AUGUST PROTEST AND MY OAU IFE EXPERIENCE.

By Adekoya Abimbola Julius

We cannot deny the dwindling economic fortunes of Nigerians, the downward skip of purchasing power amidst skyrocketing inflation now at 33%.

There is insecurity, lack of access to the essentials of life, fear and trembling occassioned by lowly standards of living.

We can also not deny the right of Nigerians to protest against their government as guaranteed by nature and the constitution of this great country.

However, we need to analyse the current situation in Nigeria within historical context.

The Government came to power one year and three months ago, having inherited a mess and a soakaway of rot accummulated over many decades and compounded by the 2023 armtwisting naira swap and policies orchestrated to stiffle the successor of former President Mohammadu Buhari.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is only just passing through the landmines, struggling to detonate one after the other.

The 10-day protest came as the President is just about to take off.

The least the country needs now is violence which must be avoided by all means necessary.

This is why I think the handlers of this August “End bad government” protest failed to learn from history.

The argument of the proponents of the protest gave me the impression that they were either ignorant of the situation of this country or they just wanted to test freedom of association or right to protest as it is enshrined in the constitution.

In as much as I believe that masses have the right to protest against bad policies of the government but the environment for such should be seen to be conducive for all. The belief of some people in this country is that protest is an avenue to loot, rob and eliminate the perceived enemies.

I attended Obafemi Awolowo University (O. A.U.) Ile Ife where the motto of the institution is “Learning and Culture”. I was the President of my Department and later the President of the Faculty.

There was a day I saw the joy in protesting without being destructive. It was an orientation that was passed from generations to generations in OAU. No wonder the University is paraded the most beautiful University in Nigeria.

Besides, the academic high standard of OAU, the Culture, was that no matter your grievances with the government or school authority, no campus property should be destroyed during demonstration or protest. Not even the flower by the road.

I remember the day the men of State Security Services (SSS) secretly invaded the campus with the intention to arrest some union leaders. They were caught or were “arrested” by the students. The students got to the scene at the Faculty of Science building and a guy raised his voice that the SSS car should be set ablaze. I was shocked when the majority of the students shouted “No this is White House! No, this is White House!! No this is White House”. When I asked why the rejection of the suggestion to burn the car, a student explained that white house was where the computers that process students’ results were kept. If we dare raze the place down so many of us would not graduate.

I saw the wisdom in the action of those Great Ife!

I equally remember the day we forcefully brought out the then Vice Chancellor, Professor Wande Abimbola, despite the anger in the faces of the students, Babalawo was still given his respect and honour.

During my days in Ife, my school was known to be notorious in protests and demonstration but I did not see any structure destroyed by the students throughout my four years that turned into nearly six years because demonstration became part of our semester courses.

The days of Speedy, Adeola Soetan, Ebun Olu Adegboruwa were days students were told to “Demonstrate without being Destructive”, ” Protest and also “Protect their valuable Properties”

OAU ife is indeed a great institution where the theory of right to protest can be demonstrated not in cities like Lagos, Kano, Ibadan, Sokoto, Bauchi, Benin where the uninformed, demagogue and uncultured people are waiting to hijack the process.

I saw Barr. Femi Falana, SAN and Barr. Ebun Olu Adegboruwa SAN who are incidentally the products of OAU defending the organizers of the protests but failed to tell us how to prevent the death of innocent people and avoidable looting of the property of the people.

I wonder where these lawyers got the confidence that the protest WOULD be peaceful after what we passed through during the #ENDSAAR protests when lives were lost, properties destroyed, policemen were attacked, police stations burnt to ashes. The DNA laboratory in Lagos was burnt, BRT buses were burnt, the Lagos City Hall, the first administrative headquarters for local government in Nigeria, built in 1900, a historical treasure was burnt down. No fewer than 20 police stations were touched. Weapons were also carted away by criminals.

Maybe they still believe that if the theory worked at OAU Ile Ife, then it can be applied to Nigeria.

No wonder Barr. Ebun Olu Adegboruwa backtracked when he saw the wanton destruction in Kano, the first day of the protests. I know he would have learnt that some theories need to be considered with the medium before they are applied.

Interestingly, Adegboruwa was the President of the Students Union

The protests in this country always remind me of my training in the University that I should have value for life and properties. I realized that you don’t use your hands to destroy what is yours.

Nigeria youths should not be a willing tool in the hands of some expired politicians who destroyed this country. They did not call us to protest when they were getting the proceeds from the subsidy, building houses in Dubai, looting the Treasury but now that the game is over with them. I watched the reports of protests in the United Kingdom. Something struck me. Both the Government and the opposition condemned the violence, a strong indication that their is national interest which goes beyond personal interest or exploiting protests for electoral fortunes unlike the attitude of Nigerian politicians.

God will bless this country. The Renewed Hope days will meet us alive.

Adekoya Abimbola Julius
Medical Scientist writes from Lagos
[email protected]