As momentum continues to gather ahead of the planned nationwide #EndBadGovernance protest, some organisers, who all the while were tagged ‘faceless’, have revealed their identities.
They also insisted that they remained undaunted and would hit the streets on August 1 to demonstrate against bad governance, hardship and hunger.
The groups, numbering at least 26, have made it known that they would take to the streets to protest the prevailing hardship, hunger, and bad governance.
Reports say that the groups had also written to at least 20 state governments, seeking permission to use state infrastructure to carry out their civic duty.
Some of the groups, Saturday PUNCH can confirm, include Concerned Nigerians, Nigerians Against Hunger, Initiative for Change, Take it Back Movement, Revolution Now, Human Rights Co-Advocacy Group, Nigerians Against Corruption Initiative, Citizens for Change Advocacy Initiative, Timely Intervention, and Active Citizens Group.
Others include Students for Change, We Coalition, Total Intervention, Refurbished Nigeria, Tomorrow Today, Our Future in Our Own Hands Initiative, Youths Against Tyranny, and Call a Spade a Spade Movement, among others.
Several others, who spoke to our correspondents but chose to remain anonymous, numbered over six, including an all-female group.
One of the organisers, who is the Convener of the Revolution Now Movement, Mr Omoyele Sowore, released a list of locations for the upcoming #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protest, scheduled to take place in 35 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
He said the protest was aimed at bringing attention to the country’s governance issues.
Sowore, a former presidential candidate, urged Nigerians wishing to participate in the campaign to add their towns or cities if they had not already been listed.
He announced the designated locations for the protest in various states including Lagos, Kano, Bauchi, Enugu, Jigawa, Ekiti, Cross River, and the Federal Capital Territory, among others.
The listed locations include Ikorodu, Lagos Island, Lekki/Ajah axis, Badagry, Ikeja, and Epe in Lagos State; Kano main town in Kano State; Azare and Bauchi town in Bauchi State; Enugu city and Nsukka in Enugu State; and Dutse and Kazaure in Jigawa State.
Also listed were Ado-Ekiti and Ikere Ekiti in Ekiti State; Calabar in Cross River State, and Gwagalada and Central Business District in the Federal Capital Territory, among others.
Another organiser, who is the Director of Mobilisation, Take it Back Movement, FCT, Damilare Adenola, said the protest was backed by several groups in the country.
“This is not about one group or another. It is about angry and hungry Nigerians who are tired of this system. Protest is our right. Nobody can take it away from us. We have already written to the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, to avail us of the National Stadium built with taxpayers’ money for our peaceful demonstration,” he said.
The group had written to Wike on Friday to grant them the use of Eagle Square for the proposed #EndBadGovernance protest scheduled to be held from August 1 to 10.
They demanded provision of 24-hour power supply, toilet facilities, water, and security for the convenience of citizens who would be camped out at the location.
The statement titled, ‘Request for use of Eagle Square Abuja for #EndBadGovernance protest,’ read, “As one of the groups organizing the forthcoming #EndBadGovernance protest, #DaysOfRage starting from August 1st to 10th, 2024, we at the Take It Back Movement write to your esteemed office to notify you of our decision to use Eagle Square as a point of convergence for patriotic Nigerians to demand better governance.”
A representative of Nigerians Against Hunger, Tunde Thomas, speaking to Saturday PUNCH, said Nigeria was tired of the hunger in the land, adding that the government should intervene.
“Our demands are simple – End hunger. We cannot be the most populous Black nation in the world and be hungry,” he said.
The Secretary-General of the Initiative for Change, Mr Ocean Panem, said the August 1 protest was not a riot but a way to “echo the voices of all Nigerians.”
“The country is in a mess. We need to recognise that. Members of our group are mostly in the Middle Belt and in Cross River. We would come out en masse and make sure we don’t stop till our demands are met,” he said.
A student group leader, who did not want to be named for fear of victimisation, said members of her group, who are mostly law students and students of history, would storm the streets on August 1 to protest.
Nobody can stop protest – Northern group
Speaking in an interview with Saturday PUNCH, the National Chairman of the Northern Comrades Movement of Nigeria, Jabir Yaro, said, “Nothing will stop this protest. Nobody in this world can stop this protest. It will happen and everybody should come out en masse to protest. No level of intimidation will stop us.
