STRUGGLE BETRAYED: NLC DISCONTINUE PARTICIPATION IN ON GOING FUEL SUBSIDY STRUGGLE

The Nigerian Labour Congress has just announced end of her participation in the fuel subsidy protest which commenced in Nigeria on the 2^nd of January, 2012. Technically, that brings to an end the resistance of the Nigerian people to the hike in the price of fuel announced by President Goodluck Jonathan January 1, 2012. Historically, labour is central to civil resistance struggles in Nigeria due to the central role the labour movement plays in the dynamics of economic relations upon which the state functions.

For many Nigerians in the streets, it is a painful betrayal as they had resolved not to tolerate any increase in fuel prices and have, in the past eight days, given up everything in furtherance of their commitment.

As usual with resistance to bad government policies in Nigeria, lives have been lost. Many have been injured. There has been devastating economic sacrifices by the people. With labour compromising the struggle at 3 naira less than One Hundred Naira per litre, the question is: if there was any basis for the resistance at all? The dead have died in vain. It is for their families to go bury their dead.

Not withstanding, many Nigerians particularly in Lagos still came out to protest today. They were randomly intimidated by armed soldiers who had been stationed by government to maul and kill any in opposition to its anti-people policies.

The workers are expected to resume work tomorrow and the people to swallow the bitter pills of spiral inflation which they thought to fight against with their lives.

FG failed to reach compromise with Labour: Matters Arising

Two meetings between the federal government and labour held on Saturday and Sunday failed to reach a compromise, as labour insist on N65 per litre for fuel pump price in line with the demands of Nigerians all over the world. This morning however, President Goodluck Jonathan announced that petrol price is reduced from N141 to N97. In response, Labour unions have said that strike would go on but street protests are suspended because of the “political dimension it has taken”.

This recent development is a clear pointer to the insensitivity of the Jonathan’s led government to the plight of the Nigerian people. While we commend the steadfastness of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and its affiliate organizations, we state that the NLC has no prerogative to call off the Occupy Nigeria street protests. We warn that the Occupy Nigeria protests transcends beyond the removal of fuel subsidy, it is a spontaneous reaction of the Nigeria people to the economic contradictions which bad leadership has brought to every home. Any attempt to forcefully douse peaceful demonstrations could spur the venting of pent-up frustrations through other aggressive means.

The Federal Government’s new strategy of attacking certain political personalities who have so far shown solidarity with the course of the Nigeria people is a betrayal of the Nigeria people’s mandate and an affront on our collective will.

Occupy Nigeria protestor: 'I'm ready to die'

Occupy Nigeria protestor, Adetoun Adetona: ‘If i die, i die’

KADUNA GOVERNMENT BUCKLE OVER CURFEW

Youths from the Tudun Wada and Rigasa area of Kaduna State on Thursday defied the government curfew and came out to sustain their protest against fuel subsidy removal.

Characteristic of the Jonathan approach from day one of the beginning of the present agitations, the army was quickly called in to deal with the youths.

Although the Youths were eventually dispersed due to the repression of the military, the face off dealt a serious blow to the Kaduna State government’s stance on curfew. The government has been forced to review its 24 hours curfew policy to 10.00pm to 5pm.

On Wednesday, 11/01/2012, veteran human right activist Shehu Sanni had organised a three man civil disobedience trek to register the unacceptability of the curfew declared by the State government.

We are monitoring how it turns out in Kaduna this morning as Nigerians protest and President Jonathan Goodluck remains adamant

And these are the Operators of the SURE Program!

Nigeria’s Attorney General Adoke In Web Of Corruption; Admits Ownership Of Bank Accounts

By SaharaReporters, New York

More details are emerging about the corrupt deals of Nigeria’s Attorney General and Justice Minister Mohammed Bello Adoke – as well as the man’s mind-boggling deposits in numerous bank accounts. Some 24-hours after an online news website, ireports-ng.com, published details of Mr. Adoke’s multi-million dollars in secret bank accounts, Nigeria's controversial attorney general admitted to another website that he in fact owns accounts in the banks reported by the website.

