What the man did not understand is that the snail could not die because it was protected by its shell. The moral from this tale is that the day of the little ones (or the weak) will come and it will grow in impact, and the big one will have to bow down and listen to its demands. The true value of this piece of ancient wisdom however, so far remains concealed from our vision, because the #occupyNigeria has not achieved a single one of its demands. On the contrary, the NLC/TUC has thrown it against the wall after hijacking it, and has succeeded in betraying the peaceful protest it never started.

However, what the government does not understand is that the creators and defenders of #occupyNigeria are not the NLC/TUC they succeeded in silencing, who they thought would help in snuffing out #occupyNigeria peaceful protest in exchange for money or position in the government. Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen, they are not the ones who started the #occupyNigeria peaceful protest. What proves that the NLC/TUC struck a deal with the government is the appointment of Peter Esele as a member in the PIB task force.

The purpose of this article is to say that the real #occupyNigeria peaceful protesters are going to come out for more protest because the revolution has not died. watch out for the return of the snail in its original shell, without the parasites that stuck to it along its journey. By parasites I mean the NLC/TUC.

Why will the snail return?

It will return because the #occupyNigeria rose up for the sake of life, freedom, and social justice. None of these has been achieved: the so called cabals are still there living like kings with stolen money; the president does not want to cut the waste in his government; cost of living is high and the price of bread has been increased;cost of transportation has fared. Citizens have not been given the right to protest and oppose the rules that govern them, a right that has been banned by dispatching military men all over the street. Obviously there is no justice,the likes of Muyideen Mustapha died for nothing. The bizarre thing is that the murderers of Muyideen Mustapha and Co are still free like a bird in a tree. The whole Nigerian people now hates this government.

I will not forget the main road, the people who are silenced whichever class they belong to, and I’ll hold onto the wisdom and so should you. Be certain that the snail is on its way…

Writen by @Muhammadsageer.

At 6pm on the 1st of Dec 1955 in Montgomery Alabama, Rosa Parks decided to break the law; she refused to stand up and give up her seat, as was the law since 1900 to a white passenger on a public bus in Montgomery, Alabama, in response she was arrested by the police.

Her arrest led to the Montgomery bus boycott, which was coordinated by a young unknown black preacher, named Martin Luther King. The success of the boycott promoted Martin Luther King to national prominence made him the father of the Civil Rights movement, and led to the “I have a dream speech” and ultimately the passage of the Civil Rights Bill and the election of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States. Therefore, you see a premeditated decision is the most powerful thing in the world.

Back to Rosa Parks, it was bad for her, following the success of the boycott she suffered, she was in jail, sacked from her job, her husband also had to quit, and she had to leave Montgomery because she could no longer get a job there. She was hounded, they both suffered from ulcers, they never had children. When she was 91, she lived in a flat, could not pay her rents, she was about to be evicted, but the owners gave her the flat rent free, she survived on charity. Nevertheless, when she died in October 2005 she was laid in honour in the Rotunda of the US capital, the first woman in the USA to receive the honour. So a good decision might bring you pain, but offers great reward.

I do not think Rosa Parks knew her action that day would be so far reaching, in fact she had never met Martin Luther King before the boycott, and Martin Luther was a new comer to Montgomery. She didn’t refuse to stand up from her seat because she wanted to help elect a black man into the White House in 2008, No; she just wanted to fight her own little fight in her little Montgomery.

In life, we will be presented with choices to make a decision, and sometimes the decision may not seem material at first, we could be asked to pay a bribe for a vote, we could be asked to take a bribe in return for a vote, the decisions we make will have far-reaching consequences.

We must not only fight the “Abuja” fight, we also should stay focused on our Local Government Areas and Wards. Rosa Parks was a civil rights activist, in fact, she was the Secretary of the local NAACP, but she did not take her fight for civil rights first to Washington, then Alabama then Montgomery, she started small in Montgomery then Alabama then Washington.

The lessons for Nigerians who just as Rosa Parks are living in the bondage of no roads, power or hospitals, is first make a premeditated decision to cause a change, then act local first with a global strategy in mind.

