Former chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (HMRC), Prof Chidi Odinkalu has been asked to desist from his continuous attacks on judges following the recent orders restricting participants in the #End Bad Government protests to particular venues.
A rights advocacy group, Global Network for Justice and Equity (GNJE) said this in a statement issued on Thursday, August 15, in Abuja, said that the incessant denigration of judges and by extension, the Judiciary by Odinkalu was not in the interest of anyone.
The group’s national coordinator, Makinde Moses, urged Odinkalu to approach issues of national importance with maturity and objectivity rather than emotional responses.
The group said Odinkalu’s disparaging remarks against Justice Sylvanus Oriji of the High Court of the FCT, who issued the order on July 31 restricting Abuja protesters to the MKO Abiola National Stadium was unnecessary and showed that he failed to see the wisdom in the judge’s decision.
Odinkalu had criticized Justice Oriji in media publications for granting an order that restricted the August 1 protesters to the National Stadium based on a legal action filed by the FCT Minister against the use of Eagle Square and to prevent the protesters from invading the Aso Rock Villa.
The group said the patriotic decision of Justice Oriji saved Abuja residents and the entire Federal Capital Territory from potential embarrassment, wanton destruction of lives, and damage to public and private property caused by hoodlums who might hijack the protesters’ intentions.
Part of the statement reads: “We have read the publications and comments by Prof. Chidi Odinkalu and his associates aimed at discrediting Hon. Justice S. C. Oriji of the High Court of FCT, Abuja.
“From the publications and comments, it is clear that Odinkalu and members of his group did not understand the ruling of the Court. It has become imperative to state the facts correctly in the interest of the public.
“As of July 31, 2024, the Hon. Judges of the High Court of FCT, Abuja were on annual vacation. The Court is still on vacation. The Hon. Chief Judge of the High Court of FCT, Abuja appointed His Lordship, Hon. Justice S. C. Oriji, and four other judges to serve as vacation judges for urgent matters.
“When the suit concerning the protest was filed by the Hon. Minister of FCT, Abuja, on July 31, 2024, along with a motion ex-parte for interim injunction and a motion on notice for interlocutory injunction, Hon. Justice Oriji entertained it as a vacation judge.
“It is instructive to note that Hon. Justice Oriji did not grant the main prayer sought by the Hon. Minister of FCT, which was to stop the protest. The prayers are included in the court order.
“As stated in the Order, the Court recognised the right of citizens to embark on peaceful protests while noting that other citizens are also entitled to their constitutional rights.
“It appears the Court considered the facts before it to make a decision that would benefit the protesters, other citizens, and the entire country, especially Abuja residents.
“One of the facts before the Court was a letter dated July 26, 2024, written by Damilare Adenola (2nd defendant) on behalf of ‘TAKE IT BACK MOVEMENT, FCT’ to the Hon. Minister of FCT (the applicant). The letter is attached herewith for reference.
“In the letter, the protesters notified the Hon. Minister of FCT of their decision to ‘use the Eagle Square as a point of convergence.’ Additionally, they requested that ‘the outer wire mesh barrier facing the Aso Rock Villa be removed in the meantime, as protesters may decide to visit the Presidential Villa during the protest.’
“There is no doubt that if the Court had allowed the protesters to converge at the Eagle Square, any attempt to enter the Presidential Villa would have been resisted by security agents, potentially leading to unimaginable casualties and possible loss of lives.
“In these circumstances, we believe Hon. Justice S. C. Oriji acted appropriately and expediently by ordering the protesters to converge at the Moshood Abiola Stadium.
“The judge granted their request to converge at a venue, but not the Eagle Square venue sought in their letter. The judge also ordered security agencies to protect the protesters.
“So, what wrong did the judge do? Let the truth be told: the Hon. Judge should be commended instead of denigrated.
“Our opinion, which aligns with the views of well-meaning residents of Abuja, is that the Court Order helped to reduce casualties, looting, and destruction of property during the protest.
“We believe the only people displeased with the Court Order are the detractors and political opponents of the Hon. Minister of FCT and the President of the Country.
“These detractors view the Hon. Minister as unsuitable for the position despite the numerous achievements of the FCT Administration under his leadership.
“Similar orders were granted in Lagos, Kwara, Ogun, and a few other states. It is puzzling why Odinkalu and his cohorts have no issues with those orders and the Judges who made them.
“It appears these detractors and political enemies of the Hon. Minister intended to use the protest to make Abuja ungovernable in an attempt to discredit the Hon. Minister.
“While Chidi Odinkalu and his associates are entitled to express their views on the Court Order, it was unseemly for Odinkalu to attempt to tarnish the reputation of Hon. Justice Sylvanus Chinedu Oriji. A person who prides himself as a professor of law should show respect for His Lordship and his office.
“It is evident from the above facts that the coincidence of Hon. Justice Oriji and the Hon. Minister of FCT hailing from Obio/Akpor local government area of Rivers State has no bearing on the Court Order. After all, the case concerns the FCT Administration, not the Hon. Minister personally.
“Additionally, the Court did not grant the orders sought by the Hon. Minister to stop the protest entirely.
“In his publication, Chidi Odinkalu, in a desperate attempt to impugn the credibility of the Hon. Judge, alleged: ‘Even before the Court rose for the day, the order was already in the public domain blaring from all government media. It read uncannily as if the order had been granted even before the case was filed.
“This allegation is spurious, unfounded, and can only be made by someone intent on maligning successful individuals. Such a person should be ignored, and his views disregarded,” it said.
Wanton damage on properties in Kano shocking, says Yusuf
Sani lifts curfew, warns against unverified procession
Afenifere decries call for military coup
A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has extended its earlier order delivered on July 31 restricting protesters in the territory to the MKO Abiola Stadium (formerly the National Stadium).
Justice Sylvanus Oriji extended the order while ruling yesterday on an application for the order’s extension file and argued by Ogwu Onoja (SAN) on behalf of the Minister of the FCT.
Onoja said the request for an extension became necessary in view of threats by those behind the #EndBadGovernence protest to extend it beyond their earlier planned 10 days.
