Femi Falana

thumb|Real change doesn't begin from government; it begins from the people and how they hold government accountable. Femi Falana SAN, is a Nigerian lawyer and human right activist. He is the father of a Nigerian rapper Folarin Falana popularly known as Falz. Quotes Ikorodu has been submerged in the last three days, if it were to be abroad, they would be using helicopter to drop food for the victims, but what is being done for the people? Nothing. We must hold them accountable to serve the people. Nigerians need to ask questions. — On urging Nigerians to demand transparency and accountability from elected officials. Both security and human rights can fully coexist and are absolutely necessary to prevent breakdown of law and order… the purpose of national security should be to protect democracy and enhance democratic principles. — Addressing the tension between human rights and national security at the NBA Annual General Conference, 2018. Our public officers access healthcare abroad while our people are left to die in our ill-equipped hospitals. – Critique of Nigeria’s healthcare and youth unemployment landscape, 2018. The right to life is the most basic human right. Without it, other rights cannot be enjoyed by any person. On account of the sanctity of human life, the following cases of suspicious deaths must be thoroughly investigated. Falana warns IG over Mary's death Even though the Minister has denied any foul play or cover-up, stating she had an existing medical condition and that the matter was reported to the police, the minister contaminated the scene of the incident by handling her phone to speak with her boyfriend., Falana warns IG over Mary's death In a sworn affidavit, the father of the deceased rejected an autopsy and requested the release of the body for burial. While the authorities of the Nigeria Police Force have turned down the request of the father of the deceased, they have failed to explain the delay in carrying out the autopsy, Falana warns IG over Mary's death As the source of the suspicious fire was being questioned in the media, it was reported that the hotel has since been demolished. Whoever authorised the demolition of the hotel must have set out to cover up the alleged fire incident Falana warns IG over Mary's death We call on the Attorney-General of Osun State to ensure that the murder suspects are charged before the High Court. Falana warns IG over Mary's death The media should therefore join the demand for the investigation of the aforementioned cases of suspicious deaths. They must not be swept under the carpet. Falana warns IG over Mary's death In the course of the investigation, the SIP headed by Mr. Peter Gana, a Deputy Commissioner of Police unravelled the gargantuan Abacha loot with the connivance of the management of the Central Bank of Nigeria. A large quantity of the cash and properties were recovered by the SIP. In its report published in November 1998, the SIP revealed that General Abacha approved several fake funding requests for security operations or purchase of equipment by his National Security Adviser (NSA). Upon approval of the fraudulent funding requests, General Abacha directed the Central Bank to release cash in dollars and pounds The cash was then handed over to the NSA who ensured that the cash was transferred to family members and business associates of General Abacha. It was also confirmed that many properties in many cities were bought with the stolen funds. General Abubakar accepted the report in toto and promptly acted on it. In particular, he promulgated and signed the Forfeiture of Assets, Etc. (Certain Persons) Decree No. 53 of 1999, which legitimised the forfeiture and return of the Abacha loot located in Nigeria and Sierra Leone. Pursuant to the decree, General Abacha, family members, political associates and political allies were made to forfeit the total sum of $636, 263,187,19, £75, 306 886.93, DM 30m and N547 million as well as 30 percent shares in 2 refineries in Sierra Leone worth $380,000. In addition, the decree has exposed the barefaced lie that the Abacha loot was money saved for the Government of Nigeria” Finally, we are compelled to attach a copy of the Forfeiture Decree No 53 of 1999 promulgated and signed by General Abdulsalami Abubakar on May 26, 1999 which listed the funds and properties “acquired corruptly and illegally” by General Abacha, his family members and business associates. To that extent, the former military ruler deliberately set out to mislead Nigerians to believe that the Abacha loot is a hoax. But having recovered funds and assets worth over $750 million from the estate of the late dictator, his family members and associates, General Abubakar cannot be permitted to cover up the grand larceny of his predecessor. Unionisation is allowed by law under the Constitution Section 40, freedom of association. “Nigeria is also bound by ILO Conventions 87 and 98, which allow unionisation as well as collective bargaining. Strikes happen because the government and the employers did not take immediate action. Strike is the last weapon. It is used when employers refuse to respect the rights of workers. Once you join any enterprise, under the law, junior workers are automatically entitled to union representatio The Trade Union Act lists the services where unionisation is not allowed. However, subsection 2 of that same provision says that even if unionisation is prohibited, workers must be allowed to form consultative committees for the protection of their interests.” I don’t know any of them who can say to be a billionaire. “What matters is that we must all operate under the law. In 2005, the Obasanjo regime said the labour unions had become too powerful, so they decided to break them,” he said. “Today, because of the ruthless exploitation of workers in Nigeria, the NLC and TUC work together. They won’t go on strike without any reason. “Given their critical role in the economy, the government must do much more to engage them and prevent strikes.” The workers filed an objection, and the Supreme Court of India held that even though workers are not shareholders, they contribute their sweat and labour to make the company succeed. There was a case where a company was going to be wound up by its shareholders. To allow unionisation is also to engage them. “Ensure wages are not too low. If you’re making profits, the workers should benefit. If you’re not, you put your books on the table. Labour rights are not just legal formalities, they are rooted in Nigeria’s constitutional order and global labour standards. PENGASSAN does not collect ‘pimpillion’ in check-off dues,” he said. “When they collect, it’s for the interest of the workers so