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Tag: protests

  • Emmanuel denies banning protests

    Akwa Ibom State Governor Udom Emmanuel yesterday said his administration did not ban street protest, as reported in the media.

    A statement yesterday in Uyo, the state capital, by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Ekerete Udo, said the governor respected human dignity, including freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly.

    But the statement warned that every protest should be lawful because no government would allow politically-sponsored assemblage to cause mayhem under any guise.

    It said since elections were over, the residents should not allow themselves to be used by politicians to cause disturbance.

    The statement said: “Government has not banned protest. What the governor frowned at is illegal protests. If any group or association intends to protest, the consent of security agents must be obtained.

    “Peaceful protests are organised in every part of the world, but if it must be embarked upon for the maintenance of public safety and order, such orders must be lawful.”

    It debunked insinuations that the government owed pensioners over 15 months’ gratuities.

    The statement said Emmanuel had not owed workers since he assumed office.

    Rather, it said the governor intervened regularly in the payment of pensions and gratuities, including salaries to workers in the local governments.

    The statement added: “Each tier of government – from federal to the local government – pays its workers, including pension and gratuity, from their federal allocations. So, it would be wrong for anybody to blame the state for not paying pensioners.

    “Even when the local governments could not meet these obligations, Governor Emmanuel always supported them.”

    The local government retirees protested last Monday in Uyo, alleging non-payment of their five-month arrears.

    The pensioners, who carried placards with inscriptions, protested under the aegis of Association of the Welfare of Retired Local Government Staff (ASSOKWA).

    They accused the government of neglecting them, despite entreaties by their representatives to the government to address the issue.

  • Free-for-all as NLC’s faction protests mass sack in banks

    Free-for-all as NLC’s faction protests mass sack in banks

    The Comrade Joe Ajaero-led faction of the Nigeria Labour Congress(NLC) yesterday picketed the headquarters of the Nigeria Employers Consultative  Association(NECA) over its alleged role in the action against banks that sacked their workers.

    The action commenced in the early hours of yesterday with the barricade of the entrance into the association’s premises and disruption of its  59th Annual General Meeting (AGM) which was billed to hold yesterday.

    The action soon turned to a free-for-all following the arrival of counter-protesters who were averse to the action which caused guests, journalists and passers-by to scamper for safety.

    In his address, factional President of the NLC, Comrade Joe Ajearo, took a swipe at the NECA for taking a preventive action against planned picketing of banks that sacked their staff recently.

    He said the Director-General of the NECA did not have the moral right to mount a campaign against the planned action, as he emphasised that his group was not consulted in the said meeting designed to stay action on the planned picketing.

    He said as an institution, the NECA ought to be in the vanguard of promoting the rights of workers and adding  value to their lives instead of perpetrating moves to debase them through promotion of policies that encourage mass sack.

    Speaking at a press conference, Director-General of the NECA, Mr.Olusegun Oshinowo, took a swipe at the action of the splinter group of the NLC, saying “their action is a dangerous precedent to the labour movement in Nigeria”.

    He described the group as a rogue union, adding that the NECA would not dialogue with the group on the premise that “the Ajaero faction is not recognised by the law”.

    “The event that happened today was a breach of the right of workers who were denied access to the premises of the NECA,” he said.

    He advised the splinter group to go to court for redress rather than resorting to “act of terrorism” to resolve an industrial issue.

    He blamed the police who were brought in to monitor the protest for looking the other way, while violence was being unleashed on the people.

     

  • Pro-Biafra protests

    •Government must probe the incidents with a view to averting a recurrence

    The recent bloody-clash between our security agencies and those celebrating the 50th anniversary of the declaration of the ill-fated Biafra Republic does not portray our country in good light as a democratic country. Indeed, the clash portrays us as having a shallow temperament for democracy, with all its restrictions and exuberances. Of course, we acknowledge that peaceful protest is a fundamental element in any egalitarian democracy; but also, the organisers of any such protest must exercise the needed restraints, to avoid putting the participants in harm’s way.

    So, what was responsible for turning an ordinary democratic culture into a harvest of deaths, for policemen and the protesters?

    We condemn unequivocally the killing of policemen involved in their legitimate duty of maintaining peace and order, on behalf of the state; particularly the report that two policemen were thrown over-board the Niger Bridge by the protesters. If that report is true, then those involved must be apprehended and swiftly brought to justice, to serve as a deterrent for such future misadventure. But we also condemn any willful mauling down of citizens exercising their legitimate right to ventilate an alternative opinion in a pluralistic society like ours. Indeed, if the report that the security agencies attacked and killed some of the celebrators while worshipping in the church is also true, then we demand for justice for those killed.

