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Nigerian lawyer and human rights activist Femi Falana, SAN, has condemned the government’s inaction over the massive mismanagement of public funds and the worsening insecurity in Nigeria.
Speaking at a rally commemorating Democracy Day in Lagos on Friday, Falana criticised the Senate’s handling of accountability efforts, noting that a committee had summoned former NNPC GMD, Mr Mele Kyari, but the full house, led by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, claimed the committee lacked the authority to summon him and subsequently apologised for the perceived embarrassment.
“Two weeks ago, we sent a letter to the government of Nigeria to recover the sum of $120.5 billion. If this money is recovered, we have no business taking loans from anywhere in the world,” Falana said, highlighting the country’s fiscal mismanagement.
“If this money is recovered, that will be enough to fix our comatose hospitals, our roads that have been turned into death traps, and provide jobs for young people,” tying financial mismanagement to public welfare.
Falana also addressed urgent security concerns, especially the plight of kidnapped children.
“Just imagine, there are primary school pupils, some of them just barely two or three years old, who have been at the mercy of elements for the past weeks. Come rain, come sunshine, those kids are suffering. No medical attention, no food for them,” he stated.
He called for the immediate release of the children and teachers, reminding Nigerians that “a teacher has been beheaded in order to compel the government to move speedily.”
On the state of governance, Falana concluded that “There is no democracy in Nigeria. What we have is civil rule. The struggle for democracy must continue.”