Mr. Adoke told Pointblanknews that he indeed owns the accounts, but claimed the deposits in the said accounts were not up to the amounts published by Ireports-ng. “I have accounts with FCMB and Diamond Banks. I have a salary account with Intercontinental Bank and these are the only accounts I have been operating since I was appointed Attorney-General,” he told Pointblanknews.com. Then he added: “But the accounts in the said banks are far, far lower than the figures they are peddling.” But the minister’s attempt to understate his staggering cash holdings has triggered more revelations of his financial shenanigans.  iReports.ng has released more devastating information about Mr. Adoke’s ties to and financial involvement with several companies that have ripped Nigerians off in fuel subsidy scams. The site reported that some of Mr. Adoke's close allies, infuriated with his despicable role to put down the on-going nationwide strike in the country, have provided documents that lay bare the minister's stupendous wealth hidden in over 25 blue chip companies in Nigeria – including firms that have reaped fraudulent profits from the contentious oil subsidy funds. A rundown of the documents made available to ireports-ng.com reveal that Mr. Adoke is a major investor in Oando Oil, a firm that gulped down more than N228 billion out of the N1.4 trillion shared by about 100 oil marketers between January and August, 2011. The website’s investigation indicated that the Justice Minister owns an investment of about N1.5 billion in Oando Oil PLC. Other documents also show that Mr. Adoke has a major investment stake in Eterna Oil which raked in about N5.57 billion from the fuel subsidy bonanza. In addition to N1 billion investment in Eterna, the minister also has N2 billion tucked in a company called Novasys Ltd. A top-level political source in Abuja who is close to President Goodluck Jonathan told SaharaReporters today that the attorney general’s cozy relationship with some of the oil marketers was the reason the government has refused to pursue the option of prosecuting fraudulent profiteers who have cheated Nigerians of hundreds of billions of naira in the name of fuel subsidy. “Mohammed [Adoke] and others in government are getting their share of the subsidy funds – and that’s why nobody is talking about trying those defrauding the system,” said the source.

Mr. Adoke’s corrupt deals also extend to the banking, telecommunications and real estate

sectors. Reliable informants reveal that the minister has extensive investments in major banks in the country. Some of them include about N400 million in Oceanic Bank; N200 million in UAC properties; about N20 million in Guaranty Trust Bank; about N360 million in Access Bank; about $400,000 US dollars in MTN; about N1 billion in Japaul Oil & Maritime; about N15 million in Bank PHB; about N100 million in First Bank; about N20 million in FCMB, and about N6 million in Unity Bank PLC. Saharareporters had earlier exposed Mr. Adoke’s central role in pushing the Central Bank of Nigeria to pay a businessman and associate of the minister an outrageous sum to purchase a NITEL property that the businessman had bought cheap from the government. Following our earlier report about the minister’s bank accounts, a source in one of the banks revealed that Mr. Adoke had initiated moves to deplete his funds in the bank.

Other sources disclosed that Mr. Adoke owns more than 30 luxury vehicles that he has purchased in the last three years alone. In addition he owns several landed properties in Abuja. A source in the Ministry of Justice told SaharaReporters “it is well known that the minister collects money, cars and cash from individuals and corporations on whose behalf he subverts the course of justice.”

Saharareporters has consistently revealed that Mr. Adoke has distinguished himself as one of the most fraudulent and corrupt ministers in the Jonathan regime. His immersion in corruption follows a trend set by disgraced former Attorney General Michael Aondoakaa. Like Mr. Aondoakaa, who was close to former Supreme Court Justice Aloysius Katsina- Alu, the current AGF used his closeness to the same (now retired) justice to secure his place in President Jonathan’s cabinet. Through his closeness to the notoriously corrupt Katsina-Alu, Mr. Adoke fixed the apex court’s verdict upholding Mr. Jonathan’s election as president. Our political sources said the president is as indebted to Adoke as the late President Umaru Yar’adua was to Aondoakaa. A source described Adoke as “one of President Jonathan's most powerful ministers,” adding that the minister is “a core member of the president’s kitchen cabinet.”

