Plateau State Governor, Simon Bako Lalong has said that Borno State and some other states in the North need the services of the disbanded Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) as against the generalisation of EndSARS protesters in parts of the country.
Lalong, who spoke to newsmen today, October 15, at the presidential villa, Abuja said: “Borno Governor said without SARS, he would not have been surviving today. Niger also wants SARS. So, if you are addressing this issue of SARS, you need to know what is wrong in some places.
“Is it the process of recruitment? Is it the character of the people? You can’t say because somebody is wrong, everybody is wrong in the country.”
Plateau state governor said that most of the complaints across the country vary from one state to the other.
“in one aspect, some people said they don’t want SARS, some said they want SARS but a reformed SARS. They want a reformed SARS because as far as they are concerned, some of these SARS operatives help them in addressing insecurity.
“If there are bad ones under, holistically, bring them together and reform them. ” Then, you work for them. So, our opinion and conclusion at that stage was that let us not just say that we are throwing away the baby with bath water.
“If there are good ones, you don’t chase them away. So, as SARS is banned, we are now looking forward to reformed police.
“These are some of the issues we concluded yesterday (at the meeting of the Nigerian Governors Forum). And It’s for the Chairman to go and meet Mr. President to still look at this issue holistically and critically so that we understand where we are going.
“On a whole, we all agreed that there must be general reform within the police. “But you can’t do general reform without proper funding. You must address the issue of proper funding so that they don’t say government is responsible for lack of funding and we attack them for non-performance of their duties.
“I’m sure our Chairman will meet Mr President. We all went back that everybody should go back and address the issue in his State. Because in some of the States, you find that people moving people to do protest are people from other States.
“But in real sense, some of the things are not even happening in our State or they are very minimal. If there are complaints that people are coming outside, let’s not begin to generalize it or we will miss the point.
“Let us address it and find out if in those environment, things are happening like this, we must go back. It’s just like we are addressing Coronavirus. When we say Coronavirus is everywhere.
“At the end of the day, we said no. In some places, Coronavirus is not there. We generalize.”
The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is struggling to contain the protests of the EndSARS movement that has gripped the country like a wildfire, in a similar way that the previous administration of President Goodluck faced the challenge of tackling the Occupy Nigeria campaign in 2012.
Most campaigns through protest movements in Nigeria have been geared towards entrenching the rule of law, good governance, transparency and accountability, equity and justice. They have generally been mobilisations towards a freer and more livable society.
While in the past more than one week, the #EndSARS protests have been calling for an end to police brutality and oppression through the banning of the Federal-Special Anti-Robbery Squad (F-SARS) of the Nigeria Police Force, the Occupy Nigeria socio-political protest movement of 2012, was in response to fuel subsidy removal, alongside all the corruption endemic to the country’s petroleum industry, by the Federal Government of the day.
Similarly, in 2014, #BringBackOurGirls movement was launched as a pressure group for the release of the kidnapped Chibok School Girls, which subsequently drew a massive global attention. Some of the recognised and respected faces of those earlier movements, who have remained consistent in their advocacies for social causes are Aisha Yesufu, a human rights activist and Omoyele Sowore, a citizen journalist among others.
In other climes, mass protests are characterised by civil disobedience, social resistance, strike actions, demonstrations, and more recently online activism, especially in this age of the social media. For instance, the Arab Spring movement in 2010 was triggered by a Tunisian street vendor who set himself ablaze in protest against the confiscation of his wares, and the harassment and humiliation inflicted on him by government officials.
That act of the self-immolation of the street vendor, known as Mohammed Bouazizi, ignited the series of protests that became catalyst for the widespread revolution that swept across the Arab world. Through a succession of anti-government protests, uprisings, and in some extreme cases, armed rebellion, yet driven by different force fields, the Arab Spring movement consumed the regimes of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia, Muammar Gaddafi of Libya, Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, and Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen, while other regimes, such as that in Syria, were shaken to their foundation.