For example, go online to the Ministry of Finance Website www.fmf.gov.ng or Accountant General of the Federation www.oagf.gov.ng or the budget office www.budgetoffice.gov.ng. Print out 100 copies of the allocation your LGA receives monthly, go to your bad road/street, and distribute the copies to every house hold and challenge the ward chairman to get the LGA chairman to fix the bad road. Will it work? I do not know but at the least, the Ward Councillor will make a mental note to patch the road before those troublesome street tenants “spoils his garri” Imagine if every ward Councillor was hounded in Aba to fix the roads, imagine if every Ward Councillor in Aba was hounded to clear rubbish from the streets?, imagine if every ward chancellor was hounded to set up a primary health care clinic in Aba?

Imagine if every ward chancellor in Aba was hounded to set up a small SME for the “boys”? Just imagine if all Aba councillors were hounded for the 10 years we have had this democracy, there would have been no kidnapping in Aba.

Our problems are local, not international, your ward chancellor has no police escort, he still lives and sleeps in your area, his kids still go to the school next door, but do you know him? As we remember the First Lady of the Civil Rights Movement Rosa Parks, I ask you to make a decision not to stand up. Let us fix our problem Nigeria.

You can follow the writer KALU AJA on www.kalu20pounds.blogspot.com or @kaluaja on twitter.

1) For transportation and ‘training’ in 2012 alone, the State house will spend N1,944,491,952

2) For electricity (that you and I don’t have) phone calls (that we use our money to buy credit) & water : N265,121,871

3) N285,137,061 will be spent on ‘Welfare’

4) Honorarium & sitting allowance (why, why, why??!!) N173,752,467

5) Food stuff (while you and I struggle to buy 200 okro) they will spend: N104,011,104

6) Refreshment N293,695,515

7) Sporting, publicity & postage: N113,139,284.

8) While 16,000 buses will be provided for 160,000,000 of us (aprox 1 bus for every 1million people) our money will be used to buy 3 (Three) Jeeps at N51,150,000. 3 (Three) saloon cars at N18,985,875. 10 (Ten) pool saloon cars at N54,450,000. 3 (Three) Hiace buses N16,335,000 1 (One) transit coaster & 1 (One)crew Hiace bus N18,095,000 for the VICE PRESIDENT ALONE!!!

9) 90 HP laptops at N300,000 each. 75 more at N314,000 each 60UPS at N55,000 20 printers 150,000 each (in this same computer village?! If they survived 2011 without it, they can survive 2012 too)

10) Public Address system 150,783,304 (when people are sleeping hungry)

11) Kitchen & Household utensils: N45,427,848 (what happened to the ones they used in 2011? Are they disposable?)

12) Magazine, newspapers, book stationary, printing & teaching aids: N541,347,475.

This adds up to N4,135,215,764 (FOUR TRILLION ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY FIVE BILLION, TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTEEN MILLION SEVEN HUNDRED AND SIXTY FOUR NAIRA) in government waste and they claim fuel subsidy is what kills Nigeria.

15 or less NLC and TUC members went to negotiate N97 on behalf of 160million of us, so that government can shamelessly waste this money to take care of their friends and family. But the truth is out there for you. You either choose to use these facts wisely and stand up to demand accountability or believe the usual lies that politicians have always told you.

So, If you are satisfied with this waste in governance, the countless bomb blast of on innocent Nigerians, the incompetence of the police, the corruption in the oil sector & the bad state of your hospitals, schools, roads and power then stay home & watch history being made.

But if you want a better life, if you want our leaders to do what is right, then join us on saturday 21st January 2012 at Unity Fountain from 10am and let your voice be heard! #occupynigeria

P.S
I’m a lawyer so it is no secret that my maths is somewhat sh*tty. Feel free to cross check these figures on www.budgetoffic.gov.ng

By Azeenarh Mohammed (@xeenarh)
(Closeted optimist, provocative writer)

In the past 2weeks, Nigerians have witnessed an unprecedented show of stupidity & cowardly determination by their president. While the citizens protested in droves, President Goodluck Jonathan flew to South Africa for the ANC 100 years celebration.
While people marched on the streets standing united against his inhumane policy, he permitted ‘security forces’ to proceed with live ammunition against people who only held placards.
While peaceful protesters slept at night in Kano & Abuja, he deployed soldiers to attack & maim them again and again.
When 500 peaceful protesters converged on the streets of abuja, he sent 2,000+ police men to come over & ‘invite the leaders to the station’.
When NLC & TUC went over for the meeting on Saturday, the President, the Vice President & the entire cabinet couldn’t be bothered to show up.
In his farce of a broadcast this morning, not even a word for those who lost their lives in the past 2 weeks. Coward, coward, coward!

