Human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), yesterday said the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government lacks the political will needed to rid Nigeria of corruption.
Falana also faulted the National Assembly for approving $5.5bn loan request by the President.
Speaking on ‘Restructuring, Pros and Cons: The place of the Nigerian youth,” at the 78th International Students Day, organised by the Ogun State Government in Abeokuta, the state capital, Falana argued that the fight against corruption embarked upon by the federal government “remains a tip of an iceberg.”
He stated: “I am sure you are following the anti-corruption war being prosecuted by the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration. Men and women are involved, Christians and Muslims are involved and those who believe in traditional religions are involved.
“The point I am making is that if our looters are not divided on the table of ethnicity, nothing will happen. The government still lacks the political will. The war now is just a tip of the real iceberg; there are still money to be recovered.”
While lamented the poor state and standard of education in the Southwest, Falana regretted that the zone was not doing well in education, saying this was glaring in the recently released West Africa Examination Council (WASC) results, where the zone performed woefully.
Falana urged the youth not to join those calling for the breakup of the country, who he said are only fighting for their selfish interest.
Governor Ibikunle Amosun, in his brief remark, appealled to the youth to do whatever they could do to equip themselves for leadership positions.
He urged them to show high commitment in the nation building, saying: “Don’t allow anybody to use you for wrong reasons; you just have to restructure your thinking to positive things.”
Amosun, represented by his Chief of Staff, Mr. Tolu Odebiyi, lamented that the gap between Nigeria and other developed countries, in terms of development, is still wide, stressing that the country must do more to improve on it.
A member of the House of Representatives, Abdul Kabir Akinlade, pledged that the House would continue to give the necessary backup for the youth to be good leaders, urging them to prepare themselves to play leadership roles.
Special Assistant to the Governor on Student Matters, Mr. Olusegun Clement, explained that the event was organised to “celebrate” the students in the state and promote unity among them.
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