None of those listed as respondents in the case appeared or was represented by a lawyer during yesterday’s proceedings.
Listed as respondents in the suit are: Omoyele Sowore, Damilare Adenola, Adama Ukpabi, Tosin Harsogba, persons unknown, Inspector General of Police (IGP), Commissioner of Police (FCT), Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Director General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC), Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Chief of Air staff (CAS), and Chief of Naval Staff (CNS).
Shortly after the commencement of proceedings, Onoja drew the judge’s attention to a statement by Damilare Adenola, who allegedly threatened that the nationwide protests might be extended beyond the initial 10 days.
The counsel averred that since the respondents were not in court and no one knew their next plan of action, it was prudent for the court to extend the order to ensure that peace was not unjustly disrupted in the FCT.
Ruling, Justice Oriji granted the request, saying the order of July 31 remained valid and in force.
The judge adjourned till August 22 for the hearing of a pending motion on notice filed by the FCT Minister.
Also, Kano State Governor Abba Yusuf has described as “shocking” the wanton looting and destruction of properties in the state during the #EndBadGovernance protest on August 1.
Yusuf spoke at the state judiciary complex, which was also vandalised by hoodlums who hijacked the supposed peaceful demonstration.
The governor has been moving round to see the scenes of destruction and assess levels of damage in the state, which was the worst hit by rioters, according to 16th Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II.
Yusuf was conducted round the judiciary complex by the Chief Registrar of the Kano State High Court, Abdullahi Bayero, and other members of the judiciary.
Many vehicles parked on the premises were among the properties destroyed.
“In continuation of my assessment visits, I was at the Kano State Judiciary Complex, which was vandalised by a hired mob on August 1.
“The wanton damage on the property and other valuables was shocking to see, and it severely impacts the ability of the courts to efficiently dispense justice,” Yusuf tweeted on his official X handle.
The governor promised to renovate and give the complex a befitting facelift.
Also, Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani has completely lifted the 6 p.m to 8 a.m curfew across the state.
The governor, who heads the state’s Security Council, took the decision after an extensive review of the security situation in Kaduna and Zaria towns and their environs.
Internal Security and Home Affairs Commissioner Samuel Aruwan announced this in a statement yesterday in Kaduna.
He said: “The Kaduna State Security Council, during the extensive assessment held last night (Monday night), unanimously recommended the removal of the curfew and reiterated its commitment to the security and safety of the citizenry in Kaduna State.
“The Security Council also warned that processions or gatherings must be verified with the relevant agencies to avoid any breakdown of law and order, and for the overall security of the general public.”
Women from Simerin Uba, Ikanmu and Oka communities in Akoko Southwest local government area have protested half naked over incessant attack by herders and continuous destruction of their farmlands.
A farmer in Uba, Mr. Sunday Ayeni, was killed last Sunday by suspected herders.
The villagers pointed fingers at herders who they claimed were not happy over the compensation they paid to Ayeni for destroying his crops.
Witnesses said the half nude women stormed the palace of Olubaka of Oka Akoko, Oba Adebori Adeleye, during a security meeting.
The protesting women urged the Monarch to ensure justice is served on the killers of Ayeni as well as put an end to herdsmen attacks in the communities.
They said many of them have been raped by herdsmen inside their farms.
Mrs Abigail Ojo, who spoke on behalf of the protesters, said they were scared of going to their farms.
The monarch assured the women that the situation would be handled by relevant agencies.
Protests are part of the civic rights to draw leaders’ attention to issues, which a section of the society are opposed to — a legitimate way for citizens to express their feelings.
Whether the citizens or the authorities are right or wrong, in a given instance, may be a matter of differing perception. Peaceful protests are legitimate. But riots are criminal.
Nigeria has always had a vibrant civil society and media, even before the present social media generation with its new class of influencers. They moderate the society and raise public awareness to hold the leadership to account. They protect public interests and make the leaders think out of the box, in solving problems and facing challenges.
The saying that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely, remains correct. Those in power can easily lose touch with the situation at the grassroots.
Thus, civil society groups and sundry activists come in to protect public interest. But like any other aspects of the society, they too have the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Idealism, on how to get things done, is always far away from practical actions. So, the civil society and anxious citizens often hold simplistic answers to solving a problem.
That’s why the citizens must also understand those in government. Seeking a viable solution to longstanding problem is like cultivating a farmland and tending it to harvest time. It is not like pressing a button on the computer keyboard and the pictures would immediately disappear from the screen.
Sometimes, it’s like becoming an anarchist to be a rights activist in Nigeria. Yet, such activism can only happen in peace; not in anomie, which breeds violence and arson.
The Federal Government just completed a digital skills acquisition hub in Kano — a World Bank-supported project that took a lot of efforts to achieve; designed to train thousands of youths on marketable digital skills for empowerment and employment.
But under the guise of a hunger protest, some misguided youths massed up, broke in, looted and destroyed that facility!
Many of the supposed activists, and social media influencers, saw nothing to condemn in that action; and in the widespread looting of private businesses. But they are busy attacking the government: warning against harm to “unarmed peaceful protesters”.
To social media influencers, that appears the only way to retain high traffic and virtual mob followers.
Therefore, it’s not too hard for an open mind to see that sinister political agenda had capitalized on the socio-economic condition that drove the original call for the protest.
This writer is non-partisan. But everyone knows the political forces are the same that, after fairly losing the 2023 presidential election, were very bitter. Each one claimed to have won. They threatened to stop the inauguration of the then President-elect, by mass protests; and were “begging” the military to take over.
Their plan was countered, and it failed woefully. But they have pressed on to illegally remove a duly elected sitting President, even if it means bringing the roof down; and plunging the nation into crisis that could generate a military take-over.
In the early years of Barak Obama’s presidency of the United States (c. 2009/2010), the United States faced severe economic downturn that affected most sectors of the economy. The international financial crisis of that time blighted Europe and America.
Because of that crisis, President Obama faced hostile political and non-political attacks from the opposition Republicans; and even from some high-ranking members of his Democratic party, aside from sundry White Supremacist and racist groups, some of who regarded him as the worst misfortune to befall the United States, and called for his removal through any available means.