that when members are sick or in distress, they can be taken care of. “It is too late in the day to say there should be no union in Nigeria For now, the difference between APC and PDP is like the difference between six and half a dozen. Frankly speaking, serious political parties are not built around big names or personalities but on the platform of ideology. The leaders of both parties who have been in government at one time or the other in the past 30 years or there about believe in the neo-colonial capitalist system. Essentially, both APC and PDP are two sides of the same coin. In bourgeois politics the ongoing development is called “realignment of forces”. In the process, those who have been excluded from the “come and chop” policy of the PDP are being asked to choose their place at the table in case the APC takes over power in 2015. The PDP has started to fight back ferociously and violently because the stakes are so high. Already, huge funds and weapons of mass destruction are being assembled for the mother of all battles. Money, religion, ethnicity and other primordial sentiments are being deployed to confuse the electorate. The statement has confirmed that the Independent National Electoral Commission has been hijacked by the most reactionary segment of the political class. In order to frustrate the emergence of a truly progressive political party in the country the highly incompetent INEC has conspired with the ruling class to narrow the democratic space. It has just requested the national assembly to give it the powers to proscribe other political parties and ban their candidates. As far as INEC is concerned the APC and PDP are the ideal political parties for the country. By saying there will be no elections in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states controlled by the APC has INEC not started rigging in favour of the PDP? Was there any incident when President Jonathan paid a 2-day visit to Borno and Yobe states a few months ago? Are elections not held in Iraq and Afghanistan which are waging serious wars against terrorists? Is INEC going to appoint sole administrators for the three states at the end of the tenure of the governors and other elected public officers? Apart from conducting flawed elections why is INEC not interested in promoting civic education which is one of its core statutory duties? It is high time the APC and PDP were stopped from further confusing our people along ethnic and religious lines. The media must help by forcing candidates to come up with concrete solutions to the crises of under development in all its manifestation crises of under development in all its manifestation. Therefore, all genuine progressive forces in the country should come together with a view to ensuring that future elections in the country are contested and won on the basis of the commitment of political parties and their candidates to implement the provisions of the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy contained in Chapter II of the Constitution. The socio-economic rights guaranteed in the Constitution have to be made justiciable in the interest of the masses. This must be accompanied by a commitment to address the challenges of poverty, insecurity, unemployment, corruption and infrastructural decay. For instance, since 1999 the Federal Government, with 52% of the nation’s resources, has not completed any new road or hospital in any part of the country! Is it what the APC wants to continue by wooing the PDP leaders who unleashed unmitigated disaster on our people? Or are we to believe that these characters have committed class suicide? Instead of waiting for 2015 we call on all our oppressed people to learn from the Academic Staff Union of Universities by resorting to strikes and other forms of civil disobedience to force the ruling class political parties to make funds available NOW for education, health, housing, job creation and poverty elimination. In 2011 President Jonathan was pitied by Nigerians when he said he had no shoes while growing up. But he has refused to buy shoes for millions of other children The Unicef says 15.5 million Nigerian children are roaming the streets. What has the President done to ensure that those poor kids are enrolled in schools? Having regard to the N5 trillion given to AMCON to bail out banks run down by the comprador bourgeoisie, the missing $50 billion from the Federation Account and the unprecedented looting of the treasury by the political class have confirmed that the country is sufficiently endowed to make poverty history. The government should provide uninterrupted electricity. That was a promise made by President Bola Tinubu when he was a candidate,” 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 In the 1970s, because of apartheid in South Africa, Nigeria nationalised British Petroleum. It should also be possible today to nationalise some South African investments in Nigeria if necessary. There is the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights in Arusha, Tanzania, established by the African Union to address human rights abuses in member states. Nigeria has refused to allow its nationals access to that court by failing to deposit the necessary instruments. [https://dailytrust.com/xenophobia-falana-asks-nigerians-to-boycott-mtn/[ If Nigerians could approach the African Court in the same way citizens can approach the ECOWAS Court in Abuja, South Africa would have been dragged before the court by victims of xenophobic attacks. 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 Court. Since the Federal and State governments have failed to address the crisis of insecurity, some highly placed individuals have given the impression that Fulani herders alone are responsible for the rising wave of kidnapping in the south west region. The rumour has continued to spread due to the failure of the state governments in the south west region to assure the people of the security of their lives. However, our investigation has revealed that the kidnappers terrorizing the people of the south west zone are drawn from the Fulani, Yoruba, Igbo and some other ethnic groups in Nigeria.” we have established that some of the most notorious kidnappers including the notorious billionaire kidnapper and his accomplices who were collecting ransom in Dollars, Pounds and Euros until they met their waterloo in Lagos state last year are not of the Fulani extraction While we do not deny the involvement of armed Fulani herders in violent crimes. welfare and security of the people shall be the primary purpose of government”. External links Category:Lawyers from Nigeria Category:Activists from Nigeria Category:Human rights activists Category:Living people