Following the collapse of the First Republic (1960-1966) political power in Nigeria is to be turned over to a democratically elected civilian regime in October 1979. The process of constitutionmaking resulted in a report of the Constitution Drafting Committee (1979) which became the basis for deliberations by a Constituent Assembly. The C.A.’s work was completed and the body dissolved in June 1978. This article analyses critically the substance of what will become the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in October 1979. How have the C.D.C. and C.A. members defined the problem of the First Republic? Which solutions have they proposed? What is their vision of Nigeria’s future and what goals have they laid down to realize it? A summary of some of the more prominent socio-economic problems of contemporary Nigeria helps explain why a socialist or collectivist charter is, in a real and immediate sense, an ‘objective’ necessity for the Second Republic and why simultaneously the promulgation of such a charter would undermine the continued social and political hegemony of the very class interest which the C.D.C. and C.A. members are endeavouring to perpetuate. Notes.