Just lately, the African continent witnessed the removal from office of President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan and Ibrahim Boubacar Keita of Mali after global outrage prompted by protest movements.
The funding of most protest movements is always shrouded in secrecy, just as the logistics arrangements for coup-de tats were in the past. In any case, intelligence services manage to detect, to some extent, where some of the funding for these movements are coming from, if these are channeled through the financial system.
The widespread use of social media platforms, with their relative anonymity, facilitates the effective coordination of large-scale and well-organised fund-raising schemes from multiple online donors, which are raising huge amounts of cash for logistics.
Crowdfunding is the practice of raising money for a project or venture from a large number of people via the Internet. Online fundraising, which has become part of the digital culture, is a form of alternative financing, driven through crowdsourcing, these days. It could be easier to identify the faces of campaigns, such as lawyers, journalists, social media influencers and human rights activists, however it is extremely difficult to identify the major financiers and donors who want to remain anonymous.
While crowdfunding accounts are legitimate and channelled for good causes, some of these are either created for other less than desirable purposes, which could be hijacked for political interests. Meanwhile, the EndSARS protest movement has raised over N37 million through crowdfunding, according to one of the leading groups in the protest, the Feminist Coalition. The figure shows an addition of N31 million in just four days, indicating a leap of about 487.8 per cent from the previous figure on October 10, which stood at N6,354,561.27.
While Flutterwave is one of the major crowdfunding platforms deployed in mobilising financial resources for the campaign, its Chairman and former Deputy Governor of CBN, Mr. Tunde Lemo is reported to have raised an alarm that “bad guys were moving money through them.” Hence, he said that he had directed the suspension of the fintech firm’s payment platform to prevent the illicit flow of funds through their channel to questionable causes.
So far, the Federal Government, and by implication the Nigeria Police, has given in to the demand of the protesters by disbanding the Federal-SARS or F-SARS and ordered all operatives of the now defunct unit to undergo psychological and medical examinations.
The police spokesperson, DCP Frank Mba, who has consistently engaged social media influencers and critical stakeholders on the development, announced the setting up of the Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT), which will replace the disbanded F-SARS.
Frank added that former operatives of the defunct F-SARS would not be recruited into SWAT, as the new outfit will strictly be intelligence-driven and not embark on routine patrols.
Even with this development, many protesters have expressed skepticism at what they consider as the duplicity of the government in seeking to quell their campaign, which they have continued in a way now targeted at the newer hashtag, #EndSWAT and #EndInsecurityNow, in replacement of the earlier #EndSARS.
One of the founders of EndSARS agitation, Segun Awosanya, popularly known as Segalink, has distanced himself from any further protest with regard to ending F-SARS, after alleging that politicians and commercial criminals have hijacked the protest for their selfish ends.
In a series of recent tweets, Segalink has warned that the youths of the country would be endangering their lives if they insist on continuing with the protests after the government has agreed to all their demands.
It may therefore not be a coincidence that the strongly-worded but short statement by the Nigerian Military, warning to deal decisively with subversive elements and troublemakers, has also been issued.
The Army spokesperson, Colonel Sagir Musa, who issued the statement, added that the Nigerian Army “remains highly committed to defend(ing) the country and her democracy at all cost.”
Similarly, Major General John Enenche, the Coordinator Defence Media Operations also issued another strong warning on behalf all the security services. He said: “The Armed Forces of Nigeria and other security agencies have observed with dismay some violence-related protests across the country; particularly the increasing number of attacks on peaceful protesters by thugs and miscreants.
This unfolding event against peace-loving Nigerians will not be condoned. Hence, thugs and miscreants are hereby warned to desist from engaging in violent activities against peaceful Nigerians henceforth, or face appropriate measures.”
Whatever may be the case, it is appropriate to reiterate here and now that citizens have the legitimate right to express their political, social and economic concerns in their country through demonstrations or protests. To this extent, the security agencies should know that violent crackdowns against protesters would always lead to untoward consequences, which would not augur well for the image of the federal government.