    Between the agitators and those responsible for maintaining peace and order, the state owes the rest of Nigerians a national ambience for the legitimate pursuit of citizens’ happiness and means of livelihood. The organised protests spanning the major cities of the south east, on the anniversary of the declaration of Biafra 50 years ago, can easily be interpreted as a political protest against the present government at the centre, and that may have explained the forceful putdown. If the motives for the protests are mixed with politics, then the organisers must take the blame for exposing the ordinary people to harm.

    For us, it will be unfair to compare the present time with the unfortunate events of 1966, when one wave of mass murder after another, eventually led the young country into a civil war. So, except to ventilate political frustration, on what basis would any group vehemently push to balkanize Nigeria, without any serious provocations? In many quarters, it is believed that those prodding the protesters on are those who lost out in the last elections, and are hoping to use the protests to gain some attention. The organisers of these protests owe their followers an explanation as to the ultimate aim for the protests; otherwise they act unfairly against them and the country.

    Agreed, that our practice of democracy has its severe imperfections, it doesn’t bode well for us to always resort to violence as the answer for the imperfections. We have no doubt that any participant-activist in the unfortunate era of the 1966 bloody events would condemn any attempt to re-enact that painful era of our history. However, for a country laying claim to democracy, the right reaction should be to engage the protesters, to understand their grievances. Before the recourse to the use of force leading to the alleged death of tens of protesters across the country, what steps did the security agencies take to dialogue with the protesters, or are they merely trained to forcefully quell protests?

    In our view, the President has taken the right step by setting up a meeting with the south east leaders. He must also ask for a probe of what happened, last week. After all, the commander-in-chief is also the national chief mediator and conciliator. Those are the qualities of a statesman.

  • Understanding students’ protests

    Recent events in our tertiary institutions have not been palatable. Many school are currently shut down due to protests resulting from face-off between their managements and students. Tertiary institutions that have recently witnessed such organic crisis include the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Adekunle Ajasin University in Akungba-Akoko (AAUA), Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUUNAB), University of Ibadan (UI) and University of Port-Harcourt (UNIPORT), among others.

    Curiously, all these tertiary institutions and others were shut down as a result of misunderstanding between the management and students. Students of these schools raised concerns on issues of dilapidated infrastructure, epileptic power and water supply, increase in school fees, perceived management victimisation and official negligence just to mention but a few.

    However, after a critical perusal and dispassionate analysis of these crises, one would discover that the protests are avoidable if the right things had been done. Let me note that the first on the list of the right things to be done is the deployment of the right pattern of communication.

    A renowned Mass Communication scholar, Prof Ralph Akinfeleye, noted that even though there are three patterns of communication, one of them is always the best. The patterns of communication he endorses are the vertical pattern, horizontal pattern and the horizo-vertical pattern.

    The vertical pattern of communication entails a downward approach in communication. This is when the leader or management dumps information on the follower based on personal conclusions. Here, there is no room for followers’ engagement. What the management says is final, and no one can question it. Generally, in a vertical pattern of communication, there is always a superior and an inferior. However, the inferior has little or no right in the communication process. He is passive.

    The horizontal pattern involves two or more superiors or two or more inferiors. Both participants in the communication process are within the same wave length. None is superior. Therefore, the communication here is always tilted towards dialogue.

    However, the horizo-vertical pattern, as conceptualised by Akinfeleye, is a mixture of both the vertical and the horizontal patterns. It is a systematic and conscious abridgement of the two patterns for optimum result. In this pattern, there may be a superior and an inferior, but they both communicate with mutual respect with each participant knowing his level of authority.

    Even though the superior may want to be vertical in his pattern, he swallows his pride and comes to the level of the inferior for dialogue. He only strictly applies the vertical pattern when that seems to be the only option left for him.

    Considering these communication patterns with relations to the existing pattern of relationship between managements and students in our tertiary institutions, recent events suggest that the reigning management pattern is the vertical. The managements seem to have little or no regard for the opinion of students who are the primary stakeholders, and thus fail to communicate with them as expected of a partner sensitive to the plights of the other partner.

    When there are inadequacies in an institution, everyone would be aware, including the management. Sadly, in most occasions, the management doesn’t update students and other stakeholders on its own disposition to the subject matter. Since lack of plain communication gives room for assumptions, students would start assuming that the management is not concerned about their welfare. Most times, these assumptions are an offshoot of ignorance of efforts by the management to address the situation. All these boil down to lack of communication.