But the good thing is, we all saw this coming and we prepared for it. Whenever there is an increase on the price of petrol, labour grumbles but then they make secret deals and reach a compromise. This was the reason #occupynigeria was birthed. I remember seeing this on twitter and facebook on 6th January 2012: “When and IF labour sells out, #occupynigeria will be here to fight for us”.

So crunch time is here. This is the moment we all must decide for ourselves. Will you continue to stand up for what is right or are you ready to give up? I don’t know IF the NLC and TUC speak for you but I know that I speak for myself and NOTHING but N65 or lower will get me off the street.

Now is the time for you my fellow Nigerians to show a bit more courage. If government can revert to N97 because you took to the streets and stood up for your rights, you had all better show more strength & resilience and keep marching until N65 or less is achieved. I urge you all to continue as we have started. Peacefully conducting ourselves in protest and urging the government to return Petrol price to the status quo of N65 per litre.

Let me urge u all, regardless of where you are, THIS, TODAY, is your chance to take a stand. To be men and women with dignity and pride or to be men & women harassed, intimidated & abused by a dictator hiding under the guise of democracy.

P.S
The biggest question today is: Will the security forces (army, police, sss, civil defence) be human and defend tax paying & harmless Nigerians, or will they be inhumane in subduing Nigerians who disagree with the president? 17th of January 2012 will tell that tale but in the main time, please DO NOT forget that safety comes first. Carry hankercheifs, with a bit of kerosine (for your nose) and toothpaste to smear around your face (for your eyes) in case of tear gas. And at ALL TIMES, KEEP YOUR CAMERA’S ROLLING!

For those of us in Abuja, the #occupynigeria ground remains ASCON FILLING STATION, on Adetokunbo Ademola Crescent Wuse 2. See you all there from 9am.

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.” JFK

On the second day of #occupynigeria, we the protesters sang the national anthem to remind us of our unity and common goal. We simply camped and held up our placards with our slogans and demands. 20+ young Nigerians slept in the cold to make their voices heard.

On the third day of #occupynigeria, we grew in numbers and purpose. “No violence, no verbal exchanges, just let ur placard speak for you” was d advice we kept sharing. Every hour on the hour, we sang the national anthem and pledge. United we stood-resolute and asking the government to hear our cries.

On the fourth day of #occupynigeria, the Nigerian Police Force attacked us in our sleep. Armed with clubs, sticks & iron rods, IN THE DEAD OF THE NIGHT, slightly past 1am, about 12 police men snuck at us from different directions while we slept on our makeshift cots. 40+ innocent Nigerians men and women simply sitting on the sidewalk were beaten from sleep to a stupor. Groggy, confused, and startled we ran into the bush, into the streets and away from the danger. Screams, shouts and caos rang as blows landed on different individuals from different angles. Eventually, we realised some were hurt so we stopped at various spots and tried to regroup. Across the street, about 50 police men led by DSP. C.U Adejumo stood disinterested while we scrambled for our lives. Our attackers at that point started destroying our property, searching & scrambling through our possessions and picking electronic devices that could record. We immediately started looking for our remaining phones, camera’s and gadgets we hadn’t left behind to record the events as it happened. With renewed vigour and determination, we slowly made our way back and started demanding an explanation. They stood their ground trying to attack again but we kept our camera’s rolling. Inspired, about 5 of the #occupynigeria men gathered around and grabbed 2 of the men and dragged them to the police who were simply still watching the brutality. They collected them and released them right before our eyes to disappear into the night. We started making calls and kept camera’s rolling.

At 3:30am we sat around gathering proof we had and then a police car came driving slowly with about 10 cops in it. The next moment live shots went out and I lost my vision. Choking & panting, I fell and rolled down the valley behind me. It was like a 30min fall. I felt my bones smacking into the ground & trees as the dark tumble swallowed me. Head, leg, feet, neck…all smacked against stone & bricks as I said my last prayer…

I awoke to throbbing pain in my right knee. My glasses are gone, my eyes ablaze & breath laboured. My left pinkie feels like its gone. I slowly crawl up to the top of the hill guided only by the sounds of my brave friends valiantly singing the national anthem. I get there, we asses my scraps and injuries, take count of people, and return to our post. We sing the 1st two stanzas of the national anthem and the pledge.

