Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, has criticized President
Muhammadu Buhari for attending the just concluded G7 meeting with a shopping
list of Nigeria’s problems. Mr. Falana spoke today at a civil society round
table on the state of the nation organized by the Nigerians United for
Democracy in Lagos.
Muhammadu Buhari for attending the just concluded G7 meeting with a shopping
list of Nigeria’s problems. Mr. Falana spoke today at a civil society round
table on the state of the nation organized by the Nigerians United for
Democracy in Lagos.
The group of seven industrialized nations had urged Mr.
Buhari to attend the Munich event with a “wish list” for their consideration
and assistance.
Buhari to attend the Munich event with a “wish list” for their consideration
and assistance.
“Our president went to the G7 and we are happy. And he went
there with a bowl, ‘please do this for us, do this for us,’” said Mr. Falana, a
Senior Advocate of Nigeria. Continue below…
there with a bowl, ‘please do this for us, do this for us,’” said Mr. Falana, a
Senior Advocate of Nigeria. Continue below…
“Again we must interrogate that, has our situation become so
bad that we have to ask for external support? When we have not mobilized the
energy, the potentials of our people to turn this country around.
bad that we have to ask for external support? When we have not mobilized the
energy, the potentials of our people to turn this country around.
“And please, let the new regime be told that the dangerous
prescriptions of the IMF and the World Bank and the G7 that we have followed
since 1986 that the Structural Adjustment Programme was imposed on Nigeria,
those prescriptions have reduced Nigeria to a banana republic. Since then we
have been managing poverty, what they call poverty alleviation, not poverty
eradication, because this system can never abolish poverty.”
prescriptions of the IMF and the World Bank and the G7 that we have followed
since 1986 that the Structural Adjustment Programme was imposed on Nigeria,
those prescriptions have reduced Nigeria to a banana republic. Since then we
have been managing poverty, what they call poverty alleviation, not poverty
eradication, because this system can never abolish poverty.”
The lawyer called on Nigerians to challenge the government
over its choice of economic policies.
over its choice of economic policies.
“There are alternative economic programmes to the ones that
are forced on Nigerians every time,” Mr. Falana said.
are forced on Nigerians every time,” Mr. Falana said.
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