Multi-Million Dollars Hidden Bank Accounts Of Jonathan’s Minister Of Justice, Bello Adoke Exposed-iReports-ng.com

Barely 48 hours after an online publication exposed the sordid details of a N1.2 billion mansion just purchased by President Goodluck Jonathan’s Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala,in Maitama area of Abuja, ireports-ng.com has uncovered four secret bank accounts where billions of naira, millions of US dollars and GB pounds are hidden by current Nigeria’s  Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke.

Adoke was appointed as Justice Minister by President Jonathan on April 6, 2010 and has since then been enmeshed in various allegations of corruption and providing cover for the corrupt who are facing court trial by withdrawing corruption charges against them. Weeks of underground investigations by ireports-ng.com have however revealed more shocking details about Adoke’s secret bank accounts in the nation’s federal capital territory, Abuja. One of such is an account number 002228052782 at a branch of First City Monument Bank located at Plot 252 Herbert Macaulay Way,Central Area Abuja. In the account is a stunning sum of $16 million US dollars. Further investigations revealed that Adoke is keeping yet another $24 million US dollars in account number 041152000428 with Diamond Bank located at Plot 117 Adetokunbo Ademola Street, Wuse 2 while another 5.3 million Great Britain Pounds is also kept in the same account with Diamond Bank. As if that was not enough, ireports-ng.com also revealed that Nigeria’s Justice Minister operates another secret account with the Ahmadu Bello Way branch of Zenith Bank, Abuja where a whooping sum of N6.2 billion is being kept. Born on September 1st,1963, Adoke was not known for any serious legal practice until he was brought to the limelight in 2010 when he was appointed as Justice Minister by Mr Jonathan. Since then, there has been series of allegations of under the table deals by Mr Adoke using his official position. He has in the last 48 hours issued two statements to threaten protesting Nigerian workers to sack them and charge civil society activists involved in the protests with treason.

Last year, an online publication accused Adoke of taking bribes from an arranged sale of moribund NITEL property in Area 11, Abuja and buy back of same from Adoke’s kinsman popularly called Alhaji AA Oil. Adoke’s share of the deal was said to have been diverted to build a massive mansion for him on Gana street, Abuja. Though he denied ownership of the property saying it belongs to AA Oil, finishing works have since stopped on the sprawling property which was being worked on day and night before the scandal broke out.

Also last year, a civil society group called Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders,CACOL petitioned Nigeria’s anti-graft police, EFCC to probe allegations that Mr Adoke collected bribes running into over $23 million US dollars from a plea bargain deal he arranged between government and some multinational firms including Siemens, Halliburton and Julius Berger.Ironically, Adoke supervises the EFCC that is supposed to investigate the various corruption allegations against him. It is yet to be seen whether the present head of the agency, Mr Ibrahim Lamorde will have the courage to probe graft allegations against Adoke which his predecessor failed to touch.

Nigeria Governed by Thugs?

Goodluck Jonathan's incapacity for depth is gradually unfolding to the consciouness of Nigerians and global monitors of ideas and facts. The most recent of his charade is to mobilize thugs and cultist from his geopolitical constituency to psychologically harass and intimidate Nigerians.

In their first press conference held last week at Abuja, they threatened to deal with any person who challenges Jonathan's government. Today, 13/01/2012 in Port Harcourt, they held a public display chanting war songs and drumming in public glare over an issue of national effect like fuel subsidy removal. This is appauliing in any sphere of imagination or contemplation.

All these are indication of the parochial mindset which underscores President Jonathan's consciousness. If Jonathan believes that cultist and street thugs can protect him better than the Nigerian army, then one understands why he had to move the nation's national day celebration to his palour in Aso rock, because the same thugs threatened bombing on that day.

These are supportive of our position that Jonathan falls short of the credentials which qualifies a presidential mind. As a country with vision and a future, he lacks the requisite mindset that convey our assurances of a development focussed future. If that is the case, then let all forms of bad leadership as epitomized by this government go, because the jinx that underpays Nigeria's development and progress can not be sustained.

Nigeria is too large in esteem to be governed and directed by the sentiments of hired thugs, whether they are Niger Delta based, Boko Haram or of any other definition.

Jonathan will fall if his imagination is to reduce Nigeria to the limitations that underpins his identity.