In crisis management, dialogue, constructive engagements, negotiations, and compromises are acceptable and sustainable approaches to peacebuilding. Let’s stay on this lane, please.
The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Olamilekan Adegbite, has said a 60- man team from Russia will soon arrive Nigeria to start Technical Audit of Ajaokuta steel.
Adegbite, who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja said that Russian government had nominated TYAZHPROMEXPORT (TPE), a Russian company, the original builder of Ajaokuta steel to conduct technical audit of the steel company to ascertain the level of work to be completed.
“The original builder of Ajaokuta steel TPE are coming with the 60-man team to Nigeria to commence audit report of the company.
” I am in contact with them, we are making arrangement for their coming in line with COVID-19 protocol established in Nigeria.
“They will go through Nigerian protocol on COVID-19 when they arrive.”
It will be recalled that the accord to revive Ajaokuta steel company was reached during a meeting between President Muhammadu Buhari and President Vladimir Putin in Russia in 2019.
The foundation laying of Ajaokuta steel company was conducted in 1980 by late President Shehu Shagari and within four years, the company recorded 84 per cent completion.
The steel company that is located on 24,000 hectares of sprawling green field landmass is built on 800 hectares of land over three decades ago.
Ajaokuta steel reached 98 per cent completion as far back 1994 and has not produced a single iron till date.
On improving the sector, the minister said that the ministry had commenced the process of reviewing the mining law.
“The law that controls mining is 2007 but we are at the process of reviewing it.”
He said that some physical incentives for attracting miners to invest in Nigeria include import duty waiver for all mining equipment.
Others are tax holiday for foreign miners, three years with a possible extension to five years and low royalty from three to five per cent compare to some countries that charge 20 per cent royalty and among others.
“These are parts of incentive put in place to attract foreign mining investors; these same incentives are also applicable to local miners.”
The Nigerian Army, suspecting danger inherent in the EndSARS protests in some parts of the country, has warned all subversive elements and trouble makers to desist from such acts. The Army reminded such elements that the men and officers remain “highly committed to defend the country and her democracy at all cost.s “The Nigerian Army is ready to fully support the civil authority in whatever capacity to maintain law and order and deal with any situation decisively. “All officers and men are directed never to be distracted by anti democratic forces and agents of disunity.” In a statement today, October 15, the acting Director of Army Public Relations, Colonel Sagir Musa, said that the army “reaffirms its unalloyed loyalty and commitment to the President, Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari and the Constitution of the Country.” The statement assured law abiding citizens that the army is highly committed to the sustenance of peace, security and defence of democracy in Nigeria.
The vulture is a mendaciously patient bird. It does not exert itself hunting. It waits to devour the kill of another. It circles the sky while the hunt is on waiting for the opportune time to take advantage and gobble up the carcass. The spirit of 10 Nigerians dispatched to the netherworld since the spasm of #EndSARS protests groans in mortification.
The EndSARS movement began as a righteous agitation against years of police brutality and regime oppression. It was citizens’ convulsive reaction to state terrorism. But it appears the vultures have come to feast on the carnage left in the wake of police clampdown on peaceful protesters.
There will always be people who pursue blinkered agenda secreted in the noble goal of the collective. The EndSARS protests have been miscarried. The movement has been seized by some avaricious interests. The peoples’ fight has been merchandised by those who foxily put themselves up as ‘’stakeholders of #EndSARS movement’’ even while declaring, ‘’there is no leader of the protest’’.
Just like those who sit on high pillaging the country, the youth have among them vultures who feed on the carcass left by the predators of Nigerians. It is like a pyramid of oppressors. The predatory political and business class guts the citizens and leaves the remains from its belch to so-called ‘’youth stakeholders and representatives’’ some of whom have taken up residence on social media.
The #EndSARS movement is now an enterprise.