I have now said my last prayer and I am ready to press send. A lot of my friends have done so too. As I sit here like a duck waiting for their last attack which will certainly be life ammunition, I steel my heart with final conviction and remember “if nigeria doesn’t change, it won’t be for my lack of effort”. The police have surrounded us and one looks at me, begging us to drive off. “We have been ordered to shoot and kill if u do no leave” he whispers

#OCCUPYNIGERIA Occupy Eagle-Square (ABUJA)

The #occupyNigeria movement is primarily a protest against the removal of fuel-subsidy, however this is not the sole purpose of our gathering. As a Nigerian it is not rocket science knowing that the main problem with the country is not necessarily fuel subsidy, or bad roads, electricity etc, the underlining problem is bad Governance. This bad Governance has brought with it corruption in all sectors of the Nigerian economy and selfish leaders. Make no mistake, it took more than four decades for Nigerians to unite against our common enemy “corruption”, we may never get this chance again to unite against the forces of evil and tyranny. Thus, we must use this opportunity wisely and not allow the dark tactics of the Government to deter us from our goal, which is to ensure a total transformation of the Nigerian system.

Goodluck Ebele Jonathan is not an enemy, his Ministers and friends that eat billions-worth of food yearly while their citizens starve are also not the enemies. The real enemy is the system, the system that has allowed corruption to flourish, the system that has allowed for injustice, tyranny and bad governance. We cannot fight an idea that we perpetrate, thus we must psychologically and socially wash away our ideas that has sadly, in one way or another also contributed to the underdevelopment of this nation. We must not be violent, the Government is already violent and they are good at it, we must not be fools, the politicians are already fools and they are good at it, we must not let our desperation for change allow the same people we are fighting against to lead us, we would just be exchanging our slave-masters for torturers. We must not let division get in the way of progress, this protest is liberal, meaning it has no religious affiliation, it has no ethnic sentiments, it does not care whether you live in the United States or in Port-Harcourt, Kaduna or Lagos, it does not consider whether you are from the North, South, East or West, the fuel prices would affect us all equally, whether you’re from a rich home and have four cars or whether you’re from a poor background and use a bicycle, the price of food (which is universal to all of us) would rise, the price of water, the price of all the social and nutritional comforts we so enjoy.  

 REFRESHMENTS AND SUPPLIES

You are advised to withdraw as much as you can as the NLC have announced the strike action commencing on Monday, the 9^th of January, 2012. We as protesters must also organize a way to get refreshments and food supplies. Portable devices, mobile coolers, plastic cups and plates, barbeque stands and any other thing you can think of.

 CONTRIBUTIONS AND DONATIONS

We would setup a secretariat were we would be conducting most of our documentation and write-ups. We also welcome donations and contributions of all sorts that would be used for the protest. It would also serve as an information desk for anyone looking for details of the occupy movement. We also intend to setup a live feed, through Skype, using multiple computers communicating with different individuals and News Networks around the world. With sufficient contributions and donations we intend to setup an internet café that would give protesters a limited time to browse the internet, update and upload information.

 ELECTRICITY

We can employ the use of generators and connected power supply from close-by offices or ports, so as to power protesters electronic devices and equipments. We also intend to call on the assistance of informal shop-owners that provide charging services for low prices.

 SHELTER AND SECURITY

Protesters are advised to come with a bag, where they can keep their cloths and equipments, placards, it’s the harmatan season and it gets cold at night, thus heavy clothing is highly advised. PLEASE come with proper forms of identification, this would reduce the risk of being infiltrated by government officials and also serve as identification in the case that something happens to you. Even-though there would be a heavy police presence and other security agents there, it is advisable to be vigilant, there can be people disguised as protesters who really want to cause harm (theft, mugging etc), especially due to the current unrest that is in the country. We can also be sure that members of the intelligence agencies would infiltrate the network; there is nothing wrong with this as long as they keep their peace and maybe they might just convert.