Occupy Nigeria Protests Day 5 - Updates From Across the Nation

As observed since the previous four days, today protesters all over the country, far from being exhausted, started moving towards their various barricade positions as early as 8am, with renewed vigour and increased numbers. Lagos, Kano, Kaduna, Ijebu Ode, Abuja and Asaba are reportedly grounded at the moment.

However, unlike the previous days when protesters would disengage at 4pm, it has been announced that protests across the country will be suspended at 12 noon today to allow the muslims  to observe the jumat prayer sessions. NLC/TUC/CSOs have all asked protesters to stay at home on Saturday and Sunday to enable them to get enough rest and refreshment for next week’s task. All protests will reconvene on Monday 16th, 2012. The NLC has issued a public statement that If by Sunday evening there is no positive response from the Federal Government, it will embark on "the mother of all protests".

Updates from across the nation are outlined below:

Lagos

- Fawehinmi Park, Ojota: Thousands of protesters started gathering as early as 8:30am (picture attached). Mohammed Fawehinmi, Tunde Bakare, Femi Kuti, Kollington, Femi Falana and others were in attendance to conscientise the crowd.

Day 5: Gani Park, Ojota



Day 5: Protesters at Ojota

Day 5: Protesters converging at Ojota as early as 8:30am

 - Ikoyi, Victoria Island: There was a procession at Victorial Island and Ojota-like gathering under the Falomo bridge. 

Day 5: Protesters at Victorial Island



Day 5: Protesters raising their hands to sing the second stanza of the National Anthem at Falomo


When the gathering at Falomo was dismissed at 12 noon, the muslims remained behind to observed their Jumat prayers at the venue (picture attached).

Day 5: Jumat Prayers being observed under the Falomo bridge

- Ajah: Several road blocks were reportedly mounted at AJAH-IKOTA area.

- National Stadium, Surulere - Occupy Nigeria protesters gathered at the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos, today (picture attached). Demonstrators carried a mock coffin of President Goodluck Jonathan.



Day 5: Protesters at National Stadium, Surulere



Day 5: Protesters carrying a mock coffin of President Jonathan at Surulere



Asaba

- Thousands of protesters demonstrated in Asaba, Delta State (details and pictures to be updated).

Kaduna

-  In Kaduna, rallies were suspended to douse security tension which had reached fever pitch over the night.

Illorin

- Reports from Illorin indicate that Governor AbdulFatah Ahmed of Kwara State yesterday outlawed (banned) further street protests in Ilorin.

Kano

-  NLC, Kano chapter, advised that today should be used to visit those wounded at the hospital and the families of late victims.

Abroad

- Pretioria, South Africa: Occupy Nigeria protesters gathered in front of the Nigeria embassy in Pretoria today to express solidarity with the ongoing protest in Nigeria (pictures attached).

Day 5: Occupy Nigeria protesters in Pretoria

Day 5: Occupy Nigeria protesters in Pretoria

ISSUES MANUAL: WHAT EVERY PROTESTER MUST KNOW

By Japheth Omojuwa
WHAT TO SAY TO THE PRESS: BULLET POINTS

                                                A cross section of the Lagos protests' crowd

• It is a moral question:

- The government has spent N9.55 trillion ($63.7billion) since 2010 and nothing is on ground to show for that splurge safe for presidential private jets and fat accounts of public office holders.

- This government said it spent N1.3 trillion on subsidy while the same subsidy cost the Obasanjo government an average of N300 billion. Where really did this figure come from? Someone is lying.

- If we cannot trust the government to keep to a simple date, how can we trust them with our money? They said subsidy would remain till at least April and they were still engaging only to remove same two days later.

- The government is yet to come out to refute the believable claims that petrol based on production cost should actually sell at N39.

- How can a president who feeds on N1billion tell Nigerians to endure the pains of subsidy removal?

- Each lawmaker will cost Nigerians (N320million) $2.1million in 2012. How can this be when the same government claims it is broke?

- They increased recurrent expenditure by another N92billion ($575million). Considering that this monies essentially goes for the public officers upkeep, how can we justify government’s claims to reduce same only last year?

- The Subsidy Re-investment document (SURE) is filled with lies and fraud. Some of the projects that they claim would be carried out with funds from subsidy have actually been taken care of by the budget.

