…Say Nigeria In New Era Of Civilian Dictatorship
THE COALITION of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) organising the 10-day nationwide protest against hunger and hardship billed to commence August 1-10 has declared that Nigeria has entered into a new era of civilian dictatorship in the face of what it described as “unprecedented” and “brazen state-sponsored attempt to muzzle dissent and harass young people who felt the need to voice out their displeasure at the state of things” in the country.
In the text of a press briefing made available to National Record Tuesday, signed by nine CSOs led by the Joint Action Front (JAF), itself an alliance of Labour and progressive CSOs, the coalition also noted that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu “who claims to have fought for democracy” has however “now turned out as the hangman of democratic ideals.”
Other members of the coalition include PRP Vanguard, Yoruba Revolutionary Movement (YOREM), Amilcar Cabral Ideological School Movement (ACIS-M), Youth Rights Campaign (YRC), Movement for African Emancipation (MAE), Education Rights Campaign (ERC), Precision, Electrical, and Related Equipment Senior Staff Association (PERESSA), and Campaign for Democratic and Workers Rights (CDWR)
The CSOs, in the text of its press briefing, entitled, “Despite Threat And Intimidation, The #Endbadgovernance Protest Will Hold”, appealed to Nigerians with “a little shred of human dignity left in them” should be put-off by the events of the last few weeks, adding the issue “at stake right now is whether we as a Nigerian people are free or we are slaves in our own country because only a slave is shed of the right to freedom of expression and assembly.”
According to the CSOs, the President Tinubu, his aids, security agencies and the All Progressives Congress have relentlessly worked to disparage and demonise the protest against bad governance and its planners.
“You are all witnesses to how over the past three weeks, the President Tinubu government, his aides, security agencies and the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) have all been trying hard to disparage, calumniate and demonize the #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protest.
“They have called us all kinds of unprintable names. They have threatened all sorts of violence and personal harm against us. Their paid agents have threatened to attack us and kill us if we dare come out including the threat to deploy the “oro cult” against protesters in Lagos. They have accused us of several crimes including treason and of being sponsored,” said the coalition, also noting that the protest will be peaceful.
“We repeat that the protest is a peaceful one. Therefore, we warn anyone coming with the intention to foment violence including arson and destruction to stay clear of the protest. We also warn the police, DSS and security agencies not to deploy their agents to infiltrate our protest with the aim of fomenting trouble in order to blame it on us later.
Responding to questions as to whether protest is a remedy to all the challenges facing Nigeria, the CSOs said while protest will not automatically solve socio-economic challenges, “it is a first and necessary step.”
“Some have asked whether all of Nigeria’s problems will be solved by this protest. Many have said that it takes more than 10 days of protest to solve the socio-economic ills plaguing our nation. We agree with these arguments but we think that this protest is a first and necessary step.
“This is because it has become clear over the years that no section of Nigeria’s capitalist elite have the solution to the problems. This time the solution has to come from the Nigerian masses themselves which is why during this protest, Nigerian youth and poor masses must have the necessary democratic discussion about what kind of Nigeria we want.
“For us in this coalition, we consider that the fundamental reason Nigeria is in this mess is capitalism – a socio economic system that makes a few people rich at the expense of the mass majority. This is why this coalition calls for system change – that is a new Nigeria where the wealth of the country will be used primarily to make live better for its people instead of enriching a few.”
Among the cardinal demands of the 16-point demand by the coalition include: reversal of fuel price to pre-May 29, 2023 level; reversal of electricity tariff to pre-May 29, 2023 level; end to hardship and hunger; release of all #EndSARS detainees; end to school fee hike; conversion of student loans to study grants; and place of all political office holders on minimum wage.
Other demands include the reversal of all anti-poor and neo-liberal capitalist policies; fixing of public refineries and building of new ones under democratic workers control and management; reverse of all privatisation of public enterprises and placing them under democratic control and management; end insecurity, police brutality, creation of decent jobs and payment of unemployment benefit, prosecution of all corrupt politicians and return of all stolen wealth, amongst others.
The full text of the press briefing reads:
Being the text of a press conference addressed by a coalition of youth, civil societies, Socialists and radical groups on the planned #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protest
DESPITE THREAT AND INTIMIDATION, THE #ENDBADGOVERNANCE PROTEST WILL HOLD
Dear ladies and gentlemen of the press,
We thank you for hearkening to our clarion call by attending this press conference which is taking place at a very dark hour in the history of our dear nation. You are all witnesses to how over the past three weeks, the President Tinubu government, his aides, security agencies and the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) have all been trying hard to disparage, calumniate and demonize the #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protest.
They have called us all kinds of unprintable names. They have threatened all sorts of violence and personal harm against us. Their paid agents have threatened to attack us and kill us if we dare come out including the threat to deploy the “oro cult” against protesters in Lagos. They have accused us of several crimes including treason and of being sponsored.
They have floated fake groups to pull out of a protest they were never part of in the first place. They have even gone ahead in the last few days to weaponize poverty by mobilizing the poor and most vulnerable section of society with a token cup of rice and a few naira notes to participate in state-sponsored “protest” to counter our protest. All the while they are doing this, the police and security agencies have either watched in silence or egged them on. The Department of State Security (DSS) on its own part, that shadowy instrument of coercion that should have no place in a real democracy, has been most brazen in its contrived lies alluding to so-called foreign mercenaries coming to infiltrate protest and in its bugging of activist phones, infiltration, hostile espionage and other covert operations to sabotage the protest.
