Dear
Nigerians, after due consultations, it has become clear that the
#OneVoiceNigeria protest scheduled to hold in Lagos and Abuja on Monday
the 6th of February is under serious threat of hijack by interests not
aligned with our ideals. The point I am intent on making is that is
(sic) not worth the life of any Nigerian. It is in fact motivated by the
need to negotiate a better deal for the ordinary Nigerian. I therefore
announce the cancellation of the planned protest. We would share further
information in due course. We appreciate the massive support. I am
convinced that our voices have been heard… “
That was Innocent Tuface Idibia, in a short video to announce the cancellation of his highly publicised march on Saturday night. Yours truly obviously saw it coming. It takes an appreciation of the massive psychological operation (psych-ops) deployed against the movement’s leading light of the march in the past week alone to see why the event stood to chance of being held. Indeed, it is a miracle that the man still had the presence of mind to prepare what is evidently a hastily prepared visual to the public.
As for the trophy for the abortion of the legitimate protest, that deservedly goes to Fatai Owoseni – the Lagos top cop who insisted that the constitution and the law counted for little when it comes to his idea of law and order. To him, what the constitution and the law guarantee are only as far as the old discredited colonial-style law enforcement template would allow. To him, it was sufficient that no official request came from the protesters notifying security agencies of their plan; moreover, he would add that intelligence report indicated that criminals might hijack the process to foment trouble. And so in Owoseni’s book, individuals or group of persons who may wish to embark on civil demonstration should inform the police until adequate security can be arranged for them!
To imagine that this is the individual in charge of policing the home of dissent – the acclaimed Centre of Excellence, a fast transforming mega-city; not only does it leave little imagination about his suitability for the challenge but raises serious questions about his understanding of role of the police institution in a modern, democratic state! Should one also talk of the chief law officer of the federation who would rather be missing in action where contestations are about issues of law and justice crop up? What about the Pontius Pilate presidency that would go on to speak from both sides of the mouth at a time the rights of citizens are being trampled under?
I perfectly understand the pains of the Buharists for whom the Tuface capitulation merely presented ample occasion to gloat, and settle scores: “A man who did not protest against music Piracy that is affecting his business and did not protest against the massive corruption in his home state did not look to me as a man will balls to lead any other form of protest. He was given the go ahead by the Vice President and the Police but you can’t protest over nothing.” That was the message of Anasieze Donatus, in an interview with Premium Times. Tayo Ayano, speaking to the same medium was just as blunt: “Tuface should start from his wife’s state, Akwa Ibom where the ‘uncommon governor’ practically stole his people blind and then move to Delta State where they celebrate thieves and common criminals.”
To those who insist on Tuface being an unlikely saint and so stand disqualified on the roll of those that could cast the proverbial stone, I would argue that he never sought to cast himself in that role. To the best of my knowledge, what he sought to do was merely galvanise like minds to engage the government on the raging issues of the day; the very issues that define our existence such as being echoed in bars and street corners. These are the untamed cost of living that have left most households pauperised; the collapse of industries, of the national currency; the unprecedented below par performance of Buhari’s ministers in the face of the dire emergency, the continuing meltdown in state institutions and the apparent lack of direction all of which have bred despair in the polity.
The problem, it appears, is that a high flier has chosen to lead the charge in seeking to articulate the very issues that agitate Nigerians daily.
In aborting the protests, the federal government may have spared itself the embarrassing spectacle of watching the hordes of angry, frustrated Nigerians rant to no end about its supreme incompetence before a global audience in the age of the new media; that no way diminishes the tragedy of that botched outing nor the weight of their undelivered message. However, let’s even Let’s assume that the government is able to put down the resurgent culture of civil protests – which seems increasing doubtful in the age of the new media – what about the problems of governance created by its own inertia that is at the heart of the distrust and ill-will? Would these also be decreed out of existence?
Now that the messenger is at least temporarily out of the way, the question is – what becomes of the message? Put it another way: why do the people rage? Why the anger?
The answer is not hard to hazard: not in our recent history have we seen an administration utterly lacking both in direction and cohesion. But then, that itself is an understatement. How do you describe a government which after bungling the budgetary process shops for alibis? A government that has made such a mess of its Mid-Term Expenditure that the National Assembly could not but sneer at what it described as its sophomoric effort? Imagine an administration laying a $30 billion loan request before parliament with no specific projects attached to the request? How bad can things get? And considering how bad things are, where is the sense of emergency?
Think of members of the nation’s Economic Management Team – the monetary and fiscal monetary authorities –working in cross purposes with each other. Only in Nigeria can this be contemplated –at a time of dire emergency!
