TWO days before a planned protest against hardship in the country, a coalition of civil society groups and pro-students’ organizations in Oyo State have declared their total support for a peaceful rally.
Leaders of the organizations including a former Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, Professor Ademola Aremu decided at a meeting in Ibadan on Tuesday.
After declaring their support for the rally, they asked the Federal Government to look into these demands.
The groups at the meeting included the Joint Action Front (JAF), Socialist Labour, All Workers’ Convergence, Centre for Popular Education (CEPED), Campaign Against Tuition Fees, CSATF Pan African Movement, PAM and others.
In a statement jointly signed by all the groups, they said, “The coalition wholeheartedly supports the protest against hunger and hardship. This is even though none of the constituent organizations in the coalition was involved in the call for the protest.”
“The coalition, therefore, notes that the prevailing condition of mass misery and poverty amidst abundant wealth largely occasioned by various anti-poor capitalist policies of the Nigeria government is more than enough and a sufficient justification for a call for the protest.”
The coalition warned persons or groups with the intention for violence to “stay off the peaceful action as there will be no room for looting, destruction of property or any form of violence in our protest. We hereby inform the general public that this protest is not based on religion, ethnicity or political party affiliations but to demand for a better Nigeria”.
“As much as the coalition is committed to a peaceful protest, it holds that it is not the responsibility of the prospective protesters but that of the Nigerian government and the security agencies to assure the general public that the protest will not degenerate into violence.”
The groups then asked for “immediate reversal of all of the anti-poor policies specifically the pump price of petrol to N197”.
“Immediate repositioning of all of the public refineries and end to importation of petroleum products; reversal of the decision to hike the electricity Tariffs; renationalisation of the power sector under the control and management of the elected representatives of the working people and that political office holders should be placed on the salary and allowances earned by the civil servants”.
Other demands are that “Nigeria Police and Armed forces must be accorded the rights to form and belong to trade unions for adequate defence of their economic rights; Free education at all levels as constitutionally guaranteed and reversal of current regime of fee hike across the Nigeria public tertiary institutions; national minimum living wage which is constitutionally guaranteed, which rises as inflation rises and that the National Leadership of Nigeria Labour Congress ( NLC) and Trade Union Congress ( TUC) should convene a joint National Executive Committee meeting to declare a 48hours nationwide strike and street protest to support the hunger protest.”
[Vanguard]