- If Nigerians are on minimum wage, politicians must be on maximum wage. How do we justify the fact that our minimum wage is only 0.003 per cent of the pay of some of our Senate president when in France the

same is 26.73 per cent? Why should our Senate president earn so much as to be able to pay the salary of an American president for almost 8 years?

- The cabal will become the burden of Nigerians. The government cannot take care of the cabal so it essentially passed the burden directly to Nigerians.

- Even as we speak, there has been no salaries and allowances cut by the president and his cohorts. Instead the president and his vice still found an extra N600 million for their “welfare.” They have become moral

hazards.

• It is an Economic Question:

- Already all the prices of goods and services have at least doubled. This means that people’s real incomes have at least been halved. Whoever was earning N18,000 before January 1st when the fuel tax was

announced is now really earning virtually less than N9,000.

- In a country without social welfare, social amenities and infrastructure, this is an attack on the very nature of human existence. Many will not survive.

- The cost of governance and the size of government is the real burden that will crash the economy. At over 50, we have one minister too many.

- Stop the reform by addition – selective reform – pass the original PIB and let the industry have a life of its own.

- The government’s spending pattern indicates that the fuel taxes were raised to further expend same on recurrent expenditure and the waste that has characterised the Jonathan administration.

- Importing 1600 buses as a palliative for 167 million people is at best a joke. Importing same is an economic crime. This government cannot do anything right.

- The claim that the petrol sector will be like the telecom sector after deregulation is a big lie. They are totally different. One was done under a transparent government for a start while this government is shrouded in secrecy.

• Against the values of Democracy

- Democracy is essentially about people. Nigerians have said they are not in support of the new petrol taes and have voiced the angst against same. If the people still matter, the government will adjust to the status quo.

- This is a democracy. At least we pretend it is. In a democracy, the voice of the is everything. When the voice of the people ceases to matter to those who govern them, the legitimacy of those who govern them ceases to matter to the people. It means they have attained illegality.

IMMEDIATE DEMANDS:

• Return petrol prices to pre-January 1, 2012 status quo as we return to the dialogue table

• Cut the pay of public officers especially law makers, ministers and Governors by 70 per cent

• Every police man or security agent involved in the killing of protesters must be brought to book

• If all the above fail, walk the path of honour, resign enmasse Please tweet this, share, broadcast. Information is everything. 

Culled from omojuwa.com

Occupy Nigeria Protests Day 4 - Updates From Across the Nation

- Reports from Ilorin indicate that the Geri Alimi roundabout is burning right now (pictures below). The people went on rampage when Soldiers were mobilized to guard a petrol station (NNPC/SULU OLOJE) along Asa-dam road.

Protest Day 4: Geri Alimi Roundabout Illorin

Protest Day 4:Geri Alimi Roundabout Illorin

- Tens of thousands are gathered at the Gani Fawehinmi Park, Ojota, Lagos (pictures below) chanting anti-government slogans and singing solidarity anthems. Clarion Chukwura, Tunde Kelani, Tunde Bakare, Tony Tetuila, Ochuwa Ubani, wife of Late Chima Ubani have all mounted the podium.

Protest Day 4: Rally at Gani Park, Ojota

Protest Day 4: Rally at Gani Park, Ojota

- Protest is ongoing in Kano today, with massive turnout of women (pictures below). Two top Kano politicians, Gen. Lawal Jafaru Isa and the immediate past Deputy Governor of the state, Abdullahi Tijjani Muhammad Gwarzo, joined a mammoth crowd at the historic Groundnut Pyramid, venue of yesterday’s rally to protest, in the state.

 

Day 4: Protesters in Kano

  

Day 3: Kano protest



Day 3: Kano women protest

 - Protest at the NTA Headquarters, Victoria Island, Lagos. The people are protesting "unfair" and "imbalance" reporting by the government run media. Pat Utomi just addressed the crowd at the premises, debunking the many lies of Jonathan's govenment.

Day 4: Protest at NTA Headquaters VI, Lagos

- In Abuja, protesters marched through the popular Nnamdi Azikiwe Express Way and converged on Area 1, Garki Junction. Buoyed by the mammoth crowd, some of the key figures of the struggle warned the Federal Government to heed the voice of reason and reverse its decision on fuel subsidy.

