Falana to speak at UNILAG screening of documentary on Osun council crisis
- DevReporting will screen 'LG Billions in the Dark' at the University of Lagos on Thursday, 29 October.
- Femi Falana gives the keynote and Dapo Olorunyomi chairs; a panel of officials and experts follows.
- The film looks at Osun State's local government leadership crisis and what it means for council funds.
A new investigative film on the long-running leadership crisis in Osun State's local governments will be shown publicly at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) on Thursday, 29 October.
The documentary, titled LG Billions in the Dark, was produced by DevReporting, a media platform that reports on development issues. It looks at how the crisis has affected council finances, accountability and the services residents receive.
Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria Femi Falana will give the keynote address. His talk is titled Accountability, Resources and Citizen Voices: Building Local Governments that Work for the People, and it will cover council autonomy, how public money is managed, citizens' rights and accountability at the grassroots.
Dapo Olorunyomi, publisher of Premium Times and chief executive of the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), will chair the event.
Why it matters to ordinary Nigerians
Local governments are the tier of government closest to the people. They are meant to handle primary healthcare, basic roads and drainage, sanitation and other everyday services. When councils cannot function independently, or when their money is tied up in political fights, residents feel it first.
After the screening, a panel will discuss the problems facing local government administration in the country. The panellists are Dosu Babatunde, Osun State commissioner for local government and chieftaincy affairs; Zikirullahi Ibrahim of the Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education (CHRICED); Victoria Ibezim-Ohaeri of Spaces for Change; Joshua Osiyemi, who heads Tracka at BudgIT; Vera Amaechi, a political science lecturer at UNILAG; and Bukola Adebayo of DevReporting.
DevReporting team lead Mojeed Alabi said the film reflects the organisation's commitment to public-interest journalism and to examining governance issues that affect citizens directly.
The event will also launch the Development Reporting Africa Foundation (DRAF), a non-profit set up to support reporting on development issues, along with a fundraising drive for its work. Alabi said the foundation aims to strengthen development reporting, share evidence and push for accountability on issues affecting communities across Africa.
The documentary was produced with support from the Royal Norwegian Embassy through CJID.
What happens next
DevReporting plans to take the film beyond Lagos. It is putting together a civic education and youth engagement programme that will hold campus screenings, training, mentorship and youth-led accountability projects at tertiary institutions in all six geopolitical zones.
The aim is to help more young Nigerians understand how councils are funded, how the money is spent, and how they can demand better services.