 COUNCIL MEETINGS

This comprises of interactive sessions with experts either in the field of politics or economics or any other field, that can contribute to the protest. Here we would drop up plans and discuss the way forward for the occupy movement.

 PRAYERS

Even-though it is an entirely liberal protest, the respect of religion and religious practices is highly necessary. As we have seen from our brothers in Kano State, as Muslims pray, Christians stand guard, while on Sundays that role is reversed. The Government would look for all loopholes and means to break the unity of this protest, they would come in the name of religion to cause division and disunity and distrust, they would come with ethnicity and tribalism, the same factors that ruined the Nigerian political system, we must not let this happen, the moment we give-in to their sentiments, we have lost the battle.

 DO’S AND DONT’S

We must understand that the Eagle Square is public property and there are people there that can get affected by certain behaviors. We are all matured and thus presume that we can understand decent behavior. In an attempt to mention but a few, there can be no; smoking, drinking of alcohol or other substances with intoxicating effects and no exhibiting of any form of nudity or indecent behavior. We can always take a stroll, during secure hours to partake in any “legal” activity we want, some can go home and do what they have to do and come back. In order to maintain a mixed society, tolerance must be employed and indecent behavior destroys the image of the movement.

We are not here to give political talks and speeches, or disturb the peace, but to allow the message on our placards speak for us!

No one is forcing anyone to partake in the #occupyNigeria protest, please come at your own choice and let us stand together in the face of wickedness and injustice.

(This was drafted and typed thanks to @ESSDonli and agreed upon by the #occupynigeria protesters)

I HAVE LEARNT THAT ALL ROADS TO EAGLE SQUARE HAVE BEEN BLOCKED. DO NOT FALTER. WE ARE NOW IN FRON (HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISION) MAITAMA

People have asked me if Nigeria is ready to do what it takes to make it better and I have in turn asked for your positions in ‘WILL YOU MARCH?’ The answer I got was a resounding YES! Nigerians all over; young and old started getting back to me to tell me they were ready. Seeing that we were fired up, I took the liberty of finding out the best way to protest and giving the information back to you.

The feedback you sent said

• That you agreed with a PEACEFUL PROTEST/DEMONSTRATION
• You are not afraid to sit it out until the government does what is right and listens to you.

I gave out my email to ask for your input and contributions about #occupynigeria, but due to the amount of information flooding in, I could no longer keep up. The data you kept sending in became so bulky that I could barely keep up with #occupynigeria. I became exhausted, and with fingers swollen from typing, I decided to tweet my number and ask anyone who wanted to, to call my number instead.

Predictably, not everyone who agreed with me was calling. I started receiving prank calls, vile sms’, hate mail, threats and general personal attacks. I have been called a ‘terrorist, stupid and greedy, boko haram sponsor, a *****, a *****, and those are not even the colourful insults.

Nigerians from every state, every tribe, every religion, living at home and abroad started calling me to ask WHAT they could do to help.

We got a large office space and extra hands where a few of us could plan and coordinate from and when information kept growing, I started asking for more volunteers and help kept being offered by students, civil servants, group, clubs and associations. A now have a revolving 100 or so people who help in all manner of things like retrieving numbers and passing it on, replying emails, making and returning calls to volunteers in each state, others come to write messages on placards, some design logos and banners, many others follow #occupynigeria #eyesANDears tweets and pass the information out as soon as possible, some coordinate states and geo-political zones, and every manner of jobs which come up.

People on twitter have helped secure the use of photocopiers for us, others turned up came with a trunk full of papers, more came with hundreds of cardboard papers, others came over with food and drinks, and more people have volunteered to come with water, blankets, lanterns, literature, food and all manner of things when we start protesting on Friday.

In the space of four days, I have watched with sadness as we lost a protester in Illorin, I have followed the courage of the Lagosians who came out on the 2^nd of January in the first protest, applauded the resilience of the  people of Osun who got Governor Aregbesola to sign their protest register, and celebrated with the people of Bauchi who peacefully coordinated themselves and convinced their emir to join them in their protest against the removal of fuel subsidy. My real moment of joy remains though the audacity of the people of Kano. They set an example for us and showed us that protests can be conducted and they can be executed PEACEFULLY!!!

My point is this: where I thought I was alone, I have found millions of other ordinary Nigerians with the same zeal and patriotism willing to put in the time and effort that it’ll take to fight for a better Nigeria and for every hour I have invested into #occupynigeria, some of them have put in 2 or 3 times more.

