girl walking with nigerian flag

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

NBA IKEJA PRESS RELEASE

PRESS RELEASE



The Good people of Nigeria.






The Nigerian Bar Association Ikeja Branch strongly and unequivocally disassociates itself from the recent announcement of the suspension and truncation of the protest and strike of the Nigerian people against the hike in fuel price by the NLC/TUC. Even before Monday, the 9th day of January 2012, the Ikeja Bar had started a campaign against the said hike in line with the directives of the National Executive Committee meeting of the NBA held at Eket in November 2011. From the 9th till today the 16th January 2012, the Ikeja Bar was in the forefront of the protest against the fuel price hike using the platform of the organised labour as well as that of the Civil Society Groups whilst not losing our lawyers identity.






Much to our chagrin, grave disappointment and unimaginable shock, labour which had appeared seemingly resolute in the stand against the hike in fuel price suddenly capitulated, dramatically somersaulted and shamelessly backpedalled on the very popular stand that the pump price of PMS remains N65.






We make bold to say that the announcement by Labour that it has accepted the N97 per litre price of PMS as unilaterally fixed by the repressive Federal Government of Dr Jonathan is completely unacceptable to us. We consider the acceptance by Labour to be a betrayal of the masses of Nigerian people and an unholy compromise of the sovereignty of the people of Nigeria with a Government that has shown gross insensitivity to their needs, demands and yearnings.






Our position on this matter is that the Nigerian masses should ignore Labour and continue their peaceful opposition to the increase in the pump price of PMS. We have said it before that Government cannot be above the Governed since the former is the servant of the latter and the vast majority of the Nigerian people after listening to all manners of argument on the issue have remained resolute that pump price should remain at N65. We call on all other professional groups whether blue collar or white collar to join us in continuing the peaceful protest and resistance to the increase in pump price. Nigeria belongs to all of us and not only to the cabal and their cohorts in Government who believe that they have a monopoly of wisdom and are the Encyclopedia of knowledge. The blockade, the invasion and unlawful occupation of the Gani Fawehinmi Freedom Square Ojota and several parts of Lagos like Yaba, Ojuelegba, Palmgrove, Anthony and Maryland by military personnel and other security forces is unconstitutional, oppressive, obnoxious, abuse of power, reckless, provacative and a disturbing throw back to the fascism of the military years. Likewise, the tear gassing of our colleagues, Bamidele Aturu, Ebun Adegboruwa and other citizens this morning whilst in a peaceful procession along Ikorodu Road as well as the prevention of Femi Falana from accessing Gani Fawehinmi Park Ojota and the NLC Secretariat, Yaba by the military is equally unconstitutional and condemnable. Nigerains have a right to go to every part of Nigeria in peaceful assembly and without participation in any criminality. Both Sections 40 and 41 of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 supports this contention.


Finally, our passionate appeal is that the protest against increase in pump price MUST continue. N65 or nothing!



DATED THIS 16TH DAY OF JANUARY 2012.



ADEBAMIGBE OMOLE. (CHAIRMAN)
ADESINA OGUNLANA
(GENERAL SECRETARY)


















































































































