relationship existing among the 1999 Constitution, Freedom of Association and Political Parties. The principle of inclusivity formed the basis of discussions and analysis at the colloquium and several issues were raised, while specific provisions of the 1999 Constitution were examined to determine whether they constituted an abridgement of right to the Freedom of Association or not.

 The colloquium noted that:

 (i)   The conditions required for the registration of political parties effectively disempowers      a lot of people and even prevent them from belonging to any of the registered parties

(ii)  Several provisions of the 1999 Constitution are at variance with the right to Freedom of   Association

 At the conclusion of the colloquium, the following suggestions and necessary adjustments to the Constitution were recommended:

 ·        That the registration of political parties by the Independent National Electoral Commission should be strictly for administrative purposes.

·        That the headquarters of political parties need not be in Abuja and they should not be mandated to have branches in two-thirds of the states of the federation.

·        That all provisions which prohibit the confinement of the activities of political parties to a particular geography should be expunged from the 1999 constitution.

 In addition to the above recommendations, the colloquium also recommended certain amendments to the draft electoral law.

 **Please refer to the CFCR report of colloquium for additional information.

 15 - 18 August; Airport Hotel, Port Harcourt: 

Colloquium on Derivation Principles and Revenue Allocation.

 Organised along with the Centre for Advanced Social Science, Port Harcourt, the colloquium probed the Nigerian Constitution in relation to derivation principles and revenue allocation. Ben Aigbokhan, a Professor of Economics at the Ambrose Alli University, Edo State gave the guest speech. Participants at the forum looked into derivation principles within Nigerian Constitutions from the pre-colonial era down to the current 1999 Constitution. And in addition, they contemplated the work of several commissions that were put in place by different governments, from the Phillipson Commission of 1946 to the National Revenue Mobilisation and Allocation Fiscal Commission (NRMAFC) of 1989 in efforts at checking out the various revenue allocation and derivation principles adopted by the Nigerian state.

The participants unanimously agreed that:

 · The Land Use Act must be substantially reviewed and that Nigerian communities need to take a position on the land tenure system, which is to be reached through debates and consultations.

· Excise duties should accrue to the federating units of the country, while the federal government legislates on this and collect administrative allowances or percentages.

· In order to justify true democracy, the ownership and control of resources by the people     (community) must be constitutionally recognised.

·  Finally, there is need for equalisation provisions in relation to the distribution of resources.

 **See the CFCR Report of Colloquia and communiqué for additional information.

 2 - 5 November 2000; Excellence Hotel, Lagos: 

Colloquium on Access to Justice and the Rule of Law.

This colloquium reviewed the nature of the access to justice and practicability of the rule of law within the context of the 1999 Constitution. And Nigerian experts, Professor Ben Nwabueze and Barrister James Okpara made presentations, while former Chairperson of the Eritrean constitutional review commission and Professor at the University of North Carolina, Bereket H. Selassie served as foreign expert at the programme.

Participants considered the composition, tenure and function of the National Judicial Council; its funding, the tenureship of the Chief Justice of the Federation and State Chief Judges, their ages of retirement, self-accountability, the separation of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice and domestication of international treaties. They then suggested the following as ways of improving the access to justice and the rule of law:

(i)     The financial autonomy of the judiciary.

(ii)    Integrity and other sterling qualities should be considered in the appointment of judges.

(iii)   There should be good remuneration for judicial officers and their staff.

(iv)   The Legal Aid Council should be properly financed and staffed by competent practitioners     in    order to improve the quality of access to justice.

Importantly, the government was advised to make the judiciary self-accounting and to provide a conducive atmosphere for their proper functioning.

**See the CFCR Report of this colloquium for additional information.

15 - 17 March 2001; Excellence Hotel, Lagos.:

Colloquium on the Role of the Security Forces and Security Sector Reform.

This also explored the 1999 Constitution and the role of the security forces with a view to the democratic restructuring of the Nigerian security sector. Dr. Kayode Fayemi was the thematic speaker, while Professor Robin Luckham of the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, UK was the foreign specialist. Participants deliberated extensively on the role of the Police, Army, Navy and Air Force, and they suggested the necessity of reviewing the Constitution in order to guarantee a democratic control of the armed forces in Nigeria.

**See the report of CFCR for additional information.

20 - 21 March 2001; Pioneer Hotel, Abuja:

Review Meeting on the Position of the CFCR Submitted to the Joint Committee of the National Assembly on the Review of the 1999 Constitution.

Experts from Nigeria and members of the coalition from different but relevant fields of endeavour were invited to this meeting. And participants were divided into the following thematic working groups to review the reports of the various colloquia held by CFCR.

(i)       Gender

(ii)      Independent Commissions

(iii)     Citizenship and Residency Rights

(iv)     Federalism

(v)      Social and Economic rights

(vi)     Political Parties and freedom of Association

(vii)    Revenue Allocation and Derivation Principles

(viii)   Access to Justice and the Rule of Law

(ix)     Security Sector Reform

Various reports of the work of the Forum were then harmonised into a booklet, The Position of the CFCR on the Review of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which has since been presented to the National Assembly Joint Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution as the memoranda of the Forum. Subsequently, thousand of copies of these memoranda have also been given out to Nigerians.

**Check out The CFCR Position to the National Assembly Joint Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution for full information

28 - 31 August 2001; Pioneer Hotel, Abuja: 

Train the Trainers Workshop

CFCR organised this workshop for its National Co-ordinating Members, Zonal and State Co-ordinators and the goal was to empower them on how to train other Nigerians in conflict management, and the principles and mechanisms of constitution making. The training officials included the Secretary of the Citizens' Forum, Mr. Otive Igbuzor, Hajiya Amina Salihu, General Ishola Williams (Rtd.) and Dr Kayode Fayemi. Participants were well exposed to the mechanisms of constitution making, the gender dimensions of the process and the building of consensus and development of negotiating skills.

The training was targeted at preparing participants for state and zonal conferences on constitutional reforms in Nigeria, which was about to begin across the country then. And it was to enable the Forum to collate the views of Nigerians through the thirty-six states of the country and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, on what their constitutional demands are.