A coalition of civil society organisations, trade unions, youth groups, community associations, social movements and faith-based groups has declared June 12 a day of nationwide protest and mass action over worsening insecurity and economic hardship in the country.
Naijaonpoint reports that the coalition said the protest would be held in response to what it described as the ongoing deterioration in the living conditions of millions of Nigerians.
The declaration was contained in a statement issued on Wednesday and jointly signed by the National Chairman of the Alliance on Surviving COVID-19 and Beyond, Femi Falana (SAN); National President of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, Yinka Folarin; and Hassan Soweto of the Organising Committee of the #EndBadGovernance Movement, Lagos State.
Other signatories include the Organising Secretary of the Nigeria Patriotic Front Movement, Yusha’u Yankuzo; Secretary of Initiative and Mediation, Zauren Tuntuba da Sasanci, Ali Attahiru; and rapper, singer and songwriter, Folarin Falana, popularly known as Falz.
The coalition said the nationwide protest would demand, among other things, the immediate release of Nigerians being held captive in Oyo, Borno, Ekiti, Kwara and other states.
According to the group, there is nothing to celebrate on June 12 while many Nigerians live in fear of attacks by terrorists, bandits, kidnappers and other criminal elements.
It said several states had recently witnessed rising cases of abductions, killings and other forms of terrorism.
The statement read, “Innocent Nigerians are being killed, abducted, displaced and traumatised while government responses have remained largely inadequate and ineffective.
“For years, the people have been subjected to repeated assurances that insecurity is being defeated. Yet the killings continue. Communities are attacked, schools are threatened, farmers cannot safely access their farms, highways remain unsafe, and countless families continue to live with the pain of losing loved ones or having relatives in captivity.
“The Nigerian people deserve a pro-people government that places the protection of lives and property at the core of governance.”
The coalition also criticised the economic policies of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, saying they had worsened hardship across the country.
It listed the removal of fuel subsidy, repeated increases in fuel prices, currency devaluation, rising electricity tariffs and the commercialisation of essential services as some of the policies that had pushed millions deeper into poverty.
The coalition said, “Despite the significant increase in the monthly statutory allocations to the three tiers of government, the people are getting poorer.
“Food prices have skyrocketed. Transportation costs have become unbearable. Small and medium-scale businesses are collapsing under the combined burden of expensive fuel, unstable electricity and declining purchasing power. Workers’ wages remain grossly inadequate while inflation continues to erode incomes.”
The coalition urged Nigerians to join the June 12 protest across the country to compel the government to take urgent steps to address insecurity and reverse what it described as anti-poor economic policies.
The statement added, “This protest is about the lives of our children and teachers in captivity. It is about the collective survival of ordinary Nigerians.
“As a result, the coalition calls on civil society organisations and progressive groups to unite and mobilise the collective power of the Nigerian people to demand the release of all captives and oppose the anti-people policies of the Tinubu administration, which have continued to increase poverty in the land.”
Other signatories to the statement include the Executive Director of the Moses Oisakede Leadership Foundation, Mike Igaga; President of the Precision, Electrical and Related Equipment Senior Staff Association, Rufus Olusesan; and Segun Oladunni of the Joint Action Front.
Also listed were the General Secretary of Socialist Labour, Abiodun Olamosu; Lead of the Calabar Group of Socialists, Jonathan Ugbal; Country Director of Citizens Solution Network, Richard Inoyo; Salako Kayode of the Revolutionary Socialist Movement; Omole Ibukun of the Centre for Creative Change; and National Coordinator of the Youth Rights Campaign, Adaramoye Michael.
