•Says Nigeria has enough resources to provide free education at all levels

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria SAN) and human rights lawyer, Mr Femi Falana, has rejected the new hike in school fees by government-owned tertiary institutions, arguing that “Nigeria’s constitution guarantees free education at all levels.”

Falana, who also condemned the “piecemeal palliative” strategy of the federal government, also declared that constituency projects being assigned to federal lawmakers were illegal.

Falana spoke on Saturday at a programme organised by Revolutionary Socialist Movement and the Save Public Education Campaign in Abuja.

Theme of the programme was “Nigeria at 63, any hope for the working masses under the BAT government?” with focus on “Public Education Crisis, What Can Be Done?”

He noted that governments in Nigeria could provide free education at all levels, including other social amenities, if the country’s resources were judiciously utilized.

The Human Rights lawyer said resources available to Nigerian universities must be monitored, as well as revenue shared to different states and local governments.

While condemning the school fees increases by the federal varsities, Falana urged students reject the fees increment and revive the tradition of fighting for their rights.

According to him, the piecemeal palliative of the federal government should be rejected by the people. He argued that if the federal government could afford billions of naira for National Assembly members for cars, allowances, renovation, and constituency projects, while should it give pittance to Nigerians in the name of palliatives. “Nigerians must not subsidize the rich,” he insisted.

Falana who said it was perplexing that though Nigeria’s constitution has no provision for constituency projects for legislators, since the role of projects execution was assigned to the executive arm, noted that today, legislators were earning millions in the name of constituency projects without anything tangible to show for the huge money allocated to them for such projects.

Secretary of Workers and Youth Solidarity Network, Dammy Owot, said: “The new fees regime would send many students from poor and working class families out of school and called on Nigerian students to fight back because the claim by government that there are no resources to fund education isn’t tenable.”

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Chairman of Africa Action Congress, Comrade Bob Agnes, in his remarks, condemned Police brutality against innocent citizens, especially the youths, adding that the Police now move around with POS, enforcing arbitrary arrest of innocent youths across the country and extorting them. He urged Nigerians to stand up to defend their rights.

A socialist and trade union activist, Dimeji Macaulay, said there was no solution to Nigeria’s problems under Tinubu, because the Nigerian President was an extension of the Buhari regime, noting that under Tinubu, the economic crisis in Nigeria has escalated, as one dollar now exchanges for N1,000.

He called on the oppressed people to unite and fight for their rights, stressing that there was need to build a genuine political alternatives to begin mass mobilisation against neo-liberalism in Nigeria.