Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana has asked President Muhammadu Buhari-led federal government to end what he termed the untold misery, suffering and deaths in the country.
He warned that “unless firm action is taken, the crisis may get worse.”
Falana, who made this call in a statement titled, ‘FG Must End the Suffering of Nigerians,’ on Thursday, observed that the untold crisis across the country, the misery, suffering and deaths were as a result of fight between different clans of the corrupt elite.
According to Falana, the common people were suffering as a result of disputes over who will loot for the next four years or more.
In his words, “The suffering of the Nigerian people is getting worse by the day. President Buhari in his message to the nation gave no hope that this suffering will end anytime soon. We need action now to reverse the fuel price increases and to make money available again.
“Our suffering cannot continue – we cannot live like this. After 13 days (rather than seven) President Buhari eventually announced a decision this morning. But it is not enough to end the crisis. There are not enough old N200 notes to replace all the old N1,000 and N500 notes. In addition, the new deadline of 10th of April is too close.
“If the government was serious, the crisis could be ended in a few days. All the old currency notes could be made legal tender until the end of the year. In addition, all the old currency could be changed at the banks as well as at the CBN until the end of next year. This would give confidence back in the markets and the old currency would again be accepted.”
The senior lawyer added that, “the problem is that the corrupt elite think that increased suffering and deaths of the common people is a price worth paying if they defeat their opponents. Hungry people can no longer buy food and so they are in more danger of dying from common diseases.
“People cannot afford to travel to hospital. If they get there they cannot afford tests. If they take the tests they cannot afford the medicine.
“This crisis was created by the government. It is only the government that can end the crisis. The government could end this crisis in a matter of days. The CBN could issue old currency notes to the banks to issue to the public in a matter of days. That is all that is needed to end the crisis.”
