] Issa Aremu,
Return of protests
Nigeria is increasingly hitting the global headlines with voices from the streets as distinct from the official voices. We are in the season of mass actions and protests for good governance, almost reminiscent of the challenging days of military dictatorship. As part of the activities marking the last International Women Day, commendably Nigerian women in their large numbers from all walks of life, came out at various state capitals in Nigeria and abroad to protest the recent spate of bombings and the killings of the 43 students of Federal Government College (FGC), Buni Yadi, Yobe State and the abduction of 25 female students of the school by the rampaging gun men. Following the criminal abductions of some 200 students of the Government Girls Secondary School in the Chibok area of Borno State, protesters, women and men have called for a “millionwoman march” over the government’s failure to rescue scores of schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram Islamists two weeks ago. Many Nigerians have heeded this clarion call for solidarity with 200 girls in captivity.
The recent rude second Nyanya bombings which again reportedly claimed as many as 19 lives on May Day, many Nigerians are rising up to hold government accountable. According to the news agencies reports, protesters had taken to the streets yesterday, adding to the international pressure on Nigeria do more to rescue more than 200 schoolgirls abducted by militants from Los Angeles to London. Reportedly “..in Washington, protesters gathered at the Lincoln Memorial to denounce what they described as a poor response by the Nigerian government to rescue the girls”.
“On Sunday, about 100 demonstrators gathered outside the Nigerian High Commission in London again, where they chanted “Bring them back!” as well as “Not for sale!” and “African lives matter!”
The mainly female crowd, from young girls to older women, also carried banners that read “These are our sisters” and “No child born to be taken.”
As a protester myself and deputy chair of the National conference Committee on Civil Society, Labour, Youths and Sports, return of protests in the civil society is more than a passing Interest. It is a total commitment as it were. I had indicated last week that after much deliberation, the Committee accepts that the failure of governance is a good opportunity for civil society groups and labour as well as youths in Nigeria to even demonstrate greater national relevance. The recent resurgence of protests supports the resolution of the Committee to, among others, reposition the civil society to return to good old days when civil society groups were vigilant, sensitive and moved against the miscarriages of justice, impunity and nonaccountability of the military political office holders. If civil society groups commendably halted military dictatorships of the late 80s and 90s, then they should even do more to deepen the current democracy, moderate the incipient civilian dictators, put pressures on governments to ensure uninterrupted power supply, create jobs and terminate unemployment, guarantee good quality education and health, halt mass poverty and re-industrialize the nation and ensure security and peace. Reassuringly the protests are yielding positive results. President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has approved the constitution of a Presidential Committee on the rescue efforts for the missing female students of Chibok, Borno State. The Presidential Committee has Brigadier General Ibrahim A. Sabo (rtd) as Chairman, Barrister Femi Falana, SAN, (who is reported to have turned down the appointment); Hajia Hawa Ibrahim and Hajia Fatima Kwaku, among others, are members. A statement by Anyim Pius Anyim, Secretary to the Government of the Federation said “the Committees whose work shall be largely fact findings is charged with the following terms of reference: “To liaise with the Borno State Government and establish the circumstances leading to the School remaining open for boarding students when other schools were closed;
“To liaise with relevant authorities and the parents of the missing girls to establish the actual number and identities of the girls abducted;
“To interface with the Security Services and Borno State Government to ascertain how many of the missing girls have returned;
“To mobilise the surrounding communities and the general public on citizen support for a rescue strategy and operation;
“To articulate a framework for a multi-stakeholder action for the rescue of the missing girls; (and)
“To advise Government on any matter incidental to the terms of reference”.
It is debatable if these official responses (however imperfect they are) would have come without the ongoing pressures of the civil society through protests. The point cannot be overstated that in a democracy, there is the need for pressures to hold governments at all levels accountable.