Mayegun Advocates Death Sentence For Corrupt Nigerians 

By Joseph Sunday

A prominent human rights activist and former Students Union President of the University of Lagos, UNILAG as well as that of the National President of the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, Dr Olusegun Mayegun has advocated a death sentence as penalty for corrupt Nigerians. 

Dr Olusegun Mayegun made the statement on Saturday while delivering a lecture at the 1st Public Lecture/Treasure Newspaper Distinguished Personality Award 2024 held at the Solab Suites Hotel, Federal University of Technology road in Akure, the Ondo State Capital while speaking on the topic: “Home Grown Economy As Road Map For Economic Sustainability: Examining The Prospects Under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Administration”.

While speaking, Mayegun emphasized the urgent need to make it compulsory to hand out a death sentence for anyone found guilty of embezzling the national wealth to reduce the tendency and cut down on its increase. 

He further called on the need for the Nigerian government to adopt the China’s approach at tackling the menace of corruption, where death sentence is made as punishment to follow. 

His suggestions sparked a lively debate among attendees, with some supporting the need for drastic measures to address corruption, while others raised concerns about the ethics of implementing the death sentence.

The public lecture aimed to spark meaningful discussions and explore practical solutions for Nigeria’s economic growth and development.

Also, he stressed the importance of understanding the political economy, stating, “Politics is the answer to our economic problems. We need people to understand the contributions of individuals in the country.”

He highlighted the need for constitutional change, citing the example of gold resources in Osun and Kogi states being controlled by the Federal Government due to the current constitution.

The guest lecturer also called for a free marketplace of knowledge, where people can access information about their leaders and work towards improving living standards, “People want to know their leaders, let the Leaders come closer to the people”.