As much as we are coping, we can still use more help. We need people who can process ideas fast, people can coordinate with the media, IT savvy individuals, lawyers, doctors, statisticians, able bodied people who can just distribute water and pamphlets, others to snap and record and document police activities with their phones, laptops, cameras, and other gadgets, and more to just walk around to ensure that we remain peaceful at all times. We also need more people making and answering calls, gather the new phone numbers that are coming in, others simply to follow all the activities on twitter, some on facebook, some on the internet, and many other unforeseen jobs that might come up. It doesn’t matter where you are or where you live as long as you are ready to help. I know there are hundreds of you out there wanting to help, I simply have to find you!

I will be on the streets of Abuja, engaging the public and asking for a peaceful protest to help make things right. I urge you all to do the same, BUT if you find that you cannot, please allow those who can and stop detracting us. I have taken a stand on the web and on the streets and I am asking you to take a stand with me and show yourselves as the leaders of tomorrow. My tomorrow is here. Is yours?

Nigeria needs you, are you ready to answer her call?

Many of you are asking yourselves why you need to get out of your comfort zone and into the streets to protest about the withdrawal of fuel subsidy. The government’s argument is that if we do not stop funding fuel subsidy, the economy will crash and we all will go down with it. But are there no other places to reduce spending to save money? Let us take a few moments and consider these points:

• David Mark earns N600 million annually, enough money to set up at least, 100 schools in his Benue State
• President Jonathan and his friends will eat N1 billion worth of food in 2012, while fuelling their cars for N1.7 billion. This amount will build at least, 50 good health care centres in the South-South
• N200 million was budgeted to water the gardens of the President in 2011. This is enough to educate 200 Nigerians through university education
• This is more than a quest for economic rights, it a quest for justice. This is not about fuel subsidy, it is about the ruling class’ war on the Nigerian masses. They cannot claim our country is broke when president Goodluck Jonathan continues to feed fat on N3 million worth of food everyday. They cannot claim to be broke when they increased the recurrent expenditure of the 2012 budget by another N92 billion. They cannot claim to be broke when the First Lady just spent N5billion furnishing an office. They cannot claim to be broke when in the whole budget is about their salaries and allowances.

BOTTOM LINE: Government seeks to impoverish us the more by removing fuel subsidy while they continue to waste money on their friends and families!

ACTION PLAN: We will have PEACEFUL PROTESTS in all the 36 states + FCT from Friday 6th of January 2012 at 10am. We do not condone violence so why not Join US and also spread the message to everyone around you. WE shall prevent people from going to work and helping the government inprison us in poverty while the ‘leaders’ buy mansions and travel all over the world.

This is a fight for all of us: students and workers, unemployed and self-employed, bike men, taxi men, traders, teachers, mai-ruwa, barbers, mechanics, househelps, newspapermen, tomato sellers, civil servants, students, business men…in fact, EVERY NIGERIAN! We all have a duty to make the government change its mind and we will not stop protesting everyday until petroleum subsidy is returned!

“This is your fight. There are no activists anywhere to save you. This is the time for you to become your own messiah. Now take your place on the arc of history, call out to your neighbours and friends, the Nigerian morning of Justice has come!!!” -Japheth Omojuwa (Editor, AfricanLiberty.org)

The Picture below is courtesy the internationally renowned Carlos Latuff. So print and distribute, or you can share it via Emails, BlackBerries, Facebook walls and Twitter. Share the picture as well. Take a Stand for Nigeria

TO KNOW WHY WE MUST PROTEST CLICK HERE

For every view, every comment, every name, phone number and location sent to xeenarh@gmail.com, all i can say is that I am humbled and grateful for your patriotism, hope and support but the real work only starts now. WHY MUST PROTEST

As i write this, it is 3am Wednesday 4th of January 2012 and are  two days away from a nationwide protest. Are we ready yet? Far from it! But do not despair. We have not panicked and rioted as they expected and wanted us to. Instead, we have remained resolute in our beliefs and our resolve has grown stronger by the minute.

