SAN FRANCISCO, May 25, (THEWILL) – Human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana SAN,has questioned where former President Olusegun Obasanjo and his vice, Atiku Abubakar, got the funds they used in establishing private universities, disclosing that the pension benefits of both leaders are not enough to build them a primary school.
Falana stated this on Thursday at the launch of civic media lab – a joint project of citizen platforms Sahara Reporters and Budgit, where he exposed how those in charge of the country appropriate illegal wealth to themselves while in office.
Bells University of Technology, Ota, in Ogun state is owned by Obasanjo, while the vice president who served under him is the founder of American University of Nigeria in Yola, Adamawa state. Both Obasanjo and Atiku have been championing the call for Nigeria to be restructured.
Speaking at the event, the senior advocate regretted that politicians presently leading the call for the restructuring of the country are the same men who “restructured” the economy of Nigeria against the common people.
He said, “These guys who have restructured the economy of Nigeria. Or you are not aware that these guys restructured the economy of Nigeria to the extent that Nigeria is the only country today where former heads of states openly own universities.
“Have you ever heard of that anywhere in the world?,” he said, noting that “the likes of Obasanjo, Atiku, Babangida and others, own universities, and of course, the man who is now pushing for restructuring, Atiku, has a university as well.
“None of these guys worked outside the government. One was a customs officer, the others were soldiers; their pension cannot establish a primary school, not to talk of a university,” he argued.
Falana then called on young Nigerians to use the instrumentality of the new media to change the narrative, noting that there is already enough frustration on ground to make them get about this.
“For young people, I think there is enough provocation on the part of the ruling class,” he said.