What started out as organic demonstrations have become contaminated by GMOs – greed, money and offerings. What many protesters on the streets do not know is that while they are giving their sweat and blood for country, some persons are brokering deals for themselves on their behalf. Money and offerings – appearing as benign gifts and support to the cause from those who constitute the bulk of Nigeria’s problems – are exchanging hands.
As a matter of fact, I would like to be educated on this. Why are some ‘’microwave activists’’ parleying with agents of the government and business leaders on #EndSARS protests, but at the same time insist they are not leaders of the cause? So, who and what do they represent at the meetings? Themselves, the movement or their wallets?
Yes, I understand meetings have been held among the same group of people on #EndSARS for at least three times since the protests convulsed. I am also aware that there is a social media dichotomy on this cause. Certain ‘’influencers’’ are enlisted to promote pre-conceived hash-tags to drown out others of kindred purpose. Nothing is without design. The organism of the citizens’ action has been artificiated. There is also an element of opposition sponsorship by politicians who seek to benefit from the crisis.
I must say, there are only two stoic activists whose contribution to the latest struggle is altruistic — Omoyele Sowore and Aisha Yesufu. You can accuse them of anything but not of extracting tolls from their efforts in the cause. And really, you cannot take the mantle of citizen conscientisation from Sowore. Since August 2019, the RevolutionNow convener has been on the beat.
By and large, he is the provenance of the citizen revulsion against police brutality. Yes. He has been on the pedal throttling away and rousing consciences and guts against the inequities of the state.
Also, Segun Awosanya (Segalink) has an undisputed place in the saga of activism against police savagery. His execution by a mob on Twitter on Wednesday for saying the obvious did not come as a surprise to me. Nothing happens on Twitter without a vignette of agenda. You have to look beneath layers and layers of tweets to connect them to the Alpha.
Segun was poignant when he said: “Hustlers being controlled by the lust after money are playing games and throwing narratives around. Your rights to protest must never be commercialised for any agenda. Check the patterns and note the players while keeping your focus. The attempt to hijack the #EndSARS #ReformPoliceNG Movement by known elements that were against it from day one and had to be a part now for fame and earnings is not surprising. They felt they can demonise me and take ownership by force. But they’ll fail again as always.’’
Really, the hustlers have taken over. This is not an attempt to submerge the #EndSARS cause in controversy. But we must get off the emotional high and face up to the fact.
EndSARS has been appropriated. The mission is compromised! I repeat, the mission is compromised!
A group, the Buhari Media Organization (BMO) has asked those who are still protesting against the Special Armed Robbery Squad (SARS) in some parts of the country, what else do they want after it had been disbanded.
In a statement by its Chairman, Niyi Akinsiju and Secretary, Cassidy Madueke, the group said that the Police Force had followed up the disbandment by ordering all SARS operatives to the Force Headquarters in Abuja for medical and psychological evaluation. “President Buhari has shown again that he leads an administration that listens, with the dissolution of SARS in line with the original demand of the EndSARS protesters. “We also acknowledge that when the protest movement came up with additional demands, including the investigation of human rights violation by SARS operatives, the Presidential Panel on Police reforms granted their request and gave the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) one week to set up an independent panel to call for memoranda from members of the public whose rights may have been violated by the defunct SARS and other segments of the Police. “It is necessary to add that the Police have also been holding stakeholders meetings with civil society groups as part of a confidence-building measure to show their seriousness on disbanding the unit, this time after previous efforts failed.” The BMO said that it was after these meetings that a decision was taken to establish the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team to replace SARS “It is a fact that the dissolution of the unit was bound to create a gap in the Police operational plans against armed robbery and violent crime, especially as there have been reported incidents in various states in the last few days. “But we are surprised to see protesters kicking against the introduction of a new police unit to replace the defunct squad, immediately after the announcement by Inspector General Mohammed Adamu. “We consider it worrisome that many of them chose to ignore the part of the announcement on prospective members of the new team undergoing psychological and medical examination to ascertain their fitness and eligibility for the new assignment. This is aside from training at the different Police tactical training institutions nationwide. “It is against this background that we see the continuation of the protests as a call to anarchy which no country will tolerate, especially because there is no basis to demand an end to a plan that is meant to establish a modern, tactical police team that is in line with global best practices. “The protests have outlived their usefulness and we urge young people on the streets to sit back and see how their cries for reform would be implemented”. The group insisted that President Buhari is serious about his plans to put in place a Police Force that all Nigerians would be proud of.