Sunday, January 15, 2012

Jonathan grapples with expanded protest agenda

By kunle fagbemi
President Goodluck Jonathan has not only united his opponents against himself in a way no president or head of state before him has done, he now faces the distinct possibility of either being impeached or swept away through a revolutionary wave of popular protests. From Lagos to Abuja, Ibadan to Kaduna, and in many other cities in Nigeria, West, North, East and South, hundreds of thousands of protesters stormed venues designated for rallies against the removal of what the Jonathan government described as fuel subsidy. The protests were both remarkable and eye-opening, not only for the revival of Fela’s music in Lagos, and its restoration to its place of genius and primacy as protest music, but also for the seething public disdain for government’s ineptitude.
The call for change was less strident in Abuja than in Lagos, but it was no less meaningful and poignant. From Femi Falana to Tunji Braithwaite, from Ganiat Fawehinmi (Gani’s widow) to Pastor Tunde Bakare, and to hundreds of well-to-do professionals, musicians, and Nollywood actors, the message was the same, as if by a prior consensus. Braithwaite and Falana put it very eloquently and forcefully that the protest had gone beyond the reversal of the fuel price to N65/litre. It was time to reclaim the people’s mandate so that power could reside with the people, they thundered. From one speaker to another, it was call for Jonathan to resign. If the call takes root, Jonathan may find himself fighting battles on three fronts – Boko Haram, fuel price hike, and calls for his resignation.
In Abuja, though rally speakers were more restrained in calling for the kind of revolutionary change that is sweeping through the minds and sentiments of the Lagos protesters, they left no one in doubt that their frustrations with the inertness of the Jonathan government were equally volatile and intense. There seems to be a sense of apprehension in both Lagos and Abuja that the Jonathan government had misread the mood of the moment, and might also have underestimated the anger of the people. Speakers drew attention to the government’s subsidy arithmetic and undermined its basic assumptions. They followed this up by pointing at the very many contradictions in the system, the decadence and laxity in government, and they then summed up their presentations by demanding the restoration of subsidy before any negotiations could take place.
The mere fact that the protest rallies were attended by mammoth crowds of the young and old, and male and female everywhere it held should underscore both their popularity and the depth of alienation in the system. The Jonathan government obviously failed to appreciate and measure the anger out on the streets. Many government officials reportedly poured scorn on analysts who condemned Jonathan for poorly timing the fuel subsidy measure. But it is now clear that the burgeoning menace of Boko Haram terrorism and the yet-to-abate Arab Spring have deeply influenced and inspired the Nigerian protests. Many speakers in some of the rallies made references to both Boko Haram, which is on the verge of instigating a civil or sectarian war, and the Arab Spring, from which the battle cry of Occupy Nigeria was coined.
If Jonathan heeds the House of Representatives motion asking the president to reverse the price hike, he may still be able to douse the incipient calls for his resignation. This is, however, only a possibility; it is not assured. But if he fails to take the window of opportunity opened by the Reps and decides to stick to his fuel subsidy plans, the call for his resignation or impeachment, which is still limited to whispers in many rallies, could start to blossom into non-negotiable calls for the fall of his government.
The massive protests have presented Jonathan two terrifying and unnerving dilemmas. First, if he fails to revert to the old fuel price, it seems clear he will not be able to govern well again or at least do it in an atmosphere of calm. He was really never in his elements even in time of no protests, what with series of goofs and gaffes. In times of crisis, he has even more difficulties. Worse, if the protests continue, his government may very well be swept away, for even now, the organisers are finding it difficult to keep a handle on the protesters who are yearning for a firmer and more assertive show of force. Second, if Jonathan reverts to the old price of petrol, the positions of members of his economic team would become untenable. The reason is that leading members of the team have sworn that without subsidy removal, the economy would crash. With the return of subsidy, it would sound contradictory to entrust the management of the economy into the hands of those who have concluded that the economy could not be salvaged without subsidy removal.
Just as no one could tell where the Arab Spring would lead when it began, it may be difficult on this first enthusiastic day to determine how it will all end for both the protesters and to the increasingly unpopular Jonathan government. It is, however, beyond doubt that the massiveness of the protest in some parts of the country showed the popularity of the cause. It is indeed a historical first to find Nigerians from all professions and from all corners of the country unite against an unpopular policy, and to some extent, an unpopular government. Jonathan has not inspired anyone; it is hard to see anyone inspired to defend him when the chips are down, for in the end, the people have drawn a line between Jonathan and democracy.

Protests Paralyse Nigerian Cities


Nigerian cities were groaing yesterday under a crushing weight of strikes, protests and rallies to force a reversal of petrol prices.


The protests were staged in more than 30 state capitals and towns.


Professionals, activists, workers, students, artisans and ordinary Nigerians hit the streets, carrying placards and singing anti-government songs. They heeded calls by the Nigeria labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), which asked workers to shun work indefinitely, in response to the sudden withdrawal of subsidy on petrol on January 1. The government’s action sent petrol price jumping from N65 per litre to between N138 and N200.




The government said the cash to be saved from the subsidy that has been withdrawn will go into infrastructure, jobs and diversification of the economy. Labour disagreed.


The seat of government in Abuja was grounded by the protesters who prevented government officials, including ministers, from getting to their offices. The rally was addressed by labour leaders.