Popular US pollsters rated his public acceptance as very low. The Secret Service tightened measures against possible assassination attempt. But by the third and fourth years of his presidency, economic indicators had changed to remarkable recovery and growth. That provided the key campaign issues that handsomely won his re-election for the second term.
In Nigeria’s present situation, the rapid reforms instituted by the Tinubu administration, in its first year, have been favourably assessed by credible global financial institutions and development rating agencies — all indicating a positive outlook.
The results are daily becoming visible at home with positive indicators which only the biased minds would refuse to see. But food prices remain high at moment and that is what generates complaints from the masses.
One clear fact is that the present situation is as a result of a longstanding retrogressive trend. Present efforts to redress the situation come with some seismic shocks before things could later stabilise.
By the third and fourth year, the on-going reforms would have produced more visible and positive results that would power the President to a second term — similar to Obama’s US experience.
I think the vicious opposition can sense that, and are fighting hard to stop the president in his tracks before he goes the distance.
I don’t see them succeeding. I rest my case.
Col. Nass, a retired officer of the Nigerian Army, writes from Enugu, Enugu State.
The recent protests took a political colouration in some states. The North, where many protesters resorted to calling for an unconstitutional change of government through a military coup, was the epicentre of this ugly development. Deputy Political Editor RAYMOND MORDI looks at how the demonstrations were politicised.
It was a show of shame in many states in the North. What began as peaceful protests across the country on Thursday, August 1, to register the populace’s grievances against hunger and the rising cost of living in the country later degenerated into anarchy and a call for a coup d’etat by the protesters.
According to reports, the call for a military intervention was first noticed on the third day of the protest in Kano. The following day, the trend spread to other parts of the North, including Abuja, Bauchi, Borno, Kaduna, Katsina and Gombe, as protesters were seen waving Russian flags.
Experts say the development has far-reaching implications for the country’s security and politics. A few days before the commencement of the protest, the United Nations (UN) Department of Safety and Security had warned that the planned nationwide demonstration might be hijacked by “groups with ulterior motives”.
Seven Polish nationals apprehended in connection with the protest have been arrested by the Department of State Security (DSS). According to a Reuters report, the arrest, which the DSS announced, has been confirmed by Stanislaw Gulinski, a Polish Consul to Nigeria. The arrest of a tailor contracted to mass produce the flags suggests that using the flag for the demonstration was planned; it did not happen spontaneously.
Given the growing Russian influence in the West African sub-region, what the protesters did in the seven states could be interpreted to mean that the European country sponsored the demonstration to destabilize Nigeria. But, the Russian Embassy in Nigeria has already indicated that the country is not involved in any way whatsoever in what took place during the protest.
Inibehe Effiong, a lawyer and human rights activist, said calling for a coup is condemnable. He said it was quite ironic that it was Russian flags that were waved. The lawyer said in an interview with Firstpost. Africa Television posted on YouTube: “If they had carried the Indian flag, I would have felt more comfortable because India is a democratic country, but Russia is not. In Russia, a few people are calling the shots; there is no freedom of expression or political participation. So, carrying the Russian flag is ridiculous to me; I do not see any point in that.”
Sections 39 and 40 of the 1999 Constitution and Articles 9 and 10 of the African Charter On Human and People’s Rights, according to experts, guarantee the right of citizens to protest for or against the government. However, this must be done within the ambit of the law. that was not the case in many states, particularly in the North, where the teeming army of children roaming the streets was mobilized to cause mayhem. For instance, in states like Kano, Kaduna and Katsina particularly, hoodlums seized the opportunity to unleash a reign of terror on the streets, destroying and looting properties with reckless abandon. There are viral videos online of mass-scale looting in several cities in the region. Curfews have been imposed in some states to curtail the looting spree.
There was a sharp contrast in the conduct of protesters in the South and the North. While the protesters in the South were armed with placards denouncing the policies of the government that brought about hardship in the country and marching peacefully on the streets, their counterparts in the North were armed with sticks and other weapons, destroying private and public facilities, looting shops and causing mayhem. The carnage and destruction by the protesters were so massive that a curfew was declared in no fewer than five states while scores of protesters also lost their lives.
Besides, the #EndBadGovernance protest took a political colouration in some states governed by the opposition. For instance, Kano State Governor Abba Yusuf was reported to have openly backed the hardship protest. His position was widely perceived as a deliberate move to ridicule the rival All Progressives Congress (APC). Yusuf was elected on the ticket of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), which has been at loggerheads with the APC over the control of the strategic Northwest state.
At a stakeholders’ meeting held at the Government House in Kano, the state capital, on the eve of the protest, which began on August 1, the governor assured the organisers of the demonstration of his support; saying he would personally receive the protesters at the Government House the following day.
Governor Yusuf’s support for the protest came amid growing concerns of the government at the centre over the impending exercise. He expressed frustration over what he described as the insubordination of operatives of the Kano State Command of the Nigeria Police Force, saying they do not obey the directives of the state government.
He said: “I can’t understand why the security agencies, especially the police, will not obey our orders. When we tell them to do this or that, they will tell us they received an order from ‘above’. Who is the ‘above’? I am the chief security officer in the state. If you have a problem with that, go and change the Nigerian constitution.”
In Edo State, where a governorship election is scheduled for next month, Governor Godwin Obaseki capitalized on the protest to criticise the APC-led Federal Government when he addressed protesters in Benin City, the state capital, on the first day of the exercise. Obaseki was elected on the platform of the PDP.
Similarly, his Bauchi State counterpart, Bala Mohammed, also a member of the PDP, equally criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s address to the nation in the wake of the protest, asserting that he failed to meet the demands of the protesters.
Mohammed, who spoke during the flag-off campaign of the PDP in the forthcoming local government election in the state, expressed disappointment with the president’s response. He said: “I have listened to the president’s speech with rapt attention, and with humility and courage, what he said was empty.”