Nasarawa State Governor, Alhaji Abdullahi Sule has approved the suspension of his Senior Special Assistant (SSA) on Development Control, Arch. Stanley Buba, over alleged forgery and impersonation.
The indefinite suspension order was contained in a letter signed by the Secretary to the Government of Nasarawa State, Muhammad Ubandoma Aliyu dated 9th September, 2020.
The letter said that the suspension was based on the recommendation of Nasarawa State House of Assembly, which Ad-hoc committee is currently investigating alleged receipt forgery, impersonation.
The Governor asked the SSA to step down, pending the outcome of the investigation.
The letter reads thus: “We are in receipt of a letter NSHA/ ADM/123/ VOL.1/ 124 dated 9th September, 2020. forwarding a resolution of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly suspending you from office as the SSA to the governor on Development Control.
“Accordingly, His Excellency, Engr Abdullahi Sule, Governor of Nasarawa State has approved that you proceed on indefinite suspension pending the outcome of the committee constituted by the Nasarawa State House of Assembly to investigate the activities of your office.
” You are also requested to hand over all government properties in your possession to the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Nasarawa State Urban Development Board ( NUDB).”
Nigeria is set to contribute the sum of $2 million from the 2020 budget to the West African Power Pool (WAPP), which covers 14 out of the 15 countries of the regional economic community.
They include Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra.
The West African Power Pool (WAPP) was created by a decision at the 22nd Summit of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Authority of Heads of State and Government in 1999.
At the 29th Summit of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government held in Niamey, in 2006, it adopted the Articles of Agreement for WAPP organization and functions.
Minister of Power, Saleh Mamma, who briefed newsmen today, October 14, shortly after the virtual meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC)at the presidential villa, Abuja, said that participation in the regional market will generate immediate foreign exchange for Nigeria as oil revenue is dwindling.
“The pool is about having synergy within the West African region. The decision has been taken by ECOWAS, it’s for the generation of electricity of the region, so as to have more constant and steady power supply. It’s like the national grid in Nigeria, so we are going to have regional grid. It means in case there is a failure in one country, another can supplement. The $2 million is a contribution.”
The minister of information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, who was at the briefing said: “the West African power pool is made up of all west African countries because each member state contributes annually to the cost of power transmission across the pool. Because, the consequence is that if there is a problem in one country it could inadvertently affect the other country.
“This was created in 1999 by authorities of the West African Heads of State. It’s a common pool and every country has its own section and our contribution for this year is $2 million. It’s not as if we are giving $2 million to ECOWAS, we are simply paying our own contribution for the transmission from Nigeria to other wear African countries and viz-visa.”
The Minister said that the council approved over N83 billion for roads in Kano and Lagos, presented by the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola.
It approved the sum of N22,247,332,000 for the award of contract for the reconstruction of the Apapa-Oworonsoki-Ojota Phase Section II, an 8.1kilometer stretch road.
It also approved N8 billion augmentation for the award of contract for the dualisation of Kano-Maiduguri road (about 560 kilometers).
“I want to report that he presented a memo which was approved in council today for the award of a contract for the reconstruction of the Apapa-Oworonsoki-Ojota Phase Section II, which is bit land Interchange, 8.1 kilometer stretch. You will recall that in 2018, the Federal Government approved an award of contract to Dangote Industry for the sum of N72 billion. By the time the award was made, there was this Section of the road that was in fairly good condition. But with the construction of the Oworonsoki project coming to an end, it now makes better sense to include that section which was fairly good.
