Economic hardship, suppressed dissent, shrinking political space fuel coups- Falana

Amid the recent wave of military coups in West Africa, human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has outlined steps Nigeria must take to strengthen democracy and promote political stability across the region.

Speaking on Politics Today on Channels Television on Tuesday, Falana said Nigeria must first address the root causes of instability within its own borders if it hopes to serve as a credible democratic model.

According to him, economic hardship, poverty, illiteracy and rising insecurity remain major threats to political stability.

“If we want to have political stability in Nigeria, we must address the crisis of the economy, tackle poverty, curb illiteracy and ensure the security of lives and property,” Falana said.

He also stressed the need to expand civic freedoms and condemned the growing tendency to criminalise dissent and suppress opposing views.

“You must show that the political space will not continue to shrink as it is now. There must be freedom of expression. You cannot be charging people with all manner of offences simply for expressing their views about the affairs of their country,” he said.

The senior lawyer further called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to widen democratic participation by allowing the registration of more ideological political parties.

“More importantly, 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 said.

Falana noted that widespread dissatisfaction with public policies persists among citizens across Africa, adding that many democratic governments on the continent tend to suppress opposition voices to retain power.

He warned that the misuse of state institutions to weaken political pluralism could further undermine democracy and fuel instability.

“Nigeria clearly has its job cut out. If we want to stop coups, we must allow political pluralism. You cannot be moving towards a one-party system and at the same time claim to be exporting democracy. Nigeria must first put its house in order and align fully with democratic principles,” Falana added.