The governor argued that the president failed to acknowledge the gravity of the situation or address the pressing challenges of the country. He said the Federal Government must stop offering excuses and recognize that its policies are not working.
He acknowledged, however, that it is the responsibility of the governments at all levels to address the nation’s challenges. His words: “The problems are not his alone but for all of us leaders; from the Presidency to the sub-nationals, down to the local governments.
The police said it has arrested some sponsors of the protests, including the tailor contracted to sew the Russian flags. In a statement last Tuesday, Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) Muyiwa Adejobi described the action of the protesters as a treasonable felony, saying children were hired to wave the foreign flags during the demonstration. He added: “The Nigeria Police Force has issued a stern warning against the display of foreign flags during protests and calls for a military takeover, categorizing such actions as treasonable felonies under Nigerian law.”
Human rights activist and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, said the call for a military coup or waving the flag of a country noted for supporting unconstitutional change of government in Africa constitutes a gross abuse of the constitutional right to protest against the government.
He added: “The legitimate protests against hardship in the land should not be turned into a campaign for an unconstitutional change of government. Therefore, those involved in the illegal campaign for another military rule are advised to stop it. Otherwise, they may be accused of treasonable felony in contravention of Section 41 of the Criminal Code Act.”
Effiong believes the idea of Russian involvement in the recent protest is far-fetched. He said: “I think that would be difficult to prove. Yes, I concede that Russian influence in West Africa has been growing; we have that in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso. But, let’s look at the context of the Russian involvement country by country.
“For example, in Mali, where you have the Al Qaeda-linked terrorist group holding the country to ransom, they have been killing people, causing mayhem and destruction, and the French forces were not able to stop the insurgency, and people were fed up. That explains why when the coup took place; you saw the general populace celebrate those coups because what was being experienced in those countries was not democracy.
“I don’t think that scenario applies to Nigeria because, in the first place, the influence of Boko Haram terrorists has been whittled down, and we no longer have mass killings by the group, as we had in the past, even though we still have some killings perpetrated by bandits. Even though Russia is interested in expanding its influence, Africans must be careful because we are always quick to complain about Western imperialism; Russia is also an imperialist.”
Many Nigerians faulted the recent hardship protest in the North, saying the region did not deem it fit to protest throughout the eight years of Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure as elected president between 2015 and 2023. Former Ekiti State governor Ayodele Fayose said the protests in the North have political dimensions. He said there was no protest during the eight years that former President Buhari was in power, despite the hardship in the country at the time.
Fayose said: “The hunger today didn’t start in one day. It started a long time ago. That was why we had a rally at a time and said, ‘Jonathan must go’. Jonathan left but the hunger didn’t go. Buhari came and spent eight years; nobody said anything. I didn’t remember any rally. No government is 100 per cent good.”
Stakeholders have warned that the millions of young people roaming the streets who were being used to cause violence in the North are a time bomb not just for the region but the whole country in general. After going around Kaduna State to assess the level of destruction caused by the protest, Governor Uba Sani told reporters that the organisers of the demonstration capitalized on the mass poverty and illiteracy in the North.
He said: “The sponsors of these violent protests worked on the psychology of the children and made them believe that since our people in northern Nigeria are very close to our neighbouring countries like Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, what happened in those countries can also happen in Nigeria.”
Senator Shehu Sani, who represented Kaduna Central Senatorial District in the Senate between June 2015 and June 2019, said the difference is that the protest was organised with identifiable leaders in the South, unlike the North, where there was no such thing.
Sani said during an interview on Channels Television programme, Politics Today, said: “The fundamental difference between the protest in the South and that of the North is that the South has identifiable leaders who are leading the protest but in the North nobody can pinpoint who the leaders are and in the absence of leadership, what will come out of it is anarchy.”
He said the violence in the North stems from bottled-up anger generated for decades, waiting for an outlet. He added that the millions of young people roaming the streets represent a ticking time bomb, not just for the North but for the country in general.
Others have spoken of the need for attitudinal change within the political class and the Nigerian populace generally, saying that desperation to win elections and the winner-takes-it-all attitude of politicians has damaged the social fabric that binds Nigerians together as a people. Akintunde Williams, a teacher, said Nigerians play too much politics, even after the election has come and gone.
He said: “There is a need for attitudinal change on the part of politicians and the political parties that sponsor them for elections. We should not play politics with important national issues once the elections are over, because it impacts negatively on the fortunes of the country in the long running. Those in government should learn to carry everybody along after the election, irrespective of who voted for or against the party.
“Those in opposition should learn to support the party in power by not resorting to politics when it comes to crucial national issues. They should also support by suggesting ideas that would benefit the country. The problem we witnessing today revolves around the influence of money in politics.”
The hardship protests may have fizzled out in most parts of the country following President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s address. However, it is still worth asking: are the protesters’ demands realistic or outright farfetched? Deputy News Editor JOSEPH JIBUEZE takes another look.
The hardship protests under the #EndbadgovernanceinNigeria may have ended, but the question remains whether the organisers and participants are unrealistic in their demands.
Some of the protesters had vowed to continue until their demands were met, but the exercise seems to have lost steam.
One of the coordinators, Mr. Hassan Soweto, a member of the Youth Rights Campaign, addressing a gathering at the Gani Fawehinmi Park on Saturday, said protesters would cease occupying the park in Ojota and start marching through the streets if their demands were not met within a week.
Marching through the streets will violate the extant court order restricting protesters to two parks in the axis.
Still, it would be fair to say that not even Soweto himself expects the government to meet all the demands, or any at all, in the manner the protesters want them.
The 15 demands
• Scrap the 1999 Constitution and replace it with a people-made Constitution for the Federal Republic of Nigeria through a Sovereign National Conference immediately followed by a national referendum.
• Toss the Senate, keep the House of Representatives, and make lawmaking a part-time endeavour.
• Pay workers a minimum wage of nothing less than N250,000 monthly.
• Invest heavily in education and give Nigerian students grants, not loans. Aggressively pursue free and compulsory education for children across Nigeria.
• Release Mazi Nnamdi Kanu unconditionally and demilitarise the Southeast. All #ENDSARS and political detainees must also be released and should be compensated.
