Founder of Afe Babalola University Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD) Aare Afe Babalola has called on the professionals in the country to join the crusade for a new constitution before the 2023 general election.

The renowned lawyer explained that the country is facing serious socio-economic challenges and that there is a need for professionals to be in the executive and the legislative arms of government, saying this would only be made possible with a new constitution.

Babalola who spoke in ABUAD on Thursday at the second Dr Ayodele Esan annual lecture organised by the Ekiti state branch of the Nigeria Society of Engineers (NSE) maintained that the 1999 constitution is the foundation of the problems confronting the nation.

According to him, professionals like engineers, lawyers, bankers and doctors would form the majority in the National Assembly and other offices if the 1999 constitution is discarded and replaced with the new people’s constitution.

He said, “It is obvious that this constitution has made it impossible to have competent, patriotic, kind and incorruptible leaders who can secure the life of people. This has made it imperative and urgently necessary to have a new constitution before any election, otherwise, we will recycle those who have brought us here today.

“Only God knows what will be the fate of the country if those leaders who have brought us to his sorry state are brought back to continue to run the affairs of the country.

“As a very important professional body that holds the key to any development in any country, I urge you to go back home and join the crusade for a new constitution where engineers will play a major role in reviving the economy of the country.”

In his lecture titled; ‘Economic Development through Entrepreneurship and Skills Acquisition’, a professor of civil engineering, Gbenga Aribisala, the academic posited that the two major problems of insecurity and unemployment can only be solved with robust entrepreneurial and skills acquisition, which special institutions can guarantee.

The scholar also hinted that part of why Nigeria remain economically retarded in terms of the development of Small and Medium Scale businesses has been that only 60 million out of 200m million Nigerian population have access to electricity.

The Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi, represented by the supervising Commissioner for Public Utilities, Professor Bolaji Aluko, said his government has begun an Independent Power Plant, in partnership with some firms to put a section of Ado Ekiti off the national grid.

“The national grid was not well supplied with adequate current and voltage to power electricity. Ekiti receives 6mgw from the national grid. How do we have regular electricity with this? We are building an IPP that will help in solving our perennial power problem,” he said.