The nation wide protest still proceeds as planned on Friday 6th January 2012 uniformly at 10am. As usual we will broadcast, retweet, post on our facebook pages, email the links to our contacts, and keep each other informed. For every single person aware of this protest and its goals, there are millions of people on the street who are still uninformed. This is our job today; involve the people on the streets. Instead of using energy staging mini protests, we will engage, educate, mobilise, inform and prepare. These are things we need to do before today:

“THE MASSES ARE THE DECISIVE ELEMENT. THEY ARE THE ROCK ON WHICH THE FINAL VICTORY OF THE REVOLUTION WILL BE BUILT” – ROSA LUXEMBURG

1. Print out the attached document.
2. Photocopy as many copies as you can afford
3. Mobilise your group of friends, family, acquaintances, colleagues, and share copies with them
4. Encourage everyone to photocopy more copies. (Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people can transform the world. Howard Zinn)
5. Distribute them at homes, offices, banks, filling stations, hospitals, schools, the market, the roadside, bus stations, car parks, stop signs, restaurants, super markets, parks, and EVERY SINGLE PLACE you can think of!
6. Engage the people in conversations and dialogue. Listen to their views and most importantly prepare and educate them.
7. Until every bike man, every taxi man, every trader, every teacher, every mai-ruwa, every mechanic, every househelp, every newspaperman, every tomato seller, every civil servant, every student, every business man, EVERY NIGERIAN is holding this paper and is willing to march at 10am friday, we will not stop. We have nothing to loose but our chains and nothing to gain but our livelihood!
8. Reach out, stand out, come rain, come shine, we shall be in every nook and cranny of Nigeria to prepare them for 10am Friday.
9. Please remember to be orderly, peaceful, and productive. A single more life is too valuable to loose. A single more bruise too harsh to endure.
10. “One of the symtoms of a resolution is the sudden increase in the number of ordinary people who take an active interest in politics” – Lenin.

P.S

I will be on the streets of Abuja as early as i can to distribute with you.  I will also be tweeting my location via #occupynigeriaStep1 so that people residing in Abuja can free to join me when they can.

Finally, I wish to send you off with on of the greatest lyrics from one of the most famous musicians ever to have lived.

“Get up. Stand up, stand up for your rights. Get up, stand up. Dont give up the fight!” – Bob Marley

May God be with us all!

Click here to Print

The people are restless and the demands for a demonstration are loud. I am very happy to hear those calls, but once again I must call for caution. The events that took place at #EagleSquare in Abuja and other parts of the country yesterday the 2nd January 2011 only serves to buttress my point: we simply aren’t ready…YET.
What started out as a call by Dino Meleye to take down the names and details of volunteers eventually ended badly. Citizens were tear-gassed, bullied, chased, beaten & some where arrested. As I write this, some of them are still in custody. Although I am unhappy with these events, Japheth Omojuwa has pointed the glass as half full for me because the turn out was massive despite just having only 1 or 2 hours to mobilise.
But as much as we want to rush out and demonstrate, we have to do it with reason. Why not use the few days we have left to organise and prepare ourselves? Let me tell you why.

RULES GUIDING THESE PROTESTS:
A written notice shall be delivered to the police, SSS, road safety and other relevant agencies stating the intention for a peaceful protest in accordance to Chapter 4 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria with particular reference to Sections 33, 34, 35, 38, 39, 40 and 41 of the CFRN which will contain the date, time, where the protest will take place (from which streets it starts and to which it will convene) and the estimated number of people expected.
We shall not stoop to the level of fighting the security forces physically, with arms, or engage them in verbal arguments. They are first of all Nigerians and we have to remember that.
Protesters will not obstruct traffic (WHY WE MUST PROTEST CLICK HERE), or antagonise people going about their normal business.
With crowds, absolute control can not be achieved but we must try our best. Violence is NOT an option. I repeat, violence is not an option. Let’s not give this people a reason to turn on us. A single life is too costly-and we’ve lost too many already. We can do it peacefully and we will. We are going to rely on the educated ones among us to broker & maintain peace in case a disagreement ensures.
We will ensure that every excuse used in the past to intimidate and harass citizens are minimised and if possible, completely extinguished. Hopefully, the police, army, civil defence and co will join us shortly.
Now remember, Mr President has said he is willing to risk civil disobedience by removing subsidy. This tells us that they are ready for us. We not only have to match their resolve, we have to beat them at it.