• Renationalise publicly-owned enterprises sold to government officials and cronies.
• Reinstate a corruption-free subsidy regime to reduce hunger, starvation and multidimensional poverty.
• Probe past and present Nigerian leaders who have looted the treasury, recover their loot, and deposit it in a special account to fund education, healthcare, and infrastructure.
• Restructuring of Nigeria to accommodate Nigeria’s diversity, resource control, decentralisation and regional development.
• End banditry, terrorism and violent crimes: Reform security agencies to stop continuous human rights violations and duplication of security agencies, and enhance the physical security of Nigerian citizens.
• Establish a Special Energy Fund immediately to drive massive, corruption-free power sector development.
• Immediate reconstitution of the Nigerian Electoral Body (INEC) to remove corrupt individuals and partisan hacks appointed to manipulate elections.
• Massive investment in public works and industrialisation will help employ Nigeria’s teeming youths.
• Massive shake-up in the Nigerian judiciary to remove cabals of corrupt generations of judges and judicial officers that continue denying everyday citizens access to real justice.
• Diaspora voting.
Demands unrealistic, says Sowore’s followers
Politician and activist Omoyele Sowore shared the demands via his X (formerly Twitter) handle @YeleSowore, but even some of his followers did not think some of them were realistic.
A user, Theresa Tekenah, stated: “You can implement these if you win the next presidential election.”
Another user, Michael Ben, said: “I would like you to also show elaborately the modalities that will help in implementing these. I will give you 24 hours to do that. However, your listed points are lovely, your time starts now.”
Alfred Isename said: “Present these demands as your manifesto to the Nigerian electorate and run for the 2027 presidential election to test its acceptance.”
Omotolani Adebanjo said: “It’s important to be honest. Even if you become president, you won’t be able to do all this.”
Presidency’s response
The presidency, in tweets by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Tinubu, countered some of the demands, saying some of them were unrealistic.
• On the demand to scrap the 1999 Constitution and replace it with a people’s constitution, and for a unicameral legislature, the government said constitutional amendments “are not done by fiat or proclamation by the President but follow strict procedure that involves two-thirds of state houses of assembly”, among others.
• On Kanu’s release, the government said the IPOB leader is on trial “for offences bordering on treason and it will be an affront on the judicial system for the government, by fiat, to terminate the case in court.” It added: “Even if his release is to be considered, there are steps to be taken.”
• The government said investment in education was already being done, such as the “historic” student loan.
• On demand to reinstate subsidy, the government said: “Reforms are in progress in the petroleum sector and the subsidy regime cannot be reinstated until the system is corruption-free. These reforms cannot be done by proclamation. It is systemic.”
• On the demand to probe past leaders, the government said: “The EFCC, ICPC and other agencies of government are working in that direction. Notable among their efforts are: the trial of the former CBN governor and the investigation and prosecution of persons involved in the fraudulent Air Nigeria Project. Several other high profile cases are being prosecuted against past and present government officials across the country.”
• On restructuring, the government said: “This requires a constitutional amendment and cannot be done by presidential fiat or declaration.”
• On demand to rationalise public-owned enterprises, the government said: “Government is reviewing privatisation processes and programmes, including the sale of government assets. But it must be noted that most of these assets were sold with the Federal Government entering into contractual agreements with the buyers/concessionaires. These agreements and concessions are being reviewed and it takes time.”
• On demand for N250,000 minimum wage, the government said: “Minimum wage is determined by the carrying capacity of the economy. It also involves not just the Federal Government but the sub-nationals and organised private sector. In any event, there is a recent increment in the minimum wage and the Nigeria Labour Congress applauded the decision of the Presidency to peg the minimum wage at N70,000.”
• On banditry, it said: “Insecurity is not something you can end by mere words or a single action. The military and security agencies are daily making gains against terrorism and allied security challenges across the country. The problem of insecurity is a global phenomenon. In Nigeria, it did not start with the Tinubu Administration and sadly, it will not end with it. Sustained vigilance and collaboration are the impetus needed to win the war against insecurity.”
Edun: why subsidy had to go
Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, during an interview on AIT’s Moneyline programme, hinted at why petrol subsidy is unlikely to be returned.
He said: “The fuel subsidy was removed May 29, 2023, by Mr. President, and at that time, the poorest of 40 per cent was only getting four per cent of the value, and basically, they were not benefitting at all. So, it was going to be just a few.
“Another point that I think is important is that nobody knows the consumption in Nigeria of petroleum. We know we spend $600 million to import fuel every month but the issue here is that all the neighbouring countries are benefitting.
“So we are buying not for just for Nigeria, we are buying for countries to the east, almost as far as Central Africa. We are buying for countries to the North and we are buying for countries to the West.
“And so we have to ask ourselves as Nigerians, how long do we want to do that for? That is the key issue regarding the issue of petroleum pricing.”
The President’s address
The President, in his August 4 broadcast, addressed the protesters’ demands in broad terms by highlighting his administration’s programmes in various sectors.
He spoke with “a heavy heart and a sense of responsibility, aware of the turmoil and violent protests unleashed in some of the states.”
He acknowledged that the protesters desired “a better and more progressive country where their dreams, hopes, and personal aspirations would be fulfilled”.
The president said he was pained by the loss of lives in Borno, Jigawa, Kano, Kaduna and other states, the destruction of public facilities in some states, and the wanton looting of supermarkets and shops.
He commiserated with the families and relations of those who died in the protests, pleading: “We must stop further bloodshed, violence and destruction.”
He urged the organisers to suspend any further protest and create room for dialogue.
The President was criticised for not providing details of when and how the talks would be held or who the protesters could contact, as Lagos State eventually did.
The President outlined his vision of a just and prosperous nation where each person may enjoy peace, freedom, and meaningful livelihood.
He justified his administration’s decision to remove the petrol subsidy and float the naira.
“For decades, our economy has remained anaemic and taken a dip because of many misalignments that have stunted our growth…
“I, therefore, took the painful yet necessary decision to remove fuel subsidies and abolish multiple foreign exchange systems which had constituted a noose around the economic jugular of our nation and impeded our economic development and progress,” he said.
