Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, has highlighted the measures Nigeria should take to help strengthen democracy and promote stability across West Africa following the recent wave of coups in the region.
Speaking in an interview on ‘Politics Today’, a programme on Channels Television monitored by DAILY POST on Tuesday, Falana said Nigeria must confront the root causes of instability.
According to him, there is the need for civic freedoms to be expanded and condemned the practice of treating dissent as a crime.
“If we want to have political stability in Nigeria, you must address the crisis of the economy, address poverty, tackle illiteracy, and curb insecurity of lives and property,” he said.
“You must show that the political space will not shrink as it is now. You have a shrinking of the political space, and that must stop. There must be freedom of expression.
“You cannot be charging people with all manner of offences for expressing their views about the affairs of their country,” he said.
The human rights lawyer also urged the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to widen democratic participation, stressing that many citizens are unhappy with current policies, and that democratic leaders in Africa often suppress the opposition.
According to him, some leaders misuse state power to weaken pluralism and secure political advantage, and warned Nigeria to avoid this pattern.
The senior lawyer maintained that credible elections require a competitive opposition and said ruling parties in Africa often render opposition groups impotent through direct or indirect restrictions.
Coups: What Nigeria must do to achieve political stability — Falana