You will agree with us that all these brazen state-sponsored attempt to muzzle dissent and harass young people who felt the need to voice out their displeasure at the state of things in Nigeria is unprecedented. This is a new era of civilian dictatorship we are witnessing under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu – a man who claims to have fought for democracy but has now turned out as the hangman of democratic ideals. Any Nigerian who still has a little shred of human dignity left in them ought to be nauseated by the event of the last few weeks. What is at stake right now is not whether the protest is right or not. What is at stake right now is whether we as a Nigerian people are free or we are slaves in our own country because only a slave is shed of the right to freedom of expression and assembly.
But in the midst of all these, one thing they have not had the courage to do is to address the fundamental reason why this protest has been called which is the anti-poor and neo-liberal capitalist policies of Tinubu administration that have thrown a majority of Nigerians including the youth, the unemployed, the working class, artisans, the traders and the poor masses into unprecedented level of hunger and hardship. Since May 29 last year when President Tinubu announced without any democratic consultation or debate with the Nigerian people, his ill-thought, wicked and anti-poor International Monetary Fund (IMF)-inspired policy of fuel subsidy removal, our lives as we know it have been further transformed for the worse. Inflation has gone sky-high, and with it prices of food, energy, medicine and other essentials. The national currency has also been devalued twice something which has also crashed the value of income and living standards. So bad is the situation that according to several estimates, over 26 million Nigerians are at risk of starvation this year.
All that this government has done so far to try to ameliorate the situation has not worked. So-called palliatives have not gone to the real needy as they have been hijacked by ruling party politicians while support for rural farmers to enhance food productivity has ended up in the hands of political farmers. Yet in the midst of all these and while we are being told to understand and tighten our belt, official corruption has tuned to a pastime as President Tinubu, the first family, lawmakers and government officials continue to feed fat on our treasury by buying themselves luxurious jets, yacht, bullet proof vehicles and renovating residences and offices.
It is on the basis of the foregoing that we believe that this protest must go on regardless of the threat and intimidation. To this extent, we announce our support for the #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protest. It will take place in Lagos state like other parts of the country starting from Thursday 1st August 2024. We call on all youth, students, unemployed, workers, traders and all those who are affected by the condition of hunger and hardship to join us. The peaceful protest will be held according to the following schedule:
(1) TAKE-OFF POINT Ikej under Bridge, Lagos State.
(2) TIME: 7am
OUR CARDINAL DEMANDS:
(1) Reversal of fuel price to pre-May 29, 2023 level
(2) Reversal of electricity tariff to pre-May 29, 2023 level
(3) End to hardship and hunger
(4) Recall all victimized activists. Free all #EndSARS detainees
(5) End to school fee hike. For study grants not loans
(6) Place all political office holders on minimum wage.
(7) Reverse all anti-poor and neo-liberal capitalist policies
(8) Fix public refineries and build new ones under democratic workers control and management.
(9) Reverse all privatization of public enterprises and place them under democratic control and management.
(10) End insecurity, police brutality and kidnapping
(11) No to illegal demolition/force eviction
(12) Creation of decent jobs and payment of unemployment benefit to those unemployed.
(13) Prosecute all corrupt politicians and return all stolen wealth
(14) End security vote
(15) Free quality health care for all
(16) End to attacks on press freedom. Release all political detainees including journalists and bloggers.
CONCLUSION
We repeat that the protest is a peaceful one. Therefore, we warn anyone coming with the intention to foment violence including arson and destruction to stay clear of the protest. We also warn the police, DSS and security agencies not to deploy their agents to infiltrate our protest with the aim of fomenting trouble in order to blame it on us later.
Some have asked whether all of Nigeria’s problems will be solved by this protest. Many have said that it takes more than 10 days of protest to solve the socio-economic ills plaguing our nation. We agree with these arguments but we think that this protest is a first and necessary step. This is because it has become clear over the years that no section of Nigeria’s capitalist elite have the solution to the problems. This time the solution has to come from the Nigerian masses themselves which is why during this protest, Nigerian youth and poor masses must have the necessary democratic discussion about what kind of Nigeria we want. For us in this coalition, we consider that the fundamental reason Nigeria is in this mess is capitalism – a socio economic system that makes a few people rich at the expense of the mass majority. This is why this coalition calls for system change – that is a new Nigeria where the wealth of the country will be used primarily to make live better for its people instead of enriching a few.
Thank you for listening.
Signatories
(1) Joint Action Front (JAF),
(2) PRP Vanguard,
(3) Yoruba Revolutionary Movement (YOREM),
(4) Amilcar Cabral Ideological School Movement (ACIS-M),
(5) Youth Rights Campaign (YRC),
(6) Movement for African Emancipation (MAE),
(7) Education Rights Campaign (ERC).
(8) Precision, Electrical, and Related Equipment Senior Staff Association (PERESSA).
(9) Campaign for Democratic and Workers Rights (CDWR)
