THE two days the Senate Committee on  Constitution Review has proposed for a public hearing — 11 and 12 October — will not be enough time for Nigerians to be heard on their future.

One of the ways to state the importance of the exercise is to extend the time for the public’s contributions to the review.

If the Senate really wants the public’s input, it should understand sensitivities that the various issues raise and the robust debates that reaching a consensus on them would entail.

It is not enough for the Senate to propose that the hearing will give individuals and interest groups across the socio-political spectrum the opportunity to make inputs to amending the military-decreed 1999 Constitution.

The democratic aspirations of Nigerians are vast. Thirteen years of various constitutional abdications have widened the public’s expectations and created a barely unworkable polity.

Among the issues the public would have the opportunity to air their views on are the topical subjects of devolution of powers, creation of more states, recognition of the six geo-political zones, role of traditional rulers, local government reform, and fiscal federalism.

Advocates of a comprehensive national conference could embrace this window to make their point about how Nigeria could work better. The issues are contentious enough that the Senate should find time to hear the diverse views. Meetings that synthesised regional positions preceded earlier public hearings on the Constitution.

Public views are critical to a workable Constitution.  Different parts of Nigeria have different concerns and any Constitution that does not accommodate these issues would not be different from the current one. The issues are salient and deserve attention, particularly on easier legislative and administrative processes that would address them.

Legislators should focus on a workable Constitution. The national imperatives include devolution of powers, reducing the size and cost of government, healthy internal competition among the federating units for faster national development.

Nigerians would benefit from this exercise if they approach it with a new mindset of fostering national unity through justice and equity.

Destructive, sectional tendencies ruined past efforts at amending the Constitution.  A lot of consensus would be required for a Constitution that would deliver a stronger, more united country.

The envisaged dispensation must bring out the best in every Nigerian and group. Dialogues, debates and discussions that would produce a better Constitution cannot be possible unless the participants create a setting that accommodates views and articulates them to arrive at middle grounds.

We urge Nigerians to use this opportunity well.  The exercise is more important than elections. It is about our future and we must bear the future in mind as we consider present matters.