On behalf of @omojuwa,
@Uchebriggs @xeenarh and all the others who protested in Abuja yesterday, I
say thank you for your support during their detention by Nigerian security agencies
(even though them no send me message ,lol
as this is purely a case of oversabi things). I admire their passion for
change and development in Nigeria (also
their ability to chop beating from police, plenty koko for don full their body
by now). Incase you do not have
facebook/bbm/twitter or read the news and you are wondering what the protest
was all about, the gist na say dem be dey protest against how Nigerian
Immigration take conduct shoddy recruitment weyallow make over 11 youths dem
die. Gerrit? Sweet.
So back to the matter,
the crux
of their protest is that the Minister of Interior should resign over the NIS
recruitment fiasco (now chances of that
happening are very slim, Naija people no dey resign like that, even him village
people no go allow, let alone political friends and associates). Just in
case you are wondering what the Minister has to do with all this, well the Immigration
service is part of his ministerial portfolio, go and find the Legalnaija law
blog to learn about his duties, just kidding, follow this Link.
I can’t say I experienced the
recruitment or the protest because you see, I am thousands of miles away in
Obodo Oyinbo, currently looking out at the River Thames from the window of the Inner
Temple Library, watching people cycle and walk about on the street. However, I won’t
be here for long as I have a booked flight heading to Nigeria soon. You see, I like Oyinbo people o, their society
is sane, public infrastructures and facilities are in place, trains are
working, health care is available for everyone and there is power, the spirit
of PHCN does not roam in this land, lol but most importantly, the public
officials and politicians understand who their Ogas at the top are. In a
nutshell, there is accountability, transparency and credibility in the
institution of government.
This is why I love what Omojuwa
and others have done, they have sacrificed their personal comfort and freedom
to demand accountability from our government. They were beaten and arrested
because of their pursuit for a better Nigeria where the ruling class serves the
public rather than continue to show staggering amounts of incompetence and an
un-satiable hunger for stolen public funds (as we still never see that $20 billion
wey waka commot from our oil money na). Many people abroad complain about
Nigeria, business investors will tell you how they have to kiss the asses of Politicians,
Commissioners, Governors, Ministers and civil servants in a bid to get what
they want. They complain about the police, lack of justice, insecurity and what
have you. Truth is no be today, e don tey wey foul yansh dey for back, no be
today all these problems don dey naija but as
e be now so, oboy things must change.
In other for our society to
develop, we must now begin to raise our standards of what society should be, we
have to raise the bar (I don’t meant burn
all the lawyers, lol). No more business as usual, if our government isn’t working
optimally, we should not say “God will help us” rather we should help ourselves
by demanding they sit up or we show them the way out. Mediocrity cannot
continue to excel amongst us and the corrupt cannot continue to sleep with both
eyes closed. We have to get these guys out and groom a proactive generation (you
and I) to take their place.
Ever heard of civil disobedience?
It’s the refusal to obey governmental demands or commands especially as a
nonviolent and usually collective means of forcing concessions from the
government. In other words, Civil disobedience is the public act of
willfully disobeying the law and/or the commands of an authority figure, to
make a political statement. Participants expect to be arrested, and are
frequently charged with crimes such as trespass, failure to disperse, or
failure to obey an officer. Civil disobedience is generally understood to be
nonviolent, although some have argued that violent acts can also be considered
a form of civil disobedience.
The purpose of civil disobedience is to convey a political message, which
is accomplished through increased media coverage of the issue. Also, if the law
broken is the law being protested, it sends the message to authority figures
that people consider the law so unjust, they are willing to openly disobey it.
An example of this is Rosa Parks' refusal to give up her seat on a city bus to
a white person, as was required by law in 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama and also
the recruitment protest against the Minister of Interior. Common types of civil
disobedience include staging a sit-in at a government or corporate office,
blocking traffic or doorways, or merely being in a location where the person is
not allowed to be or even hunger strike (that
one go hard small abi, u too like food). Famous advocates of civil disobedience
include Martin Luther King, Mohandas Gandhi and Henry David Thoreau.
Civil disobedience is a tool for engaging the government, I mean peaceful
engagement o, not “lets burn the house down kind of engagement” (just incase the SSS is reading this). Even
if all you want to do is pray that God comes down to help us, go and pray in
front of the Governor’s office and bring down the wrath of heaven on the public
servants taking advantage of our gentle nature.
So what do you want to do? Not care about how your voice can help join
others in demanding better governance on all levels (in that case, thunder fire your yansh) or stand up for a better
Nigeria, demand accountability from government and insist on the protection of
our rights and the rule of law be held sacred (if you picked this option, peace
be unto you). Funny enough, using civil
disobedience is kuku easy and also simple to organise -
STEP ONE
Gather a group of people interested in protesting using
civil disobedience. Make sure they are truly dedicated to the cause you are
pursuing and aren't just participating because they want to break laws. The
people protesting should also be peaceful.
Stay peaceful and non-confrontational whatever spectators
and law enforcement officials do. One of your main goals is to prove that the
law you break should be done away with. If you become confrontational, you will
have the opposite effect.
Realize that you will likely be
arrested, or at least fined, for breaking the law. Before you break the law,
investigate its consequences. All protesters must be willing to accept the
consequences of breaking the law, and you must do so peacefully for your
protest to be effective.
STEP 4
Repeat the protest, having new people use civil
disobedience if you are imprisoned because of your actions. The more you repeat
the action, the more successful your protest will be.
Hold your protest in a busy area
of town, or in conjunction with another public event. Alert the media to your
protest to make sure that it gets noticed.
If spectators become violent,
call the police for protection if you are not able to leave the protest site.
Realize, though, that the police may not take your side. Don't complain about
getting arrested or being fined. Part of a protest using civil disobedience is
accepting the consequences in a peaceful way. Anyways, bye bye for now, I am
going to buy cardboard and markers to make me some protest placards in case
them omojuwa need help in the nearest future (I will just make sure to wear a padded outfit so their whips from the
police won’t hurt so much, now that’s boarding house style, lol).
NOTE: When police tell you you
need a permit to protest, na lie o. Remind them about the court decision in the
case of ANPP & Ors v. IG of Police (2006) CHR 181.
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