By Chukwudi Amaefule
I laughed after reading a letter from the Take It Back
Movement telling the FCT Minister Wike to release Eagle Square for the planned
demonstration.
In a letter signed by Damilare Adenola, Director of Mobilization
for the Take It Back Movement (TIB) in Abuja, the protesters demanded
unrestricted access to the venue 24/7 throughout the protest
and possibly even after it concludes.
The letter read, “I write you as the Director of Mobilization,
Take It Back Movement (TIB) to your office to grant us access to the Eagles
Square between August 1st and 10th, 2024, for our #DaysOfRage,
#EndBadGovernance protest.
“This request entails using this national asset day and night for the duration of the historic protest.
“Also, note that the protest may be prolonged beyond ten days
as we embark on the protracted crisis occasioned by the ruling party.
“Further, your office must also ensure the provision of a
24-hour power supply, toilet facilities, water, and security for the
convenience of Nigerian citizens who will be camped out at Eagle Square.
“In short, we ask that the protesters are accorded the
courtesy accorded to foreign and local official dignitaries who have frequently
used the space.
“In addition, we request that the outer wire mesh barrier
facing the Aso Rock Villa be removed in the meantime, as protesters may decide
to visit the Presidential Villa during the protest.
“It is our sincere hope that this request will be granted
expeditiously.”
My biggest shock came when I also read the letter from a
human rights activist, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa (SAN), notifying security agencies,
requesting protection over planned public meetings, rallies, and processions by
a non-governmental body, the Take It Back Movement, its members, some patriotic
Nigerians, and groups.
In the letter dated Friday, July 26, 2024, the senior
advocate writing as solicitor to the Take It Back Movement notified the
Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the Director of the Department of State
Services (DSS) that the planned rallies would commence from August 1 to 10,
2024, or any time thereafter.
He said the rallies would be held at the Eagle Square in
Abuja and other public spaces in the capital cities of the 36 states and the
headquarters of the 774 local government councils.
Adegboruwa, while reiterating the role of the security
agencies during such rallies and protests, urged the leadership of the security
agencies to make available the details of any of their officers or teams that
will be assigned to cover the said meetings, rallies, or processes to harmonise
plans and strategies for the same.
My thinking after reading from the Movement and its sponsor
about the planned protest was that the security agencies, especially the DSS
and the Nigeria Police, would investigate those behind the Take It Back
Movement, especially after Bayo Onanuga, special adviser on information and
strategy to President Bola Tinubu, has alleged that supporters of Peter Obi are
behind the proposed nationwide protest.
On 17th September 2022, the Take-It-Back Movement knocked the
Nigeria Police Force over the shameful invasion of the supporters of the Labour
Party who had gathered in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital, to rally in
support of their presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
The Take-It-Back Movement, in a release on Saturday by its
Director of Media and Communications, Dr Chidi Nwanyanwu, described the action
of the police as “criminal, lawless, and a flagrant disregard for rights to
peaceful assembly.”
The statement reads, “The Take It Back Movement strongly
condemns the violent repression of supporters of the Labour Party who had
gathered in Abakaliki to rally in support of their candidate." We describe
the action of the police as criminal, lawless, and a flagrant disregard for the right to peaceful assembly.
“We worry that while insurgents and all sorts of armed
criminals have made the entire country unsafe, especially with the recent
deadly attack on Ifeanyi Ubah's convoy, the police has chosen unsurprisingly to
concern itself with indulging in criminal repression of peaceful gatherings and
offering itself to be used by the ruling party, APC, to repress oppositions.
“We wish to remind the police that as an institution funded
by the Nigerian people, it is duty bound to protect our rights to peaceful
assembly and ensure the maximum protection of Nigerians whether they are in
political rallies, protests, meetings, and all other activities within the
confines of their constitutional rights.
“While we call on well-meaning Nigerians to rise against the
fascism of the APC and its attempt to make the electoral processes violent and
non-credible, we also call for the immediate arrest and prosecution of all
officers involved in the lawlessness that happened today in Abakaliki.
“Meanwhile we call on all Nigerians to understand that ā real
political change can only come through a revolutionary alternative like Omoyele
Sowore and the African Action Congress (AAC). Instead of negotiating with
fascist rulers like David Umahi, like Peter Obi is doing, what is needed is to
call the bluff of these rogue elements once and for all.
“This takes real and tested courage, and we urge all
Nigerians who want to build another country away from want and war to ignore
all sentiments and join the revolutionary train. For it is such a principled
and ever-ready train that can defend the votes of Nigerians come the 2023
elections.”
(https://saharareporters.com/2022/09/17/take-it-back-movement-condemns-police-assault-disruption-labour-partys-peter-obi-rally)
Also, on 14th March 2023, the headline "This Nigerian
Voter Created A National Movement for Peter Obi" was the major news online
via
(https://www.zikoko.com/citizen/this-nigerian-voter-created-a-national-movement-for-peter-obi/)
The news reads, "Today’s Nigerian voter focuses on
@Jack_ng01, the founder of the Take Back Naija movement, a political movement
that was campaigning for Peter Obi. He tells us his motivations for the
movements, their achievements, and his reaction when Obi lost the 2023 presidential
elections.
“The Nigerian Voter” is Blessing, an IT professional in his
early thirties. He also convenes the Take Back Naija movement, mobilising
youths nationwide towards garnering support for Labour Party presidential
candidate Peter Obi. Citizen spoke with him about his political journey and
inspiration for birthing the group. He also shared how he felt about Obi not
being declared the winner for the 2023 elections and his future goals with the
movement towards the gubernatorial elections.
