Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, and former House of Representatives member, Usman Bugaje, have indicted Nigeria’s political parties as a major factor stalling the country’s growth 65 years after independence.
Both statesmen spoke during Channels Television’s special broadcast to mark Nigeria’s 65th independence anniversary on Wednesday.
Femi Falana, SAN, faulted what he described as the “winner-takes-all” mentality of contemporary political parties, contrasting it with practices in the Second Republic.
Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has criticised the current political class over its ideology in governance, saying that politicians failed to make the best of Nigeria’s independence.
Falana, a human rights lawyer, stated this on Wednesday during an interview on Channels Television’s special broadcast to celebrate Nigeria’s 65th independence anniversary.
“The politicians at the time in the first republic, even in the second republic, the political parties that were set up were ideological. They knew what they wanted and were competing among themselves,” he stated.
“The political parties were not seen as vehicles for acquiring power. They were acquiring power with responsibilities. By 1960, what did the British colonial regime hand over to Nigeria?
“It is what I call flag independence. The colonial structure was left largely intact. The first set of politicians didn’t make the best of it before the system collapsed,” he said.
Falana recalled how the Murtala Mohammed regime collapsed the parliamentary system for the American-modelled presidential system of government.
“Chief Rotimi Williams was the head of the Constitution Review Committee, the late Professor Ben Nwabueze, many of them were in the constitution drafting committee, and 47 of them agreed to go the American way without the political culture of America,” he added.
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