Since the independence of Nigeria in 1960, the political atmosphere has encountered a mixture of turbulent civil and military unrest, which has shaped the result of her constitutions. The last of them, the 1999 constitution, which is often ascribed as the second democratic constitution, is trailed with controversy following the dubious procedures of its enactment by the military government. The principle of the sovereignty of the people in Nigeria has always been situated but manipulated with respect to the authocthonism of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It is in the light of this issue that this essay revolves through the defects of the 1999 constitution while suggesting prospective recommendations for a democratic constitution.
December 5, 2025