- Reports coming from Ibadan, Oyo State, indicate that there is a rally at Idi-Odo Challenge. Speakers after another have mounted the podium, urging the people of the state to be united in their opposition to the subsidy removal.

-

- Reports from Enugu State indicate that members of organised labour and civil society organisations who attempted to protest clashed with the police at the entrance of the state secretariat of the NLC.



- Protest in Lokoja, Kogi State turned violent as protesters clashed with the police, leaving a boy and a police officer badly injured.

 

Updates From Abroad

- Nigerians in Ireland are to hold a peace rally, to be staged in front of the Nigerian Embassy in Dublin tomorrow, January 13, at 11.00 a.m. The Irish Deputy Minister will be at the occupyNigeria protests in Dublin tomorrow to address Nigerians as a show of solidarity.

- Reports indicate that Occupy Nigeria protesters are gathered in front of Nigeria Embassy, Brussel, Belgium (find picture below)

Day 4: A protester in Brussel





Community Enforcements of Occupy Nigeria

ABIJO Joins the fray 
Reports just coming from Abijo area, after Ajah in Ibeju Lekki Local Government Area  of Lagos state shows that the community has joined the Occupy Nigeria Protest. Abijo case is a communal effort aimed at  making the voice of Nigerians heard. Though a detachment of the Nigerian Police Force is stationed at the location where enforcement is being carried out, they have remained civil and non-violent in their approach. The Abijo people themselves are consistently encouraging one another on the need to keep the struggle for emancipation on.
We have also received a report of a minor car accident at the enforcement spot due to an oncoming car ramming into another stationary vehicle. No lives were lost.
Pictures to follow.

Agbado Ijaiye Community show solidarity
In similar vein, Meiran, Ijaiye, and other surrounding community on the ever busy Lagos Abeokuta express way have also joined millions of Nigerians to show their displeasure on the state of management of the Nigerian State.
We noticed that while most of the communities on the way to the toll gate have stationed persons on discussing or sharing ideas on the petrol subsidy imbroglio, at the Ojokoro Low Cost Housing Estate, there is a mini carnival going on to with revolutionary music from the legendary Fela and his contemporaries being blasted. Though a collection of youths attempted to block the highway some meters from the  one of such locations for their own end, the men of the Nigerian Police Force and fellow protesters were seen dismantling the road block and encouraging the protesters to remain civil and not to take the law into their hands.

Reports from other areas will soon follow.


A new Dawn 
The impact of the present impasse on the Nigerian state is massive, aside the economic realities that plagues Government and private investors as well as self employed citizens, it is clear from the message out there on the street that this protest is owned by the Nigerian people and they are doing their bits to keep it alive. It is unprecedented for a Nigerian Strike to go on for Four (4) days with no end in sight and the strength of the mass growing by the day. It remains to be seen if the Nigerian Government who sources tell us are waiting for the will of the people to be dampened will not give in.

Join us to bring accountability to government, support the Occupy Nigeria Protest wherever you are and remember to stay focused on the goal, do not allow any fifth columnist to derail this process. Remain Non-violent, together we can win.

The Stirring upon the Niger.

For years now, one has wondered if the sleeping giant will ever be awoken. Will this hornet ever be quickened. It once seemed that no matter the level of provocation, these people were doomed to be quiet. Very understanding and never driven to act. Even when in other climes the horizon was replict with the push for change, this land stayed faithful to itself - 'the happiest people on earth', a people who smile even while suffering. Yet like the Biblical saying that upon Mount Zion there shall be deliverance, this same docile people have arisen from a deep sleep. They have chosen to take their destiny in their own hands. Though condemned to silence, they roar in unison, seeking a new meaning, pursuing the very reason that has kept them down. The green fields of Nigeria has arisen from the long wait for freedom, the freedom drum rings loud from the sahara fields in the North to the arable lands of the south. That Nigerians can stay this long united on a purpose that all has predicted to fail is kuddles to the Nigerian spirit. The resilence of this people has found voice in the call for a better deal in a land where many cry for food whilst there is plenty. The sad story of the Nigerian nation lies in the fact that though the signs over the place shows a nation richly endowned, the land has failed to see progress. The crux of the matter has remained that those that have elected to govern over this country has made themselves lord of the manor, whose intent and content must never be questioned. Using a multiple of tactics that bothers on impoverishing the mass, the Nigerian child has come to know that all that leadership represents is deceit founded on ineptitude. The sort of happenings in the land has often left one to wonder how and where our people find the capacity to excel in their various endeavours, because they have no where to draw inspiration from. The nation has stayed on a bleak and dangerous divide that has suited the powers in the land such that rather than question the rot that pervades every part of our nationhood, we have often chosen to stay aloft. Yet, today, the land is green.

