Femi Falana Jr.

Femi Falana SAN (born 20 May 1958),is a Nigerian lawyer and human right activist. He is the father of a Nigerian rapper Folarin Falana popularly known as Falz. Quotes A nation free from bullets but not from hunger, disease, joblessness, squalor, or illiteracy is not secure. It is merely quiet. Falana noted that while civil and political rights such as life, dignity, liberty, and freedom of expression are entrenched in Chapter IV of the 1999 Constitution, they remain largely accessible to the elite. For millions of Nigerians, poverty, illiteracy, and exclusion render such rights meaningless. He criticized the non-justiciability of socio-economic rights under Chapter II of the Constitution, describing it as a “two-tier constitution” that denies the poor enforceable welfare guarantees. This, he warned, fuels inequality, grievance, and insecurity. He talks about the Civil and Political Rights vs. Socio-Economic Inequality The rights activist condemned the inability of Nigeria’s security architecture to curb kidnappings, banditry, and extrajudicial killings, urging governments to invest security votes in modern equipment rather than wasteful spending. He spoke about security failure Security without welfare is brittle; welfare without security is fragile. The duty of our generation — at the bar, on the bench, in civil society and government — is to insist that rights are not paper promises but living guarantees. There is also a sociological dimension to this national shame of episodic loss lives in stampedes triggered by mass hunger in the land. This should not be ignored. It is the unpardonable lack of respect for the dignity of the poor on the part of the members of the middle and upper classes involved in charity.Since the individuals whose criminal negligence led to the avoidable tragedies are members of the ruling class the federal government and state governments have not gone beyond sending condolence messages to the survivors and the family members of the casualties. Since the individuals whose criminal negligence led to the avoidable tragedies are members of the ruling class the federal government and state governments have not gone beyond sending condolence messages to the survivors and the family members of the casualties. The Federal Government will have to employ diplomatic action, but beyond that, it should also adopt economic measures against South African companies operating in Nigeria. International diplomacy is about reciprocity. If they chase out Nigerians and destroy their businesses, Nigeria has a duty to act. South African companies here should be sanctioned where there are alternatives. I challenge the government of Nigeria to allow citizens access to the African Court without any further delay. Victims of gross human rights violations in African countries should have the opportunity to seek justice before the continental court, just as they can at the ECOWAS. Today, government claims that 28 million Nigerians have no accommodation. I am sure you are also aware of the Pension Reform Act, that one is also important, many people are dying queuing for pensions, as of today, pension fund is about N30 trillion, workers are not demanding that these money be invested, the Federal Government goes to take loans from time to time, state governors are also insisting to take loans too. External links Category: Living people Category:Lawyers from Nigeria Category:Activists from Nigeria Category:Human rights activists Category:1958 births