Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has criticised the administration of President Bola Tinubu, saying its economic policies have made life better only for the rich, while worsening the plight of the masses.
The senior lawyer, who spoke on Monday’s edition of Channels Television’s Politics Today, said that although some top officials within the All Progressives Congress (APC) celebrated Tinubu’s two years in office, many Nigerians struggle to survive under excruciating economic conditions worsened by Tinubu’s policies.
“For members of the government—and I’m talking of top officials—it’s been very rosy. One of them was singing a week ago that things are getting better.
“Of course, for the rich, the bourgeoisie, things are getting better. But for the masses of our people, things are getting tougher because they are going through an excruciating economic crisis,” Falana stated.
When he assumed office in May 2023, President Tinubu introduced economic reforms, such as the unification of the forex windows and subsidy removal, which drove up energy prices, transport fares, food costs, and overall expenses.
Despite these policies, Falana lamented that Nigerians are hungry, citing that Tinubu had repeatedly appealed to Nigerians for patience and promised that his economic reforms would eventually lead to national prosperity.
“In fairness to the President, on many occasions, he has asked Nigerians to bear with him, to exercise patience, that our economic programme will lead to prosperity
“Whether you believe that or not is another matter, but the government itself realises that there is a crisis in town, that people are hungry, that many are about to withdraw their children from school because of the rigid implementation of neoliberal policies dictated or endorsed by the IMF and World Bank,” the lawyer added.
Falana urged the government to abandon economic prescriptions by international financial institutions and instead prioritise policies tailored to Nigeria’s socio-economic realities.
He further criticised the government’s decision to devalue the naira, noting its devastating impact on the cost of living.
“My position, which I have made repeatedly clear, is that the government must abandon the prescriptions of the Bretton Woods institutions and have confidence in Nigeria so that Nigerians can be given the opportunity to run this country in the interest of our people.
“If you devalue the currency of a country that is import-oriented, you are going to have an astronomical rise in the price of goods—and that is what has happened to our country. You devalue the currency, and you lose interest,” he said.
The human rights advocate challenged Nigerians to take a more active role in democratic accountability.
“I want to challenge Nigerians to appreciate that budgets are presented to the National Assembly by the President. Governors also present budgets to their respective Houses of Assembly. Nigerians must take these budgets, identify the items one by one, and ensure we follow up and monitor their execution.”
Falana also called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to discourage premature political campaigns, stressing that governance should take precedence at this time.
“I have seen a lot of politics going on and had expected INEC to intervene by saying, ‘We haven’t lifted the ban on electioneering; therefore, concentrate on governance for now.’”
The lawyer’s remarks came amid growing support within the ruling party for Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.