WHAT ARE WE TRYING TO ACHIEVE? The demand is short and simple: Return fuel subsidy until our refineries are either fixed or new ones built! My mentor Salim Malami asked me to google ‘How To Build A Refinery?’ Apparently, a refinery takes between 24-36months to build from concept to completion. This is a fact. Jamnagar Refinery located in India is the biggest refinery in the world and it took 36months to build. The question we should be asking is why isn’t our government trying to refine its crude oil? We also want the cabal found and prosecuted, the billions retrieved, and we demand transparency instead of secrecy in the oil industry.

HOW DO WE INTEND TO RETURN SUBSIDY? The ONLY logical way for us to achieve our aim of returning subsidy (apart from certain war) is IF and WHEN the entire government is ground down to a halt. Anything short of this will get us nowhere. Realistically, this can only be done with the help of organised labour. No one will be allowed to go to work: and when everyone from janitors, secretaries, accountants, human resources, gate men, personnel, to support staff, all continue to shun work at ministries, parastatals, airports etc, the government will have no option but to dialogue with us and our demand WILL remain simple from the beginning to the end: return subsidy and we return to work. I know the cynicism people feel towards organised labour and their tendency to sell out. Believe me, I feel it to. My singular consolation is that WE make labour so we will have to sit up and NOT sell out.
Now is the time when we need everyone to be on board; from organised labour, religious groups, professional institutions, unions NUJ, NURTW, ASUU, SUG, NBA, Civil societies, clubs, NGO’s, self employed individuals, to your gateman, your househelp, the owner of the store at the corner of your house, the mai-ruwa, the mai-shayi, the brick layer, the saloon owner, the groundnut hawker, the teachers, the nurses, the cab drivers & okada riders to ALL come together and stand as ONE. We must have EVERYONE involved.

WHEN WILL WE START PROTESTING? From the looks of it, FRIDAY 6th JANUARY 2012 will be the date. When it starts, no one expects government to cower immediately. Citizens are expected to use Wednesday & Thursday (4th & 5th January 2012) to make long term plans that will ensure their comfort and that of their families for about 2 weeks to a month.

I expect everyone to share this message via email, print, bbm, twitter, facebook and beyond. We need you all to recruit and engage one another. This protests can not be isolated. We will shock government with our coordination.

WHAT MESSAGE ARE WE PASSING ALONG: we are ONE, we are organised, we do NOT believe in violence, and we will persevere until fuel subsidy is returned.

WHY ARE WE DOING IT THIS WAY? Because having little 150-200 disorganised rallies will not help anyone. If every group organised their rallies & demonstrations, they would be ineffective, uncoordinated, and the security operatives will end up bullying, intimidating & arresting protesters. The rest will be lucky to flee for their safety, returning home dejected & discouraged having lost energy, time and effort. Labour is ready, willing and able to shut down the entire country. We will join them to ensure that they not only do it, but they do it right. Once again, I need to remind us all: this is not the time for ego’s, popularity, fame or fortune. Our strength lies in our unity and our planning. There will be no winners if we refuse to work together. This is not the time to be alone, or prove that you can do it on your own. ONLY IF WE ARE TOGETHER ARE WE UNBREAKABLE!

WHERE WILL WE DEMONSTRATE & PROTEST? In all 36 states of the federation + FCT. The most delicate ones are the four with state of emergencies (Plateau, Yobe, Niger & Borno) but we are doing our best to keep them involved.
(Tentatively) Protests are expected to kick off simultaneously at 10am in all states (most venue’s are yet to be finalised) and we will continue our peaceful demonstrations all over the country until the subsidy is removed.
You all asked for a chance to prove your worth, a chance to contribute your quota to your Nigeria. Well this is it…so please don’t blow it. Read, share, retweet, email, print/circulate, and orally recruit more people. If each of us recruited 10 neighbours & family members, and each of those 10 people recruited 10 more persons, we will well be on our way to taking back this country from our oppressors. No number is too much and none is too little. Emails can still be sent to xeenarh@gmail.com with phone numbers & location to help with easier co-ordination and to aid in faster sharing of information. “IF WE CHOOSE TO FIGHT WE MAY WIN. IF WE DON’T WE HAVE ALREADY LOST.” (Unknown)

WHY WE MUST PROTEST CLICK HERE