Falana urges vigilance against threats to democratic process

Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana has condemned efforts to incite chaos in the country following the #EndBadGovernance protests.

During his appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday, Falana stressed that Nigeria must prevent individuals from disrupting its democratic process.

Many Nigerians are struggling with severe economic difficulties, making it hard to afford basic necessities. This widespread hardship has contributed to growing public dissatisfaction.

In response, youths began protests on August 1st, calling for an end to hunger and poor governance. The #EndBadGovernance protests are aimed at reversing detrimental government policies.

In some northern states, such as Kaduna, Katisna, and Kano, protesters have waved Russian flags and called for military intervention. The protests, expected to last 10 days, have turned violent in most states, with casualties reported.

He stated “Some of us were also involved in the struggle for the democratisation, as it was of a number of African countries who were involved in the struggle against apartheid in the struggle against colonialism in the Southern African region.

“Currently, I’m personally involved in the campaign against the colonisation of Western Sahara by Morocco. So to that extent, we cannot fold our arms and allow undemocratic forces to undermine the democratic process.

“We are bound to have a peaceful protest. We are bound to disagree with those who are in power. We are bound to condemn the denial of the dividends of democracy to our people. But peaceful protests should not be allowed to degenerate into a situation whereby forces of repression will take advantage to begin to demand an unconstitutional change of government or campaign for military rule in one form or the other.”

He acknowledged that the country is dealing with issues that may have sparked the protests.

However, Falana emphasised, “We must not allow enemies of democracy to delay the democratic process.”

He continued “We have had uninterrupted civil rule for 25 years. So, you can imagine that those who are 40 years now, were probably 15 when the military was forced out of power.

“So, for those who are under 40 in Nigeria – and the majority are – they have not been told, they have not been taught in any school what Nigerians went through under all manners of military dictators ditto for the Civil War because the issue of the Civil War has not been taught in our schools. Many young people are calling for a war in many parts of the country. So, I think a lot of lessons should be drawn from this experience.”