    Most of the protests recently witnessed by our institutions and the closures that followed would have been averted if the managements have called for dialogue with students. A short text message or a news release from the management showing its concern on the subject matter and making known its efforts at addressing issues would have saved us from the embarrassments our institutions have recently witnessed.

    It is high time the management woke up to the reality that its success in this age cannot be achieved on the altar of coercion. Proper communication is the way out of this quagmire. Students’ Union leaders should also push for dialogue rather than resorting to avoidable protests that would end in paralysis of academic activities, and by extension constitute public nuisance.

     

    Godwin is a graduate of Mass Communication, UNILAG

     

  • Protests: Oyo govt warns traders

    Protests: Oyo govt warns traders

    Oyo State government has warned traders at the Temidire Market to shed their recalcitrance posture and relocate to the new site provided for them immediately, instead of engaging in ‘misdirected, fruitless and stage-managed’ protests.

    The government’s position was conveyed by the Special Adviser, Communication and Strategy to the Governor, Mr. Yomi Layinka, in reaction to protests that have trailed the relocation order, on Saturday. He said, “Our reaction to the stage-managed protest at the Temidire Market this morning (Saturday) is that it is misdirected and unfortunate.

    “This project is only one among many of the ongoing statewide market redevelopment activities, and cannot therefore be sabotaged by any private interests purporting to represent some stakeholders. What we seek to do in Temidire plank market is to redesign and modernise it with infrastructural facilities for the benefit of all stakeholders, including the neighboring communities who have endlessly complained against the environmental hazard that they’ve had to live with for a very long time.

    “This is quite apart from the very important need to forestall the large scale fire incidences usually associated with plank markets located within built-up environments.”

    The government said it was not unaware of the manipulation of some vested interests bent on seizing the opportunity to foment trouble and frustrate its urban renewal and market development efforts.

    For the avoidance of doubts, Layinka insisted that the Temidire market development project was a task that must be accomplished; no matter the machinations of those he called ‘misdirected few.’

  • UNILAG shut down over students protest

    UNILAG shut down over students protest

    The University of Lagos (UNILAG) has suspended all academic activities indefinitely and directed all students to vacate the campus with immediate effect.

    A statement signed by the University management said no student should remain in the halls of residence after 10am on Friday.

    The directive was issued following a protest on lack of water, electricity and increased cost of coming to school to attend lectures by students on Thursday.

    The statement reads in part: “The Senate of the University of Lagos at an emergency meeting held on Thursday, 7th April, 2016, considered the situation on campus occasioned by the ongoing agitation of the student body over poor electricity and water supply in the community, and the difficulty faced by large number of students living off campus to attend classes as a result of the fuel crisis… However, in order to forestall further breakdown of Law and order on campus… All academic activities on campus are hereby suspended with immediate effect; the University is therefore closed with immediate effect; No student should remain in the halls of residence after 10am on Friday, 8th April, 2016; a decision to reopen for normal activities will be taken as soon as municipal services improve.”

    Meanwhile, the University Students Union has countered the Senate’s directive, ordering all students to remain on campus.

    A statement signed by the Students Union said management’s order was impromptu and has left students stranded with nowhere to go and in the mercy of hoodlums.

    It said: “It is unfortunate that despite priding itself as the University of First Choice and the nation’s pride, the University of Lagos Management cannot handle this simple issue. The Vice Chancellor has demonstrated his insouciance towards the welfarism of the students. Despite his availability on campus today, he refused to avail the students of his presence.

    “In light of this public display of irresponsibility, the Union wishes to state that:
    1) It is an inhumane move with a dastardly motive to demand the vacation of students from the University community. This is because it has got to the notice of the Union that certain hoodlums are around the school to waylay students who are trying to leave the school.

    2) Students who live in distant areas have confessed that they do not have transport fare to take them home. This is understandable as the notice for vacation just got to students this morning at about 6:30, leaving us with less than 4hrs to vacate.

    They (management) have displayed that they do not have the interest of the students at heart.

    Hence, we implore the students to stay in school so that they won’t be victims of circumstances. Hoodlums are everywhere and leaving the school now is dangerous.”

  • JAMB protests

    It is now clear all was not well with the conduct of the Unified Tertiary  Matriculation Examination (UTME) which was rounded off last week. If anything, pockets of protests across the country underscore vividly, the dissatisfaction of many of the candidates with the conduct and outcome of that examination.