“This contract was awarded today for the sum of N22,247,332,000. But you must know that this is one of the projects being awarded under Infrastructural Tax Credit Scheme. In other words, it is awarded to Dangote and Dangote will will construct it and over the years, it will be deducted from the tax payable by the group. It is one of various means of PPP that this administration has embraced. It is not only restricted to Oworonsoki-Apapa road, it is the same system that is being used in Obajana-Kaba road. Nigeria Liquified Natural Gas (NLNG) is also using the same formula for the bridge to link Bonny and Boro in Rivers State.
“Another memo which he presented was for the award of contract for the dualisation of Kano-Maiduguri road. That is Section One. That is Kano-Wudil-Shuarin section. This is about 560 kilometers contract between Kano and Maiduguri. The section awarded today is actually more of approval for an estimated total cost. They found out that at the time of the award of the contract, certain conditions have to be known. He sought for a revision and an increment in the sum of N8 billion which will bring the total cost of the contract to N63 billion. It was approved by council today.”
Minister of Transportation, Amaechi, said that the sum of N1,208,335,464.60, inclusive of 7.5% tax for the supply, deployment, installation, testing and commissioning of security equipment for seven railway stations.
The stations are mainly Idu, Rigasa, Jere, Kubwa, Kaduna and Kano in favour of Messrs Avonics Services Nigeria Limited, with a completion period of 12 months.
The Director General for Bureau for Public Procurement (BPP), Mamman Ahmadu, said that the council approved the sum of N1.6 billion for e-government procurement.
“E-government procurement has the potential of improving procurement process, eliminate corruption and reduce the leak time in the procurement process itself. There have been a lot of complaints about the long time it takes to go through the due process. With the establishment of this, we will reduce that time.
“It also removes subjectivity from the process. There have been lots of complaints about subjectivity in the approval process, that will be dealt with squarely when it is eventually launched.
“E-government procurement is a global trend and from the research carried out by the World Bank, it had been established that countries that have taken off with e-government procurement have witnessed exponential economic growth and and they have stimulated ICT in those countries.
“It will reduce corruption to the barest minimum because it will reduce the human interface within the process.”
Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, said council approved the national policy on virtual engagements in federal public institutions.
“It’s a joint memorandum between Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy and the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation.
Pantami said: “In January 2020 as we all know, the world had been taken by surprise with the emergence of COVID-19 in which the World Health Organization declared it as a global health challenge. By 11th March 2020, WHO declared it as a pandemic and that COVID-19 has disrupted the world and the way we conduct our activities and now virtual engagements are becoming the new normal.
“It is because of this that we came up with a memo that will institutionalize virtual engagements in federal public institutions in order to make sure that even after COVID, virtual engagement is recognized by the Federal Government of Nigeria as a medium of communication. It is because of this we came up with this memo.”
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Malam Mohammed Musa Bello, has vowed to wage relentless war against land thieves that have encroached the University of Abuja.
The Minister, who spoke today, October 14 when the management of the University paid him a courtesy visit in his office, said that since the FCT had set up a small technical team to frontally confront the challenges of encroachment in the University, his administration would now work out achievable goals to carry out the assignment.
“We had before now marked some points for demolition, what we will do now is to revisit them, work with relevant departments and units including town planning and carry out the exercise in line with the Abuja Master Plan.”
Muhammad Musa Bello said that he would soon pay a visit to the University to physically assess the structures and developments on the campuses.
The Minister noted that the University and the Ministry had a long standing relationship that had been mutually beneficial to the two parties.
Earlier, the Vice-Chancellor of the University, Professor Abdul-Rasheed Na’Allah, said that he was at the Minister’s office to solicit for cooperation to end the encroachment on the University’s land.
“We need assistance with the Development Control to demolish all illegal structures already marked for demolition without action. We need the cooperation of the Honorable Minister to reclaim the other University land from further encroachment by whatever way the Ministry might assist, including resettlement of legitimate and yet to be resettled natives.