In Kano, the protest was hijacked by hoodlums, who attempted to break into the Government House. In the ensuing melee, a 15-year-old boy was reportedly killed. Many others were injured, hit by stray bullets, it was learnt.



Four people, including three in Benin City and one in Lagos, died.


Two ex-governors - Balarabe Musa and Hamid Alli-led the protest in Kaduna.


Protests and rallies were held in Abeokuta, Minna, Ibadan, Ado-Ekiti, Osogbo, Awka, Enugu, Owerri, Port Harcourt, Makurdi, Bauchi and Gombe and Oyo, among other state capitals and cities.


Businesses were shut down in Lagos. Airports and seaports were grounded.


The economy lost billions of naira.


The Federal Government pleaded for peace, saying dialogue remains the best way to resolve the matter.


In Lagos, the Labour team took off from the NLC Secretariat in Yaba with a fairly large crowd, which grew as they trekked along, sensitising the people on the reason for the protest.


The team was led by NLC Deputy President Joe Ajaero. TUC President General Peter Esele was represented by Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI) President Sunday Olusoji Salako.


A Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) ambulance with registration number FST 564AA followed the crowd.


The crowd was massive but it was little compared to those already at the Gani Fawehinmi Park in Ojota, where the long walk terminated and speeches were delivered.


The Save Nigeria Group (SNG) organised the rally at the Gani Fawehinmi Park. The crowd gathered there as early as 8.00am.


They moved through Ojuelegba to Jibowu, Fadeyi and Palmgrove, where a group of hoodlums tried to cause trouble, pelting the protesters with stones and other objects. But they were prevented by the police who employed force to stop the protest from being hijacked.


Save for the face-off with the hoodlums, the police were civil as they accompanied the protesters.


The SNG team was led by Pastor Tunde Bakare, the vice presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in last year’s presidential election.


Apart from Bakare, there were pro-democracy activists, such as Lagos lawyer Femi Falana, activist Yinka Odumakin and Dr. Joe-Okei Odumakin, Chief Dele Momodu, elder statesman Tunji Braithwaite, Mrs Ganiat Fawehimmi and her son, Mohammed, among other activists. There were musicians and actors – its members. Femi Kuti, Seun Kuti, Wasiu Ayinde, Ras Kimono, Dede Mabiakwu and others.


The crowd was so large that it stretched as far as the Maryland Bridge.


Ajibola Wahid, a lawyer, could not understand why the government could not arrest its members.


“I am protesting because the government cannot punish us for its inability to arrest 41 Nigerians who are behind the subsidy rackets.”


There was a huge podium from where the leaders addressed the crowd. A big electricity generating set was installed. The protesters threatened to remain at the Park for days to come, should the government fail to revert petrol price to N65.


At a point, a helicopter hovered over the crowd of protesters. But they were unmoved.


Songs of Afrobeat legend Fela Anikulapo-Kuti was booming from the giant speakers and the crowd sang along.


Bakare said with or without subsidy, poor Nigerians would still lose out. He urged the government to tell the people how much the country is making from oil daily and make available the cost of daily production.


He said successive administrations paid for Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) of refineries with nothing to show for it.


“The problem is corruption. More than 70 per cent of Nigeria’s earning is spent on their salaries and emolument. The corruption has to be removed,” the pastor said.


Salako said he could not say how long it would take but he knew that the people’s will would prevail. He warned banks against opening during the protests.


To Ajaero, reversal to N65 per litre is not negotiable.


Lagos Lawyer Femi Falana, accompanied by his son Folarin, said the people are angry because successive administrations have denied them the benefits of democracy. He said if they resolved to revolt, nobody can stop the revolution. He insisted that the people have the right to protest, saying inspite of having to address protest rallies for over 35 years little had changed in the polity.


Elder-statesman and Second Republic presidential candidate Dr. Tunji Braithwaite said “the revolution has started” and it cannot be stopped”.


“We have been ruled for a long time by mosquitoes. It is not only about fuel price, what about corruption. This is going to be a mother of all revolution. We will re arrange our affair,” said the 76-year old lawyer.


The widow of the late activist, Chime Ubani, Ochuwa, also attended the rally.


There were also leaders of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) and Air Transport Workers, among many others.

source: thenation newspaper