In effect, the President indicated that the petrol subsidy, having been removed, cannot be returned.
President Tinubu also highlighted reforms in other sectors, investments in infrastructure, student loan, new minimum wage, and youth empowerment initiatives, among others.
Criticisms of broadcast
Publisher of Ovation Magazine, Dele Momodu, said the President failed to address the demands.
In a statement issued via his X handle, Momodu said: “Let’s reel out what a sensitive leader, who craves the rightful position in posterity, would have done and said:…’We have decided to cut the cost of governance drastically. Some ministries will be scrapped and some ministers, permanent secretaries and all redundant personnel will be eased out; no official cars will be procured anytime soon. The number of aircraft on our presidential fleet will be reduced to a maximum two. I offer sincere apologies that we went ahead to invest in luxury items at these bad times. We shall place an immediate embargo on subsequent purchases. Subsidy of petroleum products will be reviewed thoroughly to ascertain the genuine costs and true billing of the controversial payments. While we hope to achieve this in a maximum of three months, we shall revert to old prices within this period in order to reduce the heavy burden on our people. We shall also escalate work on our existing refineries without which we shall be throwing away loads of resources. Nothing has stalled our refineries other than reckless corruption….’”
Activist-lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, described the broadcast as disappointing.
He said: “President Tinubu failed to address the demands of protesters, not even one, and it is very disappointing and unfortunate because there is no other way to explain it.”
What can the President do?
Some believe some of the demands can be addressed.
For instance, the Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA Resource Centre), a civil society organisation, urged the President to enhance accountability and drastically reduce the cost of governance at all levels.
In a statement by its Chairman, Olanrewaju Suraju said the protests were “a unique opportunity for the governments to make meaningful changes that will not only address the immediate concerns of the protesters but also lay the foundation for sustainable development and good governance in Nigeria.”
It added: “The excessive cost of governance has long been a burden on the nation’s economy, diverting much-needed resources from critical sectors such as education, agriculture, healthcare, and infrastructure.
“Now is the time for the governments at all levels to demonstrate commitments to the people by adopting policies that promote transparency, reduce waste, and prioritise the welfare of all Nigerians.”
A coalition of civil society organisations (CSOs) said the President can still formally initiate dialogue to address some of the issues.
They are the Accountability Lab Nigeria, BudgIT Foundation, Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), Yiaga Africa, Enough is Enough (EiE) Nigeria, #FixPolitics, Global Rights, HEDA, Media Rights Agenda (MRA), Public and Private Development Centre (PPDC), Sesor Empowerment Foundation, TechHer, and Women Advocate Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC).
“We recommend that representatives of the National Peace Committee and reputable civil society groups serve as facilitators and observers of this dialogue process and its outcomes,” they said.
A former Central Bank Deputy Governor, Kingsley Moghalu, believes a new constitution is possible.
Reacting after Secretary-General Chief Emeka Anyaoku led The Patriots to the President to make the demand, Moghalu said: “What Nigeria’s leaders fail to understand is that it will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to bring a fundamental fix to Nigeria’s economy in the absence of a new constitution that is anchored on real federalism, and preferably anchored on a regional structure of six to 12 regions. The reason is that Nigeria is a country but not yet a nation.”
Is a new constitution realistic?
A former Body of Benchers Chairman, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), believes a new constitution is needed.
He wondered who the “people” referred to in the preamble of the constitution are, arguing that no singular person can assume the pronoun ‘we’.
He recalled that the 1999 Constitution was promulgated by the military regime of General Abdulsalami Abubakar after the Constitution Debate Co-ordinating Committee led by Justice Niki Tobi submitted its report.
The committee, he noted, barely had two months to consult with Nigerians before submitting its report.
Olanipekun said: “The report was merely advisory and cannot by any means of argument answer the question ‘who are the ‘we’?”
He added: “The National Assembly has to put on the right ‘thinking cap’ in order to completely overhaul the present constitution.
“This has been my sing-song and homily in several presentations, and it is a patriotic call which we can only neglect at our own collective peril.”
A former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President, Dr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), called for a new constitution that will have the input of the “owners of Nigeria”.
He said a new constitution can be possible through “substitution”.
According to him, the 1999 Constitution lacks acceptability because it was imposed on the people.
“The problem with the constitution is that it lacks legitimacy, validity and is not autochthonous,” he said.
He also believes it was important to redefine the co-existence of the ethnic groups.
The SAN said: “Government needs to resolve critical national questions. Are we a country, state, or nation? Do we intend to live together as one country and how?
“Once these questions are answered, it will set the stage for a new political arrangement that can be articulated in a new Constitution.
“Government can engage sub-national ethnic leaders (Ohaneze, Arewa, and Afenifere). They have national appeal and can provide alternatives
“The current National Assembly has powers to facilitate this process under the constitution.
“National Assembly can adopt wholesale constitutional replacement as suggested by Prof. Nwabueze under sections 4(1) and 315(1) (a) & (4) of the 1999 Constitution.”
The police in Kano state have arrested 873 suspects and recovered a large quantity of items in the aftermath of the nationwide #EndBadGovernance protest that turned violent in the state.
Police commissioner, Salman Garba, who paraded the suspects at the headquarters, Bompai, on Monday, August 12, said 600 suspects were arrested for various offences, including criminal conspiracy, inciting disturbance, riot, theft, mischief, and arson.
About 150 violators of the curfew enforced by the state government were also arrested, police said.
Another six suspects are being held for allegedly masterminding the destruction, setting ablaze, and looting of Kano printing press.
Also, 76 persons, including a foreigner, were arrested in Kano and transferred to the Force Headquarters, Abuja, for “discreet investigation on charges of sedition.”
Garba said, within that time, an additional 39 suspects were apprehended. Among them are five armed robbers, eight car thieves, a drug dealer, 23 thugs, and two kidnappers.
The kidnappers, 35-year-old Abdulazeez Adamu and one Abdullahi Alhassan, 40, confessed they had killed two of their victims before collecting N15 million ransom cash from their families and still demanding more.