“As the University intends to embark on zero –tolerant illegal settlement campaign, we solicit for the cooperation and understanding of the federal capital territory, the development control and the FCT police command in ensuring a hitch-free exercise.”
Professor Na’Allah said that the University is also in need of basic infrastructure such as rehabilitation of the road and drainage networks in Giri staff quarters and Main campus as well as provision of street lights.
Federal Government has said it will consider the University Transparency Account System (UTAS), a payment platform developed by the academic Union of the Unicversity (ASUU) as an alternative to government’s IPPIS.
Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige told journalists today, October 13 after about two and half hours closed-door meeting with the Senate leadership.
He said the alternative platform presented by ASUU is home grown and worth given thorough assessment test.
“We agreed at the meeting to give required consideration to the UTAS alternative they came up with as a way of finding lasting solution to the lingering crisis over Implementation of IPPIS.
“We have neither jettisoned the implementation of the IPPIS nor fully accepted UTAS . The level we moved to now, is to subject ASUU’s UTAS to integrity test and in doing so, it will be presented to users like the office of Accountant General of the Federation on Wednesday .
“After that it will be sent to National Information Technology Development Agency ( NITDA) and from there to the office of the National Security Adviser for second look .
“The platform is an option grown device that requires stage by stage consideration and from the look of things is good “, he said
Confirming the head way achieved at the meeting , the Chairman , Senate Committee on Tertiary Education and Tetfund, Senator Ahmed Baba Kaita, said the interface had not ended but a stage of compromise is getting closer between the two parties .
“The meeting brokered by the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan among the various stakeholders, achieved a lot today with agreement on the need to subject the UTAS alternative brought forward by ASUU for integrity test by all relevant departments of the government,” he said.
The ASUU leadership though refused to speak to the press after the closed door meeting but were in good mood apparently due to consideration being given their alternative platform.
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EndSARS: Protesters, Crowdfunding And National Security, By Yushau A. Shuaib
Most campaigns through protest movements in Nigeria have been geared towards entrenching the rule of law, good governance, transparency and accountability, equity and justice. They have generally been mobilisations towards a freer and more livable society.
While in the past more than one week, the #EndSARS protests have been calling for an end to police brutality and oppression through the banning of the Federal-Special Anti-Robbery Squad (F-SARS) of the Nigeria Police Force, the Occupy Nigeria socio-political protest movement of 2012, was in response to fuel subsidy removal, alongside all the corruption endemic to the country’s petroleum industry, by the Federal Government of the day.
Similarly, in 2014, #BringBackOurGirls movement was launched as a pressure group for the release of the kidnapped Chibok School Girls, which subsequently drew a massive global attention. Some of the recognised and respected faces of those earlier movements, who have remained consistent in their advocacies for social causes are Aisha Yesufu, a human rights activist and Omoyele Sowore, a citizen journalist among others.
In other climes, mass protests are characterised by civil disobedience, social resistance, strike actions, demonstrations, and more recently online activism, especially in this age of the social media. For instance, the Arab Spring movement in 2010 was triggered by a Tunisian street vendor who set himself ablaze in protest against the confiscation of his wares, and the harassment and humiliation inflicted on him by government officials.
That act of the self-immolation of the street vendor, known as Mohammed Bouazizi, ignited the series of protests that became catalyst for the widespread revolution that swept across the Arab world. Through a succession of anti-government protests, uprisings, and in some extreme cases, armed rebellion, yet driven by different force fields, the Arab Spring movement consumed the regimes of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia, Muammar Gaddafi of Libya, Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, and Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen, while other regimes, such as that in Syria, were shaken to their foundation.
Just lately, the African continent witnessed the removal from office of President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan and Ibrahim Boubacar Keita of Mali after global outrage prompted by protest movements.
The funding of most protest movements is always shrouded in secrecy, just as the logistics arrangements for coup-de tats were in the past. In any case, intelligence services manage to detect, to some extent, where some of the funding for these movements are coming from, if these are channeled through the financial system.