The fertile lands of Nigeria is today home to a stirring that has never being known to be attainable in these climes. The rugged resolve of the folks in Kano, who despite being cowed have refused to submit to the dictates of the oppressor and their subject remains a new vista in progressive engagement. The emergence of an Abuja people who no longer find comfort in the confines of their beautiful homes is so beautiful to watch. Going down to the City of Ilorin, one wonders where this people found their voice again, even when their land witnessed the first matyr of this struggle of emancipation, trully this wariors have chosen to be counted. Is it the Edo people, or the Priest led invasion in Ekiti and Enugu or the resolute stand of the Kaduna, sokoto and Bauchi people? Is it the campers in Lagos that has given vent to the lives of the Gani's, Beko, anf Fela of our land. Nigeria has never had it this good. For everywhere in Nigeria, we see a new thing, a new thinking, a new dawn - for indeed the Niger area is risen. Yes, like the rising sun, we have all chosen to be counted.

The stirring has began, we have chosen this path to win our nation back. We has elected to ask the right questions. There is no turning back, there is no other course to take. this stirring is will be furnished by our desire for change, a change we believe in, a change whose time has come

- A story we will write with the last of our blood. This is our story, the song of a people risen from slumber. We are on a mission, and our fatherland is the target. No more shall we ask 'How Long?' No need shall we retort 'not long' for today in the midst of the Niger, our life is being re-written by the blood that has been felled by the weapon of those who are supposed to lead us.

Yes by the impossibility of the sacrifice we alone are called to make while they live in splendour, hmmm, the land is green, fertile for a new beginning. The soil is moist, wetted by the resolve of a people who have chosen the path of honour. We are hungry - and the only food we want is good and responsible governance.

The Niger is stirred!!!!

The fuel subsidy crisis has woken Nigerians up

These protests are not just about being unable to afford fuel. People have had enough of wasteful and corrupt leadership

Nigerians in Port Harcourt protest about the withdrawal of the fuel subsidies. Photograph: Str/AFP/Getty Images

Tolu Ogunlesi

guardian.co.uk, Wed 11 Jan 2012 10.10 GMT

Comment

I remember watching Goodluck Jonathan's speech at the start of his re-election campaign on 18 September, 2010. He promised change: "Let the word go out from this Eagle Square that Jonathan as president in 2011 will herald a new era of transformation of our country." The canoe-carver's son who became deputy governor, governor, vice-president and then president, without ever hustling for power, wowed us all with stories of his humble beginnings (a shoeless childhood, studying by the light of kerosene lanterns), his humility, and his seeming accessibility (via Facebook). But that was then.

Today he seems bent on recreating all the obstacles he faced all those decades ago; eager to ensure that as many Nigerians as possible study with lanterns and survive on a single meal a day. How is he doing this? By hurting the most vulnerable using one of the most ubiquitous items in the land: petrol.

A fuel price increase – and the associated increase in the price of commodities – has sparked nationwide #OccupyNigeriaprotests, driven largely by young people mobilising themselves via social media, mobile phones and word-of-mouth.

Nigeria is a crude-oil producing and exporting country, full of poor people – 70% of the population survives on less than $2 a day. These citizens consume more petrol than is necessary because Nigeria has consistently failed to produce enough electricity for its 150 million citizens (South Africa, with 50 million people, produces 10 times as much electricity as Nigeria), leaving much of the population dependent on petrol-guzzling Chinese generators to keep the lights on.