    In Ilorin, Kwara state, scores of UTME candidates protested over alleged shoddy conduct of the examination which failed them for no fault of theirs. They complained of receiving different scores from text messages and printouts which in most cases reduced their scores by at least 40 marks. There were also issues bordering on computer malfunction, poor loading of questions and instructions that put some candidates at gross disadvantage.

    Some others especially those who took the examination in the first two days of its commencement complained of 40 marks awarded to some candidates as reflected in the disparities between the scores in text messages initially sent to them and the final printouts.

    In Lagos, the matter took a wider dimension as hundreds of candidates together with their parents and tutorial center operators went violent at the premises of the state house of assembly while protesting the outcome of the examination. They hauled pebbles at the gate of the assembly when no official was at hand to speak to them. Some were reportedly arrested. Their complaints were similar; some candidates had 40 marks added to their results while for others, there was a reduction by the same margin.

    JAMB has blamed the protests on education consultants whose Computer Based Test centers (CBT) were disqualified for the UTME due to their inability to meet stipulated standards. The board’s public relations officer, Dr. Fabian Benjamin has asked aggrieved candidates to be calm and avail themselves of the opportunities provided by its public complaints unit rather than allow themselves to be used by any selfish interests.

    He placed the blame of the protests squarely at the door steps of proprietors of centers which were previously approved for the test but later disallowed because they were found to be lacking in indices for the conduct of the CBT examinations. “It is surprising that these proprietors will turn around to organize candidates to protest over our activities, Benjamin said”

    JAMB’s accusation of proprietors whose centers were disqualified for instigating the protests may not be entirely out of place. This is more so given that candidates who applied for the UTME did so purely in their private capacities. Thus, it is not easily conceivable how such private candidates could organize themselves for the protests we have seen without external prompting. So if JAMB blames some external body for influencing the protests, there is reason to give that body the benefit of doubt.

    Moreover, in the case of the protests in Lagos, reports had it that tutorial center proprietors and some parents were part of the demonstration that turned violent leading to some arrests. This alone gives ample credence to the allegation by JAMB that the protests were instigated by those whose selfish business interests were dashed by the cancellation of their centers for observed inadequacies.

    But this will neither account for the presence of some parents in the protests in Lagos nor reduce the weight of the issues raised by the candidates in the various centers. The common thread running through all the complaints of the candidates was that 40 marks were added or subtracted from their results as reflected in the disparities between the results sent to them through text messages and the final computer printouts; computer malfunctioning, poor loading of questions and instructions and power outages. There were candidates who claimed to have received four different versions of the results.

    So irrespective of whatever interest proprietors of the disqualified centers had in the matter, such selfish interests had very little to do with the substantive issues raised by the candidates. Definitely a candidate who received two different versions of his scores from the examination body is bound to be apprehensive of the overall credibility of that exercise. This is more so when such results show disparities of a whopping 40 marks margin. The matter is even compounded by the revelation that some other candidates got as much as four different versions of the results. Definitely JAMB is to blame for this. One is quite certain that the key factor to the protests is the issue of multiple results. It is bound to raise suspicion and the candidates are right to impute any motive to it. The blame lies squarely at the table of the examination body. So even if the proprietors were propelled by selfish business interest to goad the candidates to the protests, the candidates saw sufficient reasons to be part of them.

    And they have no blame for that. Ironically, JAMB has remained mute on why it posted different versions of results to the candidates. It must speak up on this singular issue else those who have continued to fault its continued retention as an examination body may begin to attract some sympathy. It is not enough for Benjamin to ask aggrieved candidates to avail themselves of the opportunities provided by its public complaints unit in redressing observed shortcomings.

    The board’s attention has been sufficiently drawn to the inadequacies in its conduct of the last UTME examinations. The credibility of the results it awarded candidates has been put to serious question on account of the unreliability of the different versions of results it posted. It must come public and explain what brought about the mix up. Such explanation must indicate the sources of the error since the results, which are expected to be marked by the computer, are supposed to have a very high degree of accuracy.

    With such explanation, the general public will begin to come to terms with the reliability of the CBT examinations which JAMB has been experimenting in the last two years. So it is not enough for the board to be trumpeting the advantages which the new examination system has over the paper and pencil test.