What made you interested in politics?
My interest in politics started in 2006 when I lived with my
uncle. Then he was a councillor in his local government, and I often listened
to him having political conversations about the Anambra and Enugu state
governments in the parlour. We also listened to news stations on the radio and
television frequently, as well as in newspapers. I also noticed that my uncle
was calm, quiet, and a good person all around, yet he was in politics. This
gave me the mindset that not all politicians were bad people. You could also
find good ones too.
However, I started to get involved in politics in 2010 in the
Anambra State elections. I was the deputy ward secretary of Nanka Ward 1, and
my mum was the woman leader at the time. Since then, I either voted (from the
2011-2023 election cycles) or made sure I could sensitise people towards
political awareness. I didn’t do all of this on a grand scale until 2021.
From 2011-2023, who did you vote for, and why did you vote
for them?
I voted for Goodluck Jonathan in 2011. I can’t exactly say
that it was a conscious decision. He was the preferred choice for most people
in the South. This was despite the fact that I wasn’t a People’s Democratic
Party (PDP) member then but a card-carrying member of the Action Congress of
Nigeria (ACN). The ACN candidate then was Nuhu Ribadu, but most didn’t think he
stood a chance.
In 2015, I displayed my interest in Goodluck Jonathan again
in the elections via social media. However, I couldn’t vote because I had just
relocated from Anambra to Abuja, and I didn’t have the chance to transfer my
Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC).
In 2019, I travelled to Anambra to vote for Atiku Abubakar of
the PDP, and of course, I voted for Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) in 2023.
Which election year would you say you had your craziest
election experience?
The 2023 election was my craziest because I played a major
role in the elections.
What was this major role?
I was a convener for the Take Back Naija political movement
in 2022. It was basically youths coming together to influence a change for good
governance from federal to local government. The politics we played in Nigeria
over the years had not really worked for Nigeria. Thus, we must shift from what
we are used to doing something different.
How did your movement influence this change?
We did this by making sure we scrutinised each potential
presidential candidate and their antecedents. It was then decided that whoever
we saw as our preferred candidate would be given enormous support. We would
mobilise for his campaign, raise funds, advertise, arrange conferences, etc. It
then became our duty or mandate to help these candidates with their campaigns
when they align with the people’s values.
After much deliberation, we concluded that Obi’s antecedents
and his plans for Nigeria aligned with our values and represented the future
kind of politics we wanted. Even the name for the movement came from one of his
speeches where he said, “Take back your country; it is your future they are
toying with.” The campaign for Obi officially started in January 2022.
What did Take Back Naija do for Peter Obi?
As of January 2022, Peter Obi was still a member of the PDP
with presidential ambitions. We then met with PDP delegates in Abuja in the
form of a peaceful protest to convince them to elect Peter Obi for president.
This was coupled with a social hashtag, #GiveUsPeterObi. We also organised the
first nationwide one million man march for Peter Obi in May 2022 and erected
billboards in major cities in Nigeria such as Port Harcourt, Lagos, Abuja, and
even some Northern cities such as Kaduna and Sokoto. We had radio jingles for
him at the early stage of the campaign and many more.
Shortly after, Obi and his team resigned from the PDP to the
Labour Party before the PDP primaries. We examined his previous speeches and
broadcast critical soundbites on his plans for Nigerian citizens. There was
also created a website for Obi and a Telegram community for Obi supporters in
various locations across Nigeria. A press release was distributed while Obi was
still a member of the PDP. In the press release, we told PDP delegates that
we’d give at least ten million votes if they gave us Peter Obi (if he won at
the PDP primaries).
Getting people to support the movement even after he left was
easy because the man had a way of inspiring voters.
Is it your team that inspired the Obidient movement?
No one can fully lay claim to the “Obidient” movement, as it
just happened organically. However, if there is anyone to be responsible for
it, it should be Obi. Without him, the movement would not exist.
What was your reaction when Obi wasn’t declared winner of the
2023 presidential elections?
Personally, I didn’t feel bad because I knew that Obi was the
true winner of the election. I also didn’t feel bad because I believed that we
did all the things that we should do as young people towards the elections. We
only overtrusted INEC in believing that they were going to do the right thing
by not rigging.
How hopeful are you about Obi’s victory in court?
I don’t trust the court system, to be honest. Even if a
ruling is given, executives don’t even obey. I don’t have faith in the judicial
system, but somehow I believe that we can reclaim our mandate. This is because
I know Obi to be a fighter and that God has ordained his path. Let the will of
God be done. However, whatever happens outside now, I am at peace that we wrote
our names on the right side of history.
Amazing. Are you voting for anyone in the gubernatorial
elections on March 18?
Sadly, I won’t be voting on March 18 because Abuja doesn’t
hold governorship elections. The president can only appoint a Federal Capital
Territory (FCT) minister. However, this doesn’t mean the Take Back Naija team
rests on our oars. We’d be campaigning for Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour of the Labour
Party because he is smart, honest, and transparent. I like certain things he
discusses in his manifesto, such as transparency in Lagos and free medical
insurance. For me, this serves as a breath of fresh air.
From the above information, it will be disastrous for the
Federal Government to grant the group any right to carry out its planned
protest as it will amount to a complete coup d'état.
A stitch in time saves nine.
Chukwudi Amaefule writes from
Anambra State and can be reached via
https://web.facebook.com/chukwudi.amaefule.52
