As the #EndBadGovernance 10-day demonstration starting from August 1 enters full gear, there is a voice uniting the protesters all over Nigeria who do not think their gathering ought to be restricted the way they have seen it happen with recent Federal High Court injunction that has restricted people to parks or the national stadium if they want to air their grievances.

Protesters, although have been largely toeing the line in the sense of coordinating themselves peacefully at the venues, there is a feeling among the participants that being wrapped to just one spot should not go on indefinitely considering there are still nine days to go.

At the Moshood Abiola Stadium in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja addressing different news platforms, the Director of Mobilisation for Take It Back Movement, Damilare Adenola, rejected the judicial card that the government was showing and wants President Bola Tinubu should get on the street with the protesters as they wait for a response to a list of 10 demands, including the reversal of policies such as the removal of fuel subsidy and the floating of the Naira that have drastically worsened inflation in the country.

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In 2012, when then-President, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan was in charge, he thought up the idea of removing fuel subsidy but the people resisted him. Four years earlier, Mr Tinubu had completed his second term as a former Lagos State Governor and together with the people made demands to either reverse the removal or channel the monies saved to rapid infrastructure investment equitable to what subsidy would have gulped.

Critics condemning the restriction to parks and other designated areas under Bola Tinubu’s administration think this is infringing on their rights to freely express themselves. According to the Take It Back Movement’s Damilare Adenola, the various court orders restricting protesters to particular locations are an aberration.

Our presence here today is an announcement that we have been oppressed for too long.

Today, we have risen. We saying to the president that unless President Bola Tinubu accede to our demands we will remain on the streets. We want to see the president on the street. During the protest [of 2012], he was on the street.

On the eve of the August 1 protest, Justice Sylvanus Oriji of the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja issued an order in response to an ex-parte application brought before him by Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory. The order of interim injunction cropped five protest leaders from trotting along any roadway, streets, offices, and public premises within the FCT between August 1 to August 10, or any other day after that, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.

The main respondents addressed in the order are Omoyele Sowore, Damilare Adenola, Adama Ukpabi, Tosin Harsogba, persons unknown. Then, there are also the Inspector General of Police, Commissioner of Police, Director General of the State Security Service, Director General of the Nigeria Civil Defense Corps, Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Air Staff, Chief of Naval Staff as 1st to 12th respondents.

Lagos’s bomb scare

Also on Wednesday 31 July, the Governor of Lagos State Babajide Sanwo-Olu continued an appeal to those who intend to protest because of the bad governance they see that makes life so difficult.

Flanked by his deputy, Mr Obafemi Hamzat, the governor asked for more patience from the citizens, particularly youth, to see the initiatives of the president that were thought up and implemented over a period spanning last year to come to fruition in the shortest time possible.

Our goal is a peaceful and prosperous Lagos. We must avoid economic destabilisation that can make us poorer. Let’s unite, embrace dialogue, and build a peaceful, prosperous Lagos, says Governor Sanwo-Olu at yesterday’s press briefing.

Before making his call for peace, he cited Mr Tinubu’s success with the Student Loan Act, the fact that local refineries will now buy crude oil in Naira, and how compressed natural gas is weaning transporters from diesel or petrol to make transport cheaper. There will be more if only protesters demonstrating against hunger will be patient a while longer.

The governor added at the briefing that to ensure safe and peaceful expression, the Police have designated Gani Fawehinmi Park and Peace Park for protests. These locations will be secured to protect our citizens and prevent chaos.

At the Gani Fawehinmi Park today, the gathering has been largely peaceful but there have been frictions because the demonstrators couldn’t earlier gain access to the venue. As a result, there is loitering at the frontage of the park yet the scene remains civil.

News correspondents at the park sending in their reports to Mainland 98.3 F.M. in Lagos could confirm a chopper hovering in the sky and keeping watch.

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This aerial protection possibly found its motivation in the improvised explosive device the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) detected along Mobolaji Anthony Way, close to the Nigeria Customs Service base in Ikeja yesterday. NPF’s public relations officer Muyiwa Adejobi, in a statement afterwards, says citizens must be alert and report their suspicions to the authorities for the safety of all.

Checks, as of lunchtime on August 1 confirm a very calm environment at the Gani Fawehinmi Park, although Lagos State’s police are also saying there is peace at other venues that Commissioner Adegoke Fayoade had visited, such as the Lekki Toll Gate and Alausa even though only two parks were designated for the demonstrations.

Meiza Nigeria