Day 43 of the #BringBackOurGirls Abuja Family Rally
Court Rules that Police Has No Right to Stop Protests
Jibrin Ibrahim, Abuja, 11th June 2014
Day 43 of the Rally, which is the 58th day after the abduction of the Chibok girls started with a report by Dino Melaye that he has won his case against the police. The judge ruled that the police have no right to stop citizens from engaging in protests and that a police permit is not required to organise a protest. In addition, the judge gave a consequential order that the police should issue a public apology for their action in directing citizens not to protest.
A quick SWOT analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of our movement was carried out during the sitting.
Our main strength is that we have been able to generate powerful voice for our advocacy that the Nigerian government has the responsibility to search and rescue the girls and that they should do their job. This message has reverberated loudly and clearly at the local, national, regional, continental and international levels. The result has been the message is repeated so loudly and frequently that Government has been forced to place the issue on its public agenda and make repeated promises that it will search for and rescue the girls.
Our main weakness is that government and its security agencies have developed a phobia that our movement is causing reputation erosion for them. This phobia has pushed them into a frame of mind of not prioritising our desired outcome of the safe rescue of the girls. They are therefore more focused on defending themselves against the general perception that they have not done much. A lot of government resources are therefore being pumped into propaganda and defensive action rather than on the rescue effort. This is a major challenge because at the end of the day, it is only government and its agencies that can rescue the girls.
The opportunity that is offered by this situation is that of getting government to understand that successfully prioritising the rescue effort and getting the girls free is what will stop the slide in government’s reputational erosion. Our voice has become so loud and clear that no amount of government propaganda can drown it out. The opportunity provided currently is for government to work with its international partners to map out and implement a successful rescue strategy. In so doing, government should intensify consultations with stakeholders and citizens’ group to ensure it is carrying the people along.
The threat posed by the current dynamics is that government might continue along the path of defining #BringBackOurGirls movement as the enemy rather than the terrorists. If they continue along this path, the desired outcome of a successful rescue will be lost as energies are focused on punitive and repressive measures against our movement, rather than search and rescue of the girls.
The way forward is to continue to build on our strength of amplifying the voice of citizen’s demands for increased focus on the rescue effort. Meanwhile, we as a movement need to devise better ways of getting government to understand that we should be partners is fighting terrorism and rescuing the girls rather than perceiving us as enemies. In this regard, government should be made to understand that the terrorists and not us are the enemies. Both government and our movement can only gain by seizing the opportunity created by our movement and citizen’s demands that our government and our security agencies should carry out their constitutional responsibility of providing for the security of Nigerians and the specific demand to #BringBackOurGirls now and alive.
Our Movement will continue to work with stakeholders including professional groups, religious leaders, youth and student groups as well as progressive elements in government to continue to prioritise the importance of remaining focused on the importance of the girls rescue. Finally, the sitting expressed disgust at the shameful attitude of the Nigerian Labour Congress, which has kept its distance from the campaign in spite of the fact hundreds of teachers who are members of the Nigerian Union of Teachers and the Nigerian Labour Congress have been killed by the insurgents. Their unprincipled refusal to join the campaign was generally perceived to be yet more evidence that their leadership is more interested in seeking government hand-outs than protecting the interests of the people.
Please join us on Thursday June 12th to reflect on Day 59 since the dastardly abduction of the Chibok girls and Day 44 of the daily sittings by the Abuja Family of #BringBackOurGirls, now and alive. We will be at the FCT High Court at 9 a.m. and at the Unity Fountain at 3 p.m.
