President Bola Tinubu was among the leaders of NADECO during the military era in Nigeria
Ahead of the nationwide protests against economic hardship in Nigeria starting August 1, the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), United States chapter, has called on the international community to closely monitor the protest to ensure the safety of demonstrators.
According to NADECO USA chapter, it is wrong for the government to criminalise protests by targeting its organisers.
The President of NADECO USA, Dr Lloyd Ukwu, made the call during a news briefing in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital on Wednesday.
Ukwu warned that using force or intimidation to quell the protest would be a violation of democratic principles and a serious threat to fundamental rights.
He noted that for several years, Nigerian leaders have deployed tribalism, ethnicity and religion to divide the the citizenry in a bid to suppress popular demands.
The NADECO boss said the body supports the planned peaceful protest as long as the participants confine themselves within the law.
Ukwu explained that freedom of expression is a fundamental human right under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights inherent to all individuals irrespective of ethnicity, gender, nationality, religion and social status.
To that extent, he said protests are a catalyst to change, to reshape agendas and to spark positive debate.
His words: “Today marks a crucial juncture in Nigeria’s political history and development. It is with utmost concern and unwavering resolve that I speak on behalf of NADECO USA regarding the forthcoming protest by the Nigerian people, dubbed ‘End Bad Governance In Nigeria.’
“NADECO USA unequivocally endorse and support the planned peaceful protest, provided that it adheres to non-violence principles.
“Freedom of expression is a fundamental human right under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, inherent to all individuals irrespective of ethnicity, gender, nationality, religion or social status.
“Protests are age-long ways for citizens to express themselves. The constitutional right to expression, be it political or social is safeguarded in Nigeria’s legal framework.
“NADECO wishes to remind President Bola Tinubu and the Nigerian people that Tinubu himself is a product of incessant and numerous protests beginning with Chief MKO Abiola’s June 12, 1993, annulled elections.
“In 2014, prominent figures like President Tinubu, Pastor Tunde Bakare, Pastor Enoch Adeboye and Professor Wole Soyinka, exercised their rights to dissent, including symbolic acts that criticized the government.
“Why then should Nigerians be denied the right to peaceful protest today? While President Tinubu referenced revolution, it is essential to clarify that revolutions emerge originally rather than being orchestrated. It is disingenuous for the government to criminalise protest by targeting its organisers.
“We call on the international community to monitor this planned peaceful protest closely, ensuring the safety of every Nigerian Participant.
“This protest may evolve similarly to the one he supported in 2014. NADECO USA therefore considers it an irony of a circumstance and hypocrisy of the highest order for people to run all over the place to attempt to intimidate the Nigerian people who are genuinely desirous of defending their rights to good governance.”
President Bola Tinubu was among the leaders of NADECO during the military era in Nigeria.
The military was looking for him everywhere to kill him. When the heat became too much, he escaped to the United Kingdom and there, John Kayode Fayemi and others opened NADECO radio, which later became Kudirat radio and with that, continued to create awareness for the struggle. Apart from that, Tinubu was also helping to source funds for those who were in the struggle in Nigeria.
Nigeria is facing its worst economic crisis in decades, with skyrocketing inflation, a national currency in free-fall and millions of people struggling to buy food. Only two years ago Africa’s biggest economy, Nigeria is projected to drop to fourth place this year.
The pain is widespread. Unions strike to protest salaries of around $20 a month. People die in stampedes, desperate for free sacks of rice. Hospitals are overrun with women wracked by spasms from calcium deficiencies.
Although President Bola Tinubu increased the minimum wage — after strike action and months-long negotiations with labour unions — from N30,000 to N70,000, his government has increased spending for officials at a time of nationwide starvation.
For workers earning the new N70,000, or $43, per month minimum wage, capricious inflation and naira value have inflicted too much damage for the changes to make any difference in their lives.
The crisis is largely believed to be rooted in two major changes implemented by Mr Tinubu, elected 14 months ago: the partial removal of fuel subsidies and the floating of the currency, which together have caused major price rises.
A nation of entrepreneurs, Nigeria’s more than 200 million citizens are skilled at managing in tough circumstances, without the services states usually provide. They generate their own electricity and source their own water. They take up arms and defend their communities when the armed forces cannot. They negotiate with armed kidnappers when family members are abducted.
But right now, their resourcefulness is being stretched to the limit.
Some folks are planning protests to voice their concerns about the economic situation, including rising inflation and poverty, under President Tinubu’s administration.
The protests are expected to happen in the north and other parts of the country, but residents and leaders of the south-eastern region, inhabited by the Igbo ethnic group – have made it clear that they are not going to be part of the mass action.
The planned protests have already ignited debates on social media between Mr Tinubu’s supporters — who had previously advocated for similar protests under former president Goodluck Jonathan in 2012 — and next month’s would-be demonstrators.
Mr Tinubu’s government warned that a breakdown of law would not be tolerated, while Nigerians were furious that the same individuals who, in 2012, organised demonstrations against Mr Jonathan’s government for terminating fuel subsidies are now aggressively opposing the same cause under a different leader.
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