Where are the strategies to get our industries revving back to life? Where are the strategic plans to wean our industries off their dependence on imported raw materials and hence foreign exchange in the medium term? In short, where are the clear-sighted, forward-looking strategies to get the nation out of the current challenges other than the same old, tired ideas that brought us to this point?
Left to pick between #IstandwithBuhari and #IstandwithNigeria, the choice should be obvious.
That was Innocent Tuface Idibia, in a short video to announce the cancellation of his highly publicised march on Saturday night. Yours truly obviously saw it coming. It takes an appreciation of the massive psychological operation (psych-ops) deployed against the movement’s leading light of the march in the past week alone to see why the event stood to chance of being held. Indeed, it is a miracle that the man still had the presence of mind to prepare what is evidently a hastily prepared visual to the public.
As for the trophy for the abortion of the legitimate protest, that deservedly goes to Fatai Owoseni – the Lagos top cop who insisted that the constitution and the law counted for little when it comes to his idea of law and order. To him, what the constitution and the law guarantee are only as far as the old discredited colonial-style law enforcement template would allow. To him, it was sufficient that no official request came from the protesters notifying security agencies of their plan; moreover, he would add that intelligence report indicated that criminals might hijack the process to foment trouble. And so in Owoseni’s book, individuals or group of persons who may wish to embark on civil demonstration should inform the police until adequate security can be arranged for them!
To imagine that this is the individual in charge of policing the home of dissent – the acclaimed Centre of Excellence, a fast transforming mega-city; not only does it leave little imagination about his suitability for the challenge but raises serious questions about his understanding of role of the police institution in a modern, democratic state! Should one also talk of the chief law officer of the federation who would rather be missing in action where contestations are about issues of law and justice crop up? What about the Pontius Pilate presidency that would go on to speak from both sides of the mouth at a time the rights of citizens are being trampled under?
I perfectly understand the pains of the Buharists for whom the Tuface capitulation merely presented ample occasion to gloat, and settle scores: “A man who did not protest against music Piracy that is affecting his business and did not protest against the massive corruption in his home state did not look to me as a man will balls to lead any other form of protest. He was given the go ahead by the Vice President and the Police but you can’t protest over nothing.” That was the message of Anasieze Donatus, in an interview with Premium Times. Tayo Ayano, speaking to the same medium was just as blunt: “Tuface should start from his wife’s state, Akwa Ibom where the ‘uncommon governor’ practically stole his people blind and then move to Delta State where they celebrate thieves and common criminals.”
To those who insist on Tuface being an unlikely saint and so stand disqualified on the roll of those that could cast the proverbial stone, I would argue that he never sought to cast himself in that role. To the best of my knowledge, what he sought to do was merely galvanise like minds to engage the government on the raging issues of the day; the very issues that define our existence such as being echoed in bars and street corners. These are the untamed cost of living that have left most households pauperised; the collapse of industries, of the national currency; the unprecedented below par performance of Buhari’s ministers in the face of the dire emergency, the continuing meltdown in state institutions and the apparent lack of direction all of which have bred despair in the polity.
The problem, it appears, is that a high flier has chosen to lead the charge in seeking to articulate the very issues that agitate Nigerians daily.
In aborting the protests, the federal government may have spared itself the embarrassing spectacle of watching the hordes of angry, frustrated Nigerians rant to no end about its supreme incompetence before a global audience in the age of the new media; that no way diminishes the tragedy of that botched outing nor the weight of their undelivered message. However, let’s even Let’s assume that the government is able to put down the resurgent culture of civil protests – which seems increasing doubtful in the age of the new media – what about the problems of governance created by its own inertia that is at the heart of the distrust and ill-will? Would these also be decreed out of existence?
Now that the messenger is at least temporarily out of the way, the question is – what becomes of the message? Put it another way: why do the people rage? Why the anger?
The answer is not hard to hazard: not in our recent history have we seen an administration utterly lacking both in direction and cohesion. But then, that itself is an understatement. How do you describe a government which after bungling the budgetary process shops for alibis? A government that has made such a mess of its Mid-Term Expenditure that the National Assembly could not but sneer at what it described as its sophomoric effort? Imagine an administration laying a $30 billion loan request before parliament with no specific projects attached to the request? How bad can things get? And considering how bad things are, where is the sense of emergency?
Think of members of the nation’s Economic Management Team – the monetary and fiscal monetary authorities –working in cross purposes with each other. Only in Nigeria can this be contemplated –at a time of dire emergency!
Where are the strategies to get our industries revving back to life? Where are the strategic plans to wean our industries off their dependence on imported raw materials and hence foreign exchange in the medium term? In short, where are the clear-sighted, forward-looking strategies to get the nation out of the current challenges other than the same old, tired ideas that brought us to this point?
Left to pick between #IstandwithBuhari and #IstandwithNigeria, the choice should be obvious.
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