It gets worse. The country is largely unable to refine crude oil as all four refineries operate at an average of 23% of their potential capacity, and it has to import most of its fuel needs. Controlling the price of petrol has, therefore, been the easiest way to ensure that Nigerians enjoy the benefits of the crude oil they produce. The subsidy system works this way: the government pays importers to ensure prices are kept reasonably low, well below the cost of importation.

But over time corruption has crept into the system, and dubious importers have found ways of inflating their receipts. Between January and October 2011, the government claims to have spent 1.3 trillion naira (about $8bn) on subsidies, instead of the budgeted N248bn. The government has admitted the existence of a cartel, but has done nothing to confront or expose it. The only solution, they've argued, is to scrap the entire subsidy, the only thing that resembles welfare in a land teeming with poor people.

Over the last couple of weeks Jonathan has been meeting with labour, civil society, and youth groups, ostensibly engaged in a dialogue. In reality he has only been buying time for the implementation of a policy he and his advisers had made up their minds about a long time ago. The government is outraged by the cost of the subsidy, but not by the corruption responsible, or the fact that we have to depend on imports to meet almost all of our fuel needs. And if all the hundreds of billions of dollars of the last decade (annual budgets of about $25bn) have not improved our roads and schools and hospitals, is it this $8bn that will bring transformation?

At the root of the opposition is a trust deficit. So for Enough is Enough Nigeriaand most Nigerians, the conversation is not merely about the fuel subsidy, but about a wasteful and corrupt leadership, given to making false promises and asking citizens to sacrifice for a better future. The message to President Jonathan and his government is simple: earn our trust with the trillions you already have in your possession, then we can, and will, wholeheartedly hand over this subsidy trillion to you.

Unfortunately for the president, his decision could not have come at a worse time. With inspiration from the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt and the power of social media, more people than ever before in Nigeria are aware of and angered by the corruption in the system. Never before in the country's history have ordinary citizens been inspired to discuss budget items line by line. The questions are mounting. For example, how can N1bn ($6.25m) be allocated tothe president and vice-president's catering budget, in a country stalked by hunger?

The target of the protests is a system constructed to oppress the poor and protect wealthy criminals. Every day since 2 January, the day after the fuel price increases, protesters have been assembling across several Nigerian states, marching and sharing their messages. And in many cases, enduring police harassment.

Young Nigerians are waking up and realising that we are where we are today because previous governments – maintainers of the corrupt system – were hardly ever seriously challenged, or rigorously questioned.

Now, having woken up, we will not be going back to sleep.

Occupy Nigeria Protests in Pictures

Occupy Nigeria - Day 3: Kano Protest

Occupy Nigeria- Day3: Ojota Protest

Occupy Nigeria - Ojota: Day 3

Occupy Nigeria - Abuja: Day 3

Occupy Nigeria-Abuja: Day 3

Occupy Nigeria - Day 3: Kano protest

Occupy Nigeria Day 3: Kano Protest

Occupy Nigeria - Day 3:Old women protesting in Kano

Should Our Martyrs Die in Vain?

As the Occupy Nigeria protests against fuel subsidy removal by the Federal Government of President Goodluck Jonathan enter its tenth day today, the Nigerian Red Cross has confirmed that 16 people have been killed and 205 injured so far. The figure includes the following casualties, also confirmed by the Nigerian Red Cross:

·     - Muyideen Mustafa, 23-year-old student, hit by a police bullet in Ilorin, Kwara State on 3 January 2012.

·     - Ademola Aderinde was tortured and killed by the police at Ogba, Lagos State on 9 January 2012.  Clashed between protesters and the police in Lagos have so far resulted in seven injuries and three deaths in total.

·      - Thursday, 5 January 2012, three people were killed and 55 injured when battalions of the Nigerian Mobile Police moved in on non-violent Occupy Nigeria protesters in Kano after the group began an Egyptian-style Tahrir Square occupation of the Silver Jubilee Square.

·      - One person was killed and three injured in Kaduna on the 10 January 2012 when police used tear gas to try to disperse protesters, mostly almajiris and little children, gathered in front of the government house.

       - In Maiduguri, six people have been killed by police bullets

-    We make bold to state that Nigerians will hold President Goodluck Jonathan personally responsible for the lives of these Nigerians that have been taken by Policemen to defend his illegal decision to remove subsidy on petrol.