The widespread use of social media platforms, with their relative anonymity, facilitates the effective coordination of large-scale and well-organised fund-raising schemes from multiple online donors, which are raising huge amounts of cash for logistics.
Crowdfunding is the practice of raising money for a project or venture from a large number of people via the Internet. Online fundraising, which has become part of the digital culture, is a form of alternative financing, driven through crowdsourcing, these days. It could be easier to identify the faces of campaigns, such as lawyers, journalists, social media influencers and human rights activists, however it is extremely difficult to identify the major financiers and donors who want to remain anonymous.
While crowdfunding accounts are legitimate and channelled for good causes, some of these are either created for other less than desirable purposes, which could be hijacked for political interests. Meanwhile, the EndSARS protest movement has raised over N37 million through crowdfunding, according to one of the leading groups in the protest, the Feminist Coalition. The figure shows an addition of N31 million in just four days, indicating a leap of about 487.8 per cent from the previous figure on October 10, which stood at N6,354,561.27.
While Flutterwave is one of the major crowdfunding platforms deployed in mobilising financial resources for the campaign, its Chairman and former Deputy Governor of CBN, Mr. Tunde Lemo is reported to have raised an alarm that “bad guys were moving money through them.” Hence, he said that he had directed the suspension of the fintech firm’s payment platform to prevent the illicit flow of funds through their channel to questionable causes.
So far, the Federal Government, and by implication the Nigeria Police, has given in to the demand of the protesters by disbanding the Federal-SARS or F-SARS and ordered all operatives of the now defunct unit to undergo psychological and medical examinations.
The police spokesperson, DCP Frank Mba, who has consistently engaged social media influencers and critical stakeholders on the development, announced the setting up of the Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT), which will replace the disbanded F-SARS.
Frank added that former operatives of the defunct F-SARS would not be recruited into SWAT, as the new outfit will strictly be intelligence-driven and not embark on routine patrols.
Even with this development, many protesters have expressed skepticism at what they consider as the duplicity of the government in seeking to quell their campaign, which they have continued in a way now targeted at the newer hashtag, #EndSWAT and #EndInsecurityNow, in replacement of the earlier #EndSARS.
One of the founders of EndSARS agitation, Segun Awosanya, popularly known as Segalink, has distanced himself from any further protest with regard to ending F-SARS, after alleging that politicians and commercial criminals have hijacked the protest for their selfish ends.
In a series of recent tweets, Segalink has warned that the youths of the country would be endangering their lives if they insist on continuing with the protests after the government has agreed to all their demands.
It may therefore not be a coincidence that the strongly-worded but short statement by the Nigerian Military, warning to deal decisively with subversive elements and troublemakers, has also been issued.
The Army spokesperson, Colonel Sagir Musa, who issued the statement, added that the Nigerian Army “remains highly committed to defend(ing) the country and her democracy at all cost.”
Similarly, Major General John Enenche, the Coordinator Defence Media Operations also issued another strong warning on behalf all the security services. He said: “The Armed Forces of Nigeria and other security agencies have observed with dismay some violence-related protests across the country; particularly the increasing number of attacks on peaceful protesters by thugs and miscreants.
This unfolding event against peace-loving Nigerians will not be condoned. Hence, thugs and miscreants are hereby warned to desist from engaging in violent activities against peaceful Nigerians henceforth, or face appropriate measures.”
Whatever may be the case, it is appropriate to reiterate here and now that citizens have the legitimate right to express their political, social and economic concerns in their country through demonstrations or protests. To this extent, the security agencies should know that violent crackdowns against protesters would always lead to untoward consequences, which would not augur well for the image of the federal government.
In crisis management, dialogue, constructive engagements, negotiations, and compromises are acceptable and sustainable approaches to peacebuilding. Let’s stay on this lane, please.
Yushau wrote in from
www.YAShuaib.com