Re: Of Citizens, Protest And The Law By Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, SAN  

 

 

Last week, Nigerians put a face to the pending August struggle when the Take It Back Movement wrote directly to the Inspector-General of Police and the Director-General of Department of State Security, informing them of the public meetings, rallies and public processions meant to commence on August 1 to August 10, 2024. The government had hitherto blackmailed the organizers of the protests as faceless entities but all that was laid to rest with the unveiling of one of the organisations behind the much-awaited public rallies. It has taken us a lot to get to this point as a nation and we cannot in this age and time, discourage or prevent citizens from the lawful exercise of their basic fundamental rights.

In this particular case, the duty of the government is to dialogue with the organizers of the protest to plan it well and avoid any situation of crisis or a hijack by politicians and their sympathizers. The worn-out strategy of blackmail, propaganda and threats usually adopted primitively by the government in the past will not work to stop the planned actions. The expectation is that the President will seize the golden opportunity of the protest to address the youths and share with them his plans to remedy the hardships that his economic policies have imposed on the people. It is not a time to grandstand.

For the organizers, if an avenue is opened by the government for dialogue, please embrace it and use it as a platform to show that your desire is not to cause any havoc but to dialogue on the germane issues that you have raised. Many eminent Nigerians reacted to the piece posted on this issue last week and I will share their candid opinions on the subject of the coming protests.

Bibirekosefowora Zion:

“Timeout magazine named Lagos the 19th best city in the world to live in. Please fact-check me. Onitsha was named one of the worst places on Earth to live in and the most polluted city in the world by the World Health Organisation. Please fact-check me again. €9313.22 in Naira equivalent if I am wrong. If you want to protest bad governance, go to where there is bad governance and protest. You can’t plan a protest in a state where the government gave you a world-class blue and red line metro trains, pays ₦70,000 minimum wage since February 2024, opened free soup kitchens for the poor, builds roads and BRT lanes and bus stations, gave grants to 20,000 youths to start businesses since 2024, provides free healthcare, and subsidized public education. Abia, If you want to protest, then protest in states that owe workers, not in Lagos. Except you have another agenda! #TableShaker.

Ikpomwosa Steve:

“Thank you very much for recognizing my concern during my comment in your previous post. The tag “10 days of Rage” was the reason I started kicking against the protest. It appears the organizers are out to cause mayhem in the country. I support protest but I am totally against the word Rage. Secondly, it is easy to know when the government sponsors hoodlums against a protest. Their actions are usually to attack the protesters. Government-sponsored protesters don’t burn down government properties nor start breaking warehouses to loot properties of the people. Please reach out to the organizers if you know them. For me it is like the organizers are even faceless because I am yet to see their names or numbers in any flyers.“

Oluyomi Ademola:

“SAN that’s urging protest, will he lead so as to control or know who would be accountable when the chips are down? SAN is economical with the truth. Is it the type of protest he alluded to that has been carried out by Tinubu the same he’s urging peoples’ children to embark on now? In all of those Tinubu’s protests, was there sorrow and blood trailing them? It’s on record that SAN never supported Tinubu to win the APC flag, it’s not surprising he’s urging peoples’ children to go on the streets to protest, knowing full well that Nigerians hardly protest but riot. Pray, has SAN lectured these innocent people on the difference between protest and riot to avoid the story that touches? Let them go on a riot and burn down Nigeria more than they did Lagos during Endsars riot. Let SAN return to sit on another panel and write another controversial recommended report. Make una dey turn Nigeria up and down in the name of exercising constitutional rights. Heaven go fall, nobi only one person head.”

Justice Rockefeller Oguaba:

“Ugbekile Festus: “People are starving to death” up and down. Where’s the statistics and what have you done to aid those you know? Is it the same people allegedly starving to death that would have the stamina to protest instead of looking for their daily bread? Are you starving or you’re not in the constituency of people?”

Chris Nwokocha:

“Justice Rockfeller Oguaba, I understand your point about why people are not expected to have the stamina to embark on protests since they’re starving. The government you support has since weaponised hunger and disease and is using them to subdue the people and keep them too preoccupied with surviving to raise a voice of dissent. That some of you support such extreme evil for whatever reason is the height of mischief and wickedness. But God almighty who rules in the affairs of men will reward all of you, including the wicked souls you so desperately support.”

Justice Rockefeller Oguaba:

“Chris Nwokocha: The only sense you can make for your benefit, even though belated, is to come full circle to the realization that nobody owes you the hand bowl of your existence. Not even the one you supported and failed at it. Even Christ told you “The poor you’ll always have with you.” Next to that is to understand that your emotive nonsense cannot affect anyone, just as it can’t change your existential lot. If you weaponize your poverty as an instrument of mayhem, to get back at those you believe are eating your lunch or for deviant expression as you had done in recent history, you will meet constructive citizens of good conscience and the State.”

Chris Nwokocha:

“Justice Rockfeller Oguaba, unfortunately for you and your likes, you belong in the long distant past. The world left the fascist, anti-people BS you idealize and worship a long time ago. The funny part is, you have no clue!”

Justice Rockefeller Oguaba:

“Chris Nwokocha: Wake up and smell the coffee. You are not saving anyone. Your phoney rants have no noble or altruistic ideals. And you’re not an exhaustion of “the people”. Whatever shadowy camp you belong to isn’t an exhaustion of “the people”. Get off your high horse and your messianic complex. We see your bullshit for what it is: self-serving bollocks.”

Akinsanya Kehinde Samuel:

“God bless you sir for this enlightenment on our fundamental human right to protest as stated in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal republic of Nigeria. However, I have an issue that concerns the future of all the citizens of Nigeria. This has to do with the Federal Government of Nigeria mortgaging the future of Nigerians by selling upfront crude oil to countries and international organizations for nothing less than 20yrs contractual agreement without citizens consent. It’s fraudulent, it’s an illegal deal as well. Our children’s children must not pay for what they didn’t owe. I now appeal to you as a human rights crusader and rule of law practitioner to look into this matter by instituting a legal suit against the FGN to stop further action of such, make a court of competent jurisdiction to declare such agreement as null and void. …. in fact, this should be what the NBA should intervene on behalf of the citizens of Nigeria. Thank you sir.”

Olusola Ladi Bolaji:

“The day we won’t have a protest theme or sponsor is sooner than later. All these balancing between peaceful protest and day of rage is semantics. Too many people are disillusioned and don’t have anything to lose. Government must retool and rekindle the fire of hope in the citizens.”

Oluwaseun Omo Akindele:

“They said protesters just want to burn down Lagos. They tagged the protests as Igbo Obidients protest. They said anyone that wants to protest should go back to his/her state to protest. They thought the protest would only take place in Lagos.”

NBA and NMA to the rescue

The Nigerian Bar Association and the Nigerian Medical Association should work together to offer their legal and medical services to Nigerians during the days of the planned public meetings, rallies and public processions. It is good for the military to keep off the streets and allow Nigerians free exercise of their fundamental and constitutional rights. The idea of soldiers parading the streets of major cities across the federation in a show of power with unarmed and harmless civilians is a great embarrassment to our collective psyche as a people. It is not proper that those who are being paid to defend the territorial integrity of Nigeria would seek to abandon their sacred statutory responsibilities to pursue civilians. Having said all these, Nigerians should hold the government responsible should anything untoward happen before, during and after the planned public rallies and processions. One day, just one day, Nigeria shall be free.