    It is also not enough for the examination body to justify these lapses by concluding that “the worst CBT is better than the best Paper and Pencil Test” If the truth must be told, this statement cannot be supported by the outcome of the last outing of that examination body. The fact remains that by posting different versions of the results, the body has created serious doubts in the minds of the candidates on the credibility of the CBT option. Many candidates have by the same errors of omission or commission had their ambition to enter higher institutions this year prematurely aborted.

    It may well be that the CBT will turn out a great improvement on the previous mode of test that was prone to sundry malpractices. If after the first year of its operation, the CBT came out with serious flaws this year, it only indicates that the body has not done its home work very well and it should take the blame. The CBT may well prove better in the future. But the confusion it has generated this year will remain a sad commentary on the efficacy of that system of examination.

    In the environment we operate, it may not be entirely out of place for there to be some lapses during such tests. But the magnitude and dimension of the current one should sufficiently task JAMB to ensure that the future of candidates is neither compromised nor abridged by inefficiencies within its house. In all, it must undertake a serious review of the results that have been posted to the candidates to ensure they tally with their actual performance.

    Above all, the solution to the current fiasco does not lie in scraping the CBT option or having it run simultaneously with the paper and pencil variant as the House of Representatives has recommended. JAMB should be given some time to improve. But they must catch up immediately. The CBT option remains the right path to the future.

     

     

  • PDP protests shift in Abuja council poll

    PDP protests shift in Abuja council poll

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has queried the postponement of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja Area Council election, which was initially slated for March 19.

    The party said there was no valid reason for the shift, except that the PDP and its candidates were more popular and set to sweep the elections in the six council areas.

    A statement on Wednesday by the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh, said the poll was postponed “at the instance of a particular political party”.

    According to the party, the postponement was part of the moves to deny the PDP of its imminent victory at the polls.

    The statement said, “Intelligence reports available to us indicate that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was instigated to shift the election merely because that particular political party realized that our candidates were going to sweep the polls.

    “It is indeed incontrovertible that most Nigerians from all walks of life residing in Abuja are in support of the PDP and are ready to express this support overwhelmingly at the FCT elections. The shift, we know is a fallout of the panic and conspiracy against the PDP.

    “We ask, is the postponement to allow a particular set of electoral and security officers being used in the Rivers state National and State Assembly rerun elections enough time to conclude that assignment and return to conduct the one in Abuja in two weeks time?

    “Is the development a confirmation that these particular electoral and security officials are on special assignment against the PDP?

    “Our take is that in spite of the conspiracies, the will of the people will prevail.  All our members and supporters are fully mobilized and ready for the elections.

    “It is obvious that we are winning; the people are with us and will not accept anything short of free, fair and credible elections which will be adequately represented in the results therein.”

     

  • Forum protests marginalisation of Awori in Lagos

    A group, the Awori Ikeja Division Forum (AIDF), has protested against what it described as the marginalisation of Awori in Lagos State.

    Its Youth Coordinator, Mr Taiwo Ebenezer, led protesters to the Lagos State Government House and the House of Assembly, Alausa, Ikeja to air their grievances. They said no indigene from the Awori clime is among the 57 Executive Secretaries (ES) in Lagos State.

    Ebenezer said  from the inception of the state, appointments and selection were made with due deference to the five divisional structure of the state, namely Ikeja, Badagry, Ikorodu, Lagos and Epe Divisions. He said recent events have revealed that Ikeja division is now being marginalised.

    One of the protesters, Mrs Adetoun Oluwole, said they were at the Lagos Assembly to kick against their non-recognition in the five strata of opportunities in the state.

    She said: “The  areas of opportunities are in the appointment into the State Executive Council, the appointment into statutory bodies, nomination/selection into elective positions, the appointment of permanent secretaries and appointment into the service parastatal organisations among others”.

  • Protests over sacked VCs in Abuja

    Coalition of civil society groups yesterday shut down the entrance of the National Assembly and Ministry of Education in Abuja in protest against the sack of 13 vice chancellors by the Federal Government.

    The protesters barricaded the entrance to the Federal Ministry of Education.

    The civil rights organisation described the sack as illegal.

    The protest left commuters and workers stranded for hours in the traffic.

    Addressing reporters, the coalition Chairman, Bassey Etuk, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to relieve the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, of his appointment “because he knows nothing”.

    He said their sack and replacement by people mostly from the North violated the Federal Character principle.

    One of the placards  read: “Six professors were taken from Bayero University, Kano… Haba! Why?”

    The protesters also petitioned Senate President Bukola Saraki and Speaker, House of Representatives Yakubu Dogara.

    The group gave the minister 48 hours to reverse the sack and resign his appointment.