The Director of Women Empowerment and Legal Aid, Mrs Funmi Falana SAN, has called on the Federal Government to initiate policies and programmes that will provide relief to Nigerians and ease the burden of the current economic hardship in the country.
The wife of human rights activist, Femi Falana SAN, made the call during a conversation with journalists in Iyin Ekiti, Ekiti State, on Saturday, after hosting her annual Christmas party for the children at Erelu Angela Adebayo Children’s Home.
She urged both the federal and state governments to include special provisions for reputable orphanages in their yearly budgets.
She said, “Such special budgetary allocations will improve the effective running and management of these homes. It will also complement the efforts of kind-hearted people and philanthropists. You will agree with me that places like these deserve such allocations.”
“Huge amounts of money are allocated to members of the National Assembly, who number fewer than 500, in the annual budget. The government can do well to allocate adequate funds to orphanages for the benefit of the less privileged.”
Falana, who presented cash gifts, food items, soft drinks, and beverages to the children, urged philanthropists to consider the less fortunate and bring smiles to their faces.
She added, “The harsh economic situation in the country is hitting hard, and our governments must urgently address this to alleviate the suffering of Nigerians, so they are not seen as failures.
“Women are crying, and children are weeping. I was telling someone that I don’t know how the average Nigerian is surviving with the rise in petrol prices and other products. A bag of rice costs about N120,000.“
Everyone knows that rice is one of the staple foods for children and even garri—there is no food item that isn’t expensive now in Nigeria. The government should find solutions to these problems. Poverty seems to be weaponised in our country.”
Falana also linked the recent stampedes that resulted in the deaths of children and others in parts of the country to poverty, saying, “This is one of the ripple effects of the economic hardship. The charity organisations that facilitated these programmes meant well, but they turned tragic because of the level of suffering in our country. It is very sad.”
The Matron of the orphanage, Mrs Modupe Ajayi, thanked Mrs Falana for her more than 10 years of support for the children and the orphanage.
