Joe
Nigeria and indeed the world stood still when we had #EndSars protest.
However, perhaps not many noted that in it later end, what we were clamouring for was an end to bad governance. The Renewed Hope mantra, surely had left the majority of Nigerians in worst state of living, even though the overall value of the policies of this administration remains debatable.
We are out again to protest bad governance, and quite unexpectedly, the Government of the day, would not have Nigerians exercise the right to protest freely. The court too became a ready instrument for curtailing the protest and herein are my opinion on key issues relating to the protest.
To start, Day 1 of the protest left a statement, and so did Day 2 and Day 3. Although saddened by the pockets of violence here and there, I still believe it is a triumph for Democracy as the masses refused to be cowed.
If we can’t speak out against people who claimed we elected them, how are we sure we can vote them out in future?!
Personally, I am disappointed with the Judge that made that bizarre Order. Some of these decisions leaves the impression that some Judges cannot hide their overzealousness to kowtow to the Government in order to gain attention and attract promotion or elevation.
As magnified as it was, the Court Order is in my view fallow and shallow at the same time because it can’t be enforced against the entire masses, but only against those sued. A Person or persons unknown can be sued only when the person or such persons to be sued is or are hard to identify, and common mostly in cases of trespass to land.
Any Government intending to stop the entire masses from protesting, must make all of us parties to the case or find established representatives to sue on our behalves. After all the Government has our database and should be presumed to know it’s subjects. Otherwise, we are not bound by the Court Order. I will reserve my comment on the SAN who accepted that brief from the FCT Minister.
By way of an aside, I must say that as the days go by, the people of Rivers State get to see a clearer picture of who their preferred leader should be.
A Governor who went into the protest without armoured gears/outfits to address the protesters, and not an aspiring Godfather who only issues threats against the protest or protesters, surrounded by his battalion of security guards.
#EndBadGovernance is legitimate and an attempted restriction of its expression to only confined part of the cities violates our innate rights to freedom of expression and movement. Any Judge, even a law undergraduate should know that.
Going a notch further, for a protest that was adequately communicated and notified ahead of time, It’s a shame that an *ex parte* order (an order made behind the affected parties) was made in a manner akin to a thief striking in the night!
The urgency in seeking that Order was *artificial* and that again creates a solid ground for the Judge to have insisted that the other parties must be put on notice before any order can be made.
Nigeria is always a dramatic scene. Those the masses fight for always forget in a hurry and backstab the same masses. We fought for Police welfare, but they thought of us as their enemies.
We ensured INEC had all it needed, but BVAS and IreV were jettisoned, with nobody accounting for our votes at the poll and our hard earned taxpayers monies use to procure that technology. We fought for the welfare of judicial officers, but funny how they use baseless judgments to back tyranny and dictatorship against Nigerians.
Someday, we all will look back and regret our actions, alas it will be too late. Nobody gives a damn about your crying out from retirement. You had all the time to do right now, utilize it and stop giving Government a justification to crackdown on innocent, unarmed protesters exercising their legitimate rights. *A word is enough for the wise* .
Regardless of the uncouth remarks from key members of this Administration, and despite my zero deference for the grudging Presidential Address, I charge every protester, please let’s continue to be peaceful. A government that is not cueless and clueless should know that the greatest damage a 10-Days protest will cause is not damaged public facilities but *economic inactivities* due to the fact that it (the Government) has made a fuse of the protest and thereby created unnecessary tension about same, forcing businesses to stay *closed* against their will. It should also know that the lives lost were as as result of the tension it has created and the high-handedness of its law enforcement agents.
My name is Jude Daniel and I am a youth advocate who believe in the power of the youth to drive positive changes in any Nation.
Oscar
PeakNews Online
