The #TakeItBack Movement last Wednesday staged protests in Lagos, Abuja and other parts of the country over worsening economic hardship, insecurity, inflation and what the organisers described as political repression under the Bola Tinubu administration.
The protests, held under the banner of the “Festival of the Oppressed”, saw demonstrators in both cities calling for urgent government action on the issues affecting Nigerians.
In Lagos, protesters gathered in the Maryland area, where they sang and chanted slogans, including “Revolution”, before the protesters were dispersed by security operatives.
Security operatives were also deployed around the protest venue, with tear gas used to disperse the demonstrators.
The movement is demanding, among other measures, the rescue of Nigerians held captive by bandits and kidnappers, implementation of a N500,000 national minimum wage, withdrawal of charges against activist Omoyele Sowore and urgent action to address reported xenophobic attacks against Nigerians in South Africa.
In Abuja, Sowore joined young protesters at the demonstration, where participants carried placards with inscriptions including, “Nigeria is bleeding”, “Rescue our people now”, “Free all political prisoners”, “No to xenophobia” and “Revolution is the answer.
Addressing journalists, Sowore said the protest was intended to remind Nigerians of the need for what he described as an imminent revolution.
“Today, August 5, we have come to remind the whole country that the revolution is necessary and imminent. And that nothing can stop that revolution. When the people are ready, barbed wire will not stop us. The police will even join, the army will join.
“But we have a number of demands that we must reiterate here. And they include that Nigerian workers must be paid N500,000 per month as their minimum wage.
We have also asked that they release Nnamdi Kanu from unjust and unlawful detention. That they discontinue all forms of trial, whether it’s cybercrime, treason trials against activists and Nigerians who are raising up their voice against bad governance in this country.
“Most importantly, to announce that Tinubu’s tenure is over. Tinubu must go! We have our colleagues in Lagos, in Ibadan, Port Harcourt, and different places who are also taking action today. This is just the beginning of a series of actions that will be taken. And we urge you, wherever you may be Nigerians, to join us.
“To bring about a new era and a new order in this country. We are tired of hunger, starvation, corruption and incompetence. And we are ready and willing to liberate our country. Don’t forget that on our way here, they also hired some urchins to confront us. But when those ones saw superior firepower, they let go. And that’s how we got here. We are tired of foolish people managing our security agencies,” he said.
Also speaking to journalists, the Head of Legal Aid of the #TakeItBack Movement, Bolaji Oluwatosin, condemned the disruption of the demonstration by security operatives.
He said, “It is disheartening that Nigeria has degenerated to a state of lawlessness where the constitutionally empowered institution, the Nigeria Police and the government, expected to not just secure the lives of Nigerian citizens, but to also see to it that we have a continued existence, have decided to disrupt a peaceful demonstration by the Nigerian people led by the #TakeItBack Movement.
“The #TakeItBack Movement organisation members have gathered this morning to express their displeasure as to the lawlessness that is going on in Nigeria, as to the backwardness. We’ll keep rolling our sleeves, we’ll keep fighting until we don’t get tired.”
The #RevolutionNow anniversary marks the date the anti-bad governance protest movement was launched in Nigeria by human rights activist and former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore on August 5, 2019.
August 5 has since become an annual date of action for supporters of the movement, who use the occasion to demand political and socio-economic reforms.
