"Analysing OccupyNigeria 2012 and #OccupyNass 2016, I found that what #OccupyNigeria lacked in 2012, #OccupyNass has in leadership and funding today."
"A marriage of convenience between #OccupyNigeria and #OccupyNass will greatly help Nigeria at this time, since the only true 'achievement' #OccupyNigeria has, was witnessed this year when the Buhari Government finally removed the illusive subsidy and prices stayed relatively the same, that is until the oil ’cabal’ flexed its muscle."
"If we must #Occupy, Lets #OccupyNigeria again, barring all Partisanship. #OccupyNass is just a start."
When the then President, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan dropped the bombshell in the early hours of new year’s day 2012, his announcement of the removal of subsidy from petroleum products drew Nigerians to the streets.
It mattered not whether the protesters supported his government, were of the opposition or altogether disillusioned by Nigerian politics. What mattered to them was that the removal of subsidy was unacceptable, as the over 100% increase in the price of fuel affected the prices of things ranging from daily staples, fares, electricity and virtually all goods and services in Nigeria.
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The protests went on without any formal organization but a loose '#OccupyNigeria' platform, modelled after the global #Occupy movements.
They were later joined by Nigerians abroad, and soon after, Nigerian labour unions, who called for nationwide strike, providing the #OccupyNigeria movement a needed fortress, organized leadership, and the government, a window to negotiate.
We all know how that ended the citizen's action to reclaim their country.
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Today, another movement modelled after #Occupy claims to want to reclaim the country from the hands of corrupt elements that they see as being directly responsible for a reminiscence of early 2012, with slight variations.
The movement headed by a self acclaimed Human rights organization/Civil Rights Organisation(CRO), an NGO which I prefer to call a Pro- Buhari pressure group- Citizens United For Peace and Stability,(CUPS), which has a sizable online following and intends to lead a peaceful protest Against the national assembly, #OccupyNass.
How do they score on the #Occupy scale ?
Analysing OccupyNigeria 2012 and #OccupyNass 2016, I found that what #OccupyNigeria lacked in 2012, #OccupyNass has in leadership and funding today.
Betrayed by the Nigerian labour Congress (NLC), OccupyNigeria in 2012 was crippled and left without leadership when the NLC sold out, and they lacked a presence with years of fighting government(s) for the benefit of citizens, someone who knew the intricate workings of the Federal government and knows where it hurts the government.
The NLC, thought to have been a front for the government to quell the protests, came with a template which gave the government the chance to dialogue, but the template excluded the citizens, it seemed like the NLC then was on the same side as the government.
They negotiated for a partial reduction on fuel prices in exchange for normalcy, leading to calling off of the strikes that were so effective that they grounded aircrafts.
Nigerians were dismayed; they had demands greater than just a partial reduction of fuel prices.
After the #OccupyNigeria movement lost its leadership, the government rolled in the tanks. Protesters became enemies of the state; about 17 of them were killed. By mid January, the protesters were totally, forcefully dispersed. #OccupyNigeria 2012 had failed.
#OccupyNass on the other hand, has done the foundational groundwork that #OccupyNigeria had very little time to do; though it cannot boast of support across the 'Ruling party-Opposition' divide like OccupyNigeria did, it's support base cuts across different ethnicities, ideologies and creeds, tilted mostly towards the anti-Saraki side of today's ruling party, APC.
Studying the causes and goals of both movements, it seemed as if #OccupyNass was a continuation of #OccupyNigeria. The only demerit of #OccupyNass is its partisan nature, a movement you can easily say is headed by an anti-Saraki group.
Sure, politicians like Mr. Saraki are a disgrace to Nigeria and Nigerians, and the much craved change Nigerians crave for cannot be delivered with Politicians of Saraki’s ilk at the fore front, getting rid of them is the way forward for Nigeria.
But what about the greater good?
An ouster or resignation of Mr. Bukola Saraki from his position as Senate president or the senate altogether doesn’t stop another Saraki from emerging, nor does the un-padding of the 2016 budget by the Senate stop any future occurrence of padding of budget; what about the SUVs whose purchase by the Senate Nigerians see as wastage of resources? Will cancelling the purchase stop the Senators from sinning again?
I absolutely liked the Way #OccupyNigeria presented its causes to Nigerians, the movement appealed to us all and could have achieved a lot.
A marriage of convenience between #OccupyNigeria and #OccupyNass will greatly help Nigeria at this time, since the only true 'achievement' #OccupyNigeria has, was witnessed this year when the Buhari Government finally removed the illusive subsidy and prices stayed relatively the same, that is until the oil ’cabal’ flexed its muscle.
Six months after the #OccupyNigeria 2012 protests, the House of Representatives' investigative panel released its report indicting many Petroleum Marketers, Government Officials and close allies of the then President; added to that, the Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede-led Presidential Committee on Verification and Reconciliation of Subsidy Claims and Payments, and the Nuhu Ribadu led Committee on Petroleum Task Force Produced Damning Reports that could have lead to the prosecution of those that make up the ‘Cabal’ that is making life hard for us all.
4 years later, none of these Government efforts are yet to translate to punishment, and the Cabal has grown even stronger and bolder.
Fuel is now much scarcer, more expensive than during the temporary subsidy removal days under former President Jonathan, and the dead Protesters? They died for nothing, because there has been no Investigation or Inquiry.
Saraki must go! And we must #OccupyNass, the SUVs must be returned; The NLC is speaking with the same voice as Nigerians again, how will this end?
I hope and pray it ends well for us all.
If we must #Occupy, Lets #OccupyNigeria again, barring all Partisanship. #OccupyNass is just a start.
Abba Abdulkadir Adamu is a Student of Business Information technology at IPMC College of Technology Accra, Ghana.
You can connect with him on Facebook , Twitter or Email
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