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Falana
Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has outlined steps Nigeria must take to strengthen democracy and curb the rising wave of military coups across West Africa.
Speaking on Tuesday, Falana said the country must first confront the internal conditions fueling political instability.
“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.
Falana criticised what he described as the shrinking civic space, warning that democracy cannot thrive when dissent is criminalised.
He said, “You must show that the political space will not shrink as it is now.
“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.”
The senior lawyer also urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to expand political participation by allowing more ideological parties to register.
“INEC must open the political space and allow ideological political parties to be registered to challenge the status quo. Right now, INEC is not prepared to open the political space,” he argued.
Falana noted that many citizens are unhappy with current policies and that democratic leaders across Africa often suppress opposition voices.
He further warned that the misuse of state power to weaken pluralism is one of the conditions that fuels coups.
“If you want to stop coups, you must allow political pluralism in Nigeria.
“You cannot have a situation where the country is moving towards a one-party state, and you want to export democracy”, he said.
He added that credible elections depend on competitive opposition, but ruling parties across Africa frequently render opposition groups “impotent” through overt and subtle restrictions.
When asked whether more coups could occur, Falana said: “It won’t be the last. I’m familiar with the political terrain. Once you put opposition leaders in jail, send them into exile, or kill them, you cannot have political stability.”
Falana also referenced political tensions in Benin Republic, where a coup attempt on Sunday failed after Nigerian troops and the ECOWAS standby force helped secure the country.
The coup plotters who seized the state television station and announced President Patrice Talon’s removal were driven out within hours.
Several people were killed, at least 14 suspects were arrested, and the leader, Lt. Col. Pascal Tigri, remains on the run.
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