Two human traffickers were also arrested and 13 trafficking victims, mostly women, were rescued by the Kano police who said they worked “diligently and professionally” in addressing the aftermath of the protest riots.
Two AK-47 rifles, a Beretta pistol, 47 live ammunition, and millions of naira were recovered.
Also recovered are eight motor vehicles, four sacks containing Exol tablets, Two Bajaj Boxer motorcycles, 22 cows, 15 sheep, and four donkeys.
The commissioner of police assured that the Kano command remains committed to maintaining law and order, preventing crime, and protecting the rights of citizens.
He appreciated the support and cooperation of the state government and the public, which he said has helped the police in their duty of keeping the state safe and secure.
Most credible English Language Dictionaries provide at least 10 synonyms for the word protest – object, disagree, oppose, complain, disapprove, declare, insist, affirm, avow, declare, grouse, holler, belly-ache. One Thesaurus, in fact, offers 106 synonyms and antonyms of the word “protest”. Yet writers don’t often consider any of them good substitute for “protest”, because over the decades, the word has assumed a much deeper, complex and lethal meaning.
Palpably so, perhaps. The past decade or thereabouts, protests have become a dominant instrument of people and issue management across the local and international arena. The famous six-letter English noun (which doubles as a verb) has not only assumed new meanings, it has also grown in power and influence. How powerful a word can be!
Nigerians in particular now have an unprecedented appreciation of the phenomenon. When the raging protest was still in the offing with the commencement date announced, there were mixed feelings. Planners, including their lawyers, assured that it would be peaceful. The agitated government folks repeatedly alerted that hoodlums could take advantage of it.
Eventually, the truth of the fears manifested with several properties vandalized and looted in addition to lives lost. Indeed, such is the magnitude of the losses that some initial promoters of the protest now want it halted. But it is merely easier said.
Yet the protest, in our own reckoning as experts, was avoidable in the first place. What else was left for the media to register on the consciousness of government functionaries? Not even in this age of buoying media abundance with increasing actualities can anyone accuse the media of under-reportage of visible signals. So much more offered by informed comments and analyses could not have been more timeous either.
Interestingly, one of the promoters of the protest, Omoyele Sowore, barely parroted an old claim of the nation’s socio-economic situation which ironically has even accentuated over decades. Years back, foremost leader of Yoruba politics, Obafemi Awolowo, was reported to have said: “We have won the civil war. Yes, indeed. But to win the war for peace, we must recognize the real enemies…As far as I can understand, the aggressors against peace and stability in Nigeria are abject poverty, hunger, disease, squalor and ignorance” These have combined to now compel some fire-brigade interventions with no feasible sustainability promise. Its Nigeria’s hard and painful share of the mutating historic phenomenon.
About a decade ago, this famous word took the Arab world by storm. Now famously referred to as the Arab Spring, it was a wave of pro-democracy protest that began in 2010 with Mohamed Bouazizi’s self-immolation in Tunisia, sparking the Jasmine Revolution. Similar movement sprang up in the Middle East and North Africa with significant uprisings in Egypt, Libya, Yemen and Syria. The protests which were chaotic to say the least, highlighted the people’s desire for political freedom. But it snowballed into a protracted unintended instability and economic hardships.
Just this July 2024, “protest” rode virulently in the manner of a hurricane through Bangladesh and the United Kingdom. In Bangladesh where it finally tragically culminated in a military take-over, demonstrators trooped out against discontent over government job quotas reserved exclusively for families of veterans from the 1971 independence war, and turned into demands for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s resignation.
The government returned with fire, felling no fewer than 250 lives. The military, led by General Waker-Uz-Zaman, announced Hasina’s resignation and set up an Interim Government to address the demands of the protesters.
Though with fewer deaths, the UK protests are not any less unnerving. Since 2011 there have been pockets of protests across the country but last week it became disturbingly violent. The immediate explanation of the mob was the alleged police complicity resulting from the shooting of a Briton, Mark Duggan allegedly by an immigrant. The shooter turned out to be a British with Rwandan mother but it did not matter. The protests highlighted system issues with British society and strained community-police relations.
Few months earlier, in Kenya, protests were ignited by opposition to the Finance Bill 2024. It was tagged “#RejectFinanceBill2024”. It quickly snowballed into a cross-divisional and multi-dimensional flame of riots against the leadership of President William Ruto. The President was forced to dissolve his cabinet but the crises have not fully abated.
Now, “protest” has landed in Nigeria, after weeks of hovering in the cloud as deadly thunderstorms do, leaving its trademark – devastations, trails of blood, deaths and empty canisters beclouded with police tear gas.
Even the most virulent leader shivers at the threat of a protest, because when it starts no one knows what will follow and how it will end. Although protest as an activity or action is as old as humanity, its encroachment into the international political arena deserves a more critical look.
All of the examples of escalated protests that we just referred to except that of Nigeria (Arab Springs, Kenya protests, the “coup” in Bangladesh and the Britain) have diplomatic or international undertones. That is the reason the Tinubu Administration in Nigeria should not take the current wave of “#Endbadgovernance” with kid’s gloves especially with brazen flaunting of Russian flag in Kano, Kaduna and some other parts of northern Nigeria.
But public discontents can always be nipped in the bud by listening leaders. They need to make better and more sincere and effective use of the knowledge of the concept of multi-track diplomacy. The concept (or theory if you like) has grown in acceptance among scholars as a conflict resolution tool. Put simply, it says that a menu of nine factors, when properly blended and applied proactively would bring about peace in the international arena. These are: Government (executive, legislature an judiciary); Professional conflict resolution (especially by non-state actors); Business (how economic activities could address disparity and poverty); Private citizens (individuals and groups); Research, training and education; Peace activism; Religion; Funding and the Media (and public relations).