Reacting to the withdrawal from the planned protest by another northern group, he said, “Those were APC boys who were paid for propaganda; we are the youth leaders, and we are set for this protest. We are expecting millions of people for this protest. We have informed the security agencies, and we are ready for it.”
Youths accuse DSS of freezing account
The Take it Back Movement in a post on X accused the DSS of freezing its United Bank of Africa account to starve it of funds.
The group threatened legal action if its account wasn’t unfrozen in the next 24 hours.
It read, “It has now come to our attention that @UBAGroup has frozen our account on the instructions of the DSS over our involvement in the forthcoming protest. We describe this action as lawless, and demand our account be unfrozen immediately within the next 24 hours, without which a legal action will be instituted.”
IG sets guidelines
The Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, urged all groups planning to participate in the nationwide protest to submit their details to the commissioners of police in their respective states.
He made this known while addressing journalists in Abuja on Friday, adding that this was to ensure that the protest was peaceful.
Egbetokun said, “We acknowledge the constitutional right of Nigerian citizens to peaceful assembly and protest. However, in the interest of public safety and order, we urge all groups planning to protest to provide necessary details to the Commissioner of Police in the state where the protest is intended to take place.”
He also stated that the proposed protest routes and assembly points must be made known.
The IG noted that the expected duration of the protest and the names and contact details of protest leaders and organisers must also be provided.
Further speaking, he said there must be measures put in place to prevent the hijacking of the protest by criminal elements, including “key identifiers for possible isolation of potential troublemakers.”
Egbetokun said intelligence at the disposal of the Force also revealed that foreign mercenaries were involved in the proposed nationwide protest.
Palpable tension
Meanwhile, tension has pervaded major cities in Nigeria ahead of the planned nationwide protest.
Despite pleas, persuasions, warnings, and subtle threats from state and non-state actors, the organisers of the protest have remained resolute, declaring that they will occupy the country as scheduled.
Tagged #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria, the protest has generated controversies across Nigeria, making it the leading political and security discussion in the country.
President Bola Tinubu met with governors under the All Progressives Congress and prominent traditional rulers on Thursday to discuss the protest.
Tinubu had earlier pleaded with the organisers to give him more time and shelve the demonstration.
Aside from the President, other stakeholders are also worried about the implications of the demonstration, citing the ongoing national protest in Kenya and the 2020 #EndSARS protest in Nigeria.
On Thursday, the Department of State Services warned the organisers of the protest against proceeding with it, describing it as politically motivated.
The DSS disclosed that it had uncovered a plan by some criminal elements to hijack the protest and cause unrest in the country.
The Defence Headquarters also declared that the planned protest had the potential to degenerate into anarchy and a reign of terror.
Saturday PUNCH noted that the police embarked on a show of strength in Lagos, Abuja, Akwa Ibom, and other parts of the country, in preparation to forestall a possible breakdown of law and order.
However, organisers of the nationwide protest said no amount of threats would stop them.
Speaking with Saturday PUNCH in a telephone interview on Thursday, Sowore said the goal of the protest would be achieved and would last longer than any previous protest.
Sowore, a former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress in the 2023 elections, allayed the fears of Nigerians regarding violence on the protest day, saying it would be a success for the police and other security agencies.
He said, “This protest has many Nigerians working simultaneously to achieve the same goal of ending poor governance. We are happy that many more Nigerians have come to the same conclusion we reached five years ago: that a revolution is inevitable.
“The ruling APC understands that Nigerians have figured out that they are a fraudulent party that came to power by deceit and has remained in power through roguery. They are aware that Nigerians are tired of the party, its leaders, and its policies. To sustain the demand for real change, this revolt is planned to last longer than any other in Nigeria’s history.”
A sociopolitical activist and Convener, Concerned Nigerians, Deji Adeyanju, warned the Federal Government and security agents against sending individuals to attack the protesters. Adeyanju, one of the protest organisers, stated that the protest would be peaceful as long as the government did not try to disrupt it in any part of the country.
He said the protest was prompted by prevailing hunger, corruption, budget padding, and other issues in the country.