Clearly, Abuja did not make up its mind to meet with the leaders of the relevant segments of the society in good time, just that it made huge shows of the meetings. Were the meetings also sufficiently frank, not merely cosmetic? Were there implemetable plans to step down the messages duly suffused with sincerity and completely bereft of political arrogance? How mindful were such engagements mindful of the peculiarities of the various regions with varying bents of insecurity? No one, for instance, could have imagined the brazen and wanton destructions of private and public properties carried out in Kano including attacks on facilities that serve the common man daily like traffic lights. What worse level can we further descend into?
The truth: Peace is always negotiable when the right steps are taken at the right time.
Tunde Akanni, PhD and Amira Obi-Okoye, a doctoral student, are Media and Conflict scholars based at the Faculty of Communication and Media Studies, FCMS, LASU
It’s time for us to bind our wounds and heal a broken nation
A lot of the damages and fiery rhetoric after, the nation settles back to its routine. The post-mortem is unsavoury, but we shall, as a people, look at where things went awry and what lessons we can glean from a week of turmoil in which citizens called for a peaceful protest but our tongues ran sour from a harvest of deaths, rapine and moments of subversion.
One of the key organisers and lawyer Olu Adegboruwa had a buyer’s remorse, and strove with little success to restrain the rabble. At the same time, another organiser and faint-hearted Omoyele Sowore, nestled in faraway United States while stoking the flames in his homeland.
The violence that confirmed fears of doves sparked its first ember in Kano city. Boys not old enough to know the issues at hand went on the rampage, ransacked shops, stole from the sweats of the innocent and destroyed what the city and country saw as a potential treasure: a technological innovation centre. They raided a library but left books intact, only books. The governor of the state, Abba Yusuf, who had encouraged them to the street was either naïve or tendentious. But it turned out to bite him when the mob breached the state house grounds and compelled him to declare a curfew. He was a leader who did not understand his fellow citizens.
But it quickly moved to neighbouring Kaduna, but the quality of contagion played out the script of puppeteers. There were official downsides like the unleashing of live bullets in Niger State against the protesters that led to fatalities. Yet, it must not blind us to the lack of finesse in parts of the country.
Nothing portended more threat to the state than the vision of boys calling for the return of the army and the hoisting of the Russian flags. The boys do not know Russia, nor the colour of their flags. They cannot read and write, and have little understanding of the world they live in outside the community confines where they breathe and have their beings. Those calling for the army are teenage boys who were neither born during the savageries of army rule nor knew what it meant.
When the president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, spoke about that in his speech, he attracted criticism but we need to address how those who know nothing about a thing invoked it to menace the stability of our society. In Kaduna, Governor Uba Sani hinted that the protesters were ominous puppets. Security forces arrested over 800 persons, and quite a number of them were tailors who supplied the uprising with Russian flags. Who were these people, and who contracted them?
The president needs to get to the bottom of the matter and whoever did it should face the furious dignity of the law. We cannot deny that since the president mounted his chair in Abuja as the country’s leader, he has been under malicious siege as the opposition forces, still smarting from an election loss, have sought to delegitimise his victory at the polls and challenged him in courts, both at home and abroad. The fact that they came up short has deepened their reptilian umbrage rather than ennobled them into sportsmen. The bitterness has not abated after that. The protests were therefore exploited by the opponents, and this has challenged our capacity to distinguish, in some cases, those who are genuinely aggrieved and those who saw an opportunity to settle political scores.
But the president had said that he heard the cry on the streets, and would respond. He reeled out the measures he has taken, and he believes they will redound to our success and prosperity in due course.
The two issues that have triggered inflation and suffering among large swathes of citizenry were the removal of fuel subsidy and the collapsing of the exchange rates. The assault from the opposition on these policies tends to mask the promise by the presidential candidates of both the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar and Labour Party, Peter Obi, that the
purulence of subsidies will go. The pharisaic denial by silence shows how the quest for power can mutate into political brinkmanship.
One of the denials of the protesters is that, owing to the proceeds from the oil subsidies, the Federal Government has increased monthly allocation to states, some of them like Nasarawa State, raking in double. Yet, the states and their governors get away with their lack of sensitivity to the sufferings of the people and watch the blame go to the centre. So pampered are the state governors by public opinion that even when the Federal Government conveys palliatives to indigent Nigerians through them, questions still persist about whether they reach the citizens. In Edo State, for instance, some residents raided a storehouse of palliative rice bags that they believe the government had hoarded for their cronies.
As things calm down, the president ought to put things in place to ensure that such riotous devastations are avoided, and more engagement with the people becomes a priority. Appreciating his policies must entail his lieutenants working as his salesmen.
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kano, Dr. Ilyasu Musa Kwankwaso, has commended the National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu, and security agencies for their efforts during the #EndBadGovernance protest.
Ilyasu, a former coymmissioner of Rural and Community Development, spoke while reacting to comments attributed to the 16th Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, accusing security operatives of failing to protect the Kano Printing Press and the Digital Industrial Park (DIP) of the the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) from being vandalised during the hunger protest despite intelligence reports available to them.
Iliyasu said: “As an appointee of the state government, such a statement should not have come from a monarch like him at this crucial period.”
“He (the emir) is supposed to have encouraged the security operatives on the steps taken to restore normalcy, law and order in the state.
“I wish to use this opportunity to commend the National Security Adviser Alhaji Nuhu Ribadu the Chiefs of the Army, DSS and the Nigeria Police for their collective actions and steps that restored normalcy in the country during and after the hunger protest.”
According to the APC chieftain, it would have been a sorry situation in Kano but for the security personnel proactively on top of the situation.
He said the protest was not about hunger, but targeted at discrediting the Bola Tinubu administration, in order to be overthrown.
He described sponsors of the protests as enemies of Nigeria.
He stated that their action (protest) has exposed their deep hatred on President Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shetima.
“They did that to whip up sentiments aimed at denting the image of President Tinubu and the Vice President Kashim Shetima.
“But they failed, because their negative antics against the APC led administration, rather than dent the president’s image, has brought to public knowledge the efforts he (Tinubu) is making to transforming the country, amidst subsidy removal.
Ilyasu called on Northerners to give the Tinubu/Shetima government time to reposition the country, adding that “they mean well for the country.”
