#EndBadGovernance Protests: Organisers Plan Million-man March in 36 States, FCT Today

Chuks Okocha in Abuja and Kemi Olaitan in Ibadan

National Coordinator of the Take It Back Movement, one of the organisers of the EndBadGovernance nationwide protests, Sanyaolu Juwon, has said they have scheduled today for a one-million-man protest in all the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja.
This comes as a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abayomi Nurain Mumuni, has appealed to the organisers of the EndBadGovernance protests to leave the streets and dialogue with the government.

Juwon in a statement made available to journalists in Abuja, said, “the Take It Back Movement (TIB), side-by-side with other organisers and organisations will today, lead a monumental one-million-man protests in each of the 36 states and the FCT, Abuja.
“This event will mark a critical juncture in our nationwide EndBadGovernanceInNigeria campaign, which began on August 1, 2024.
“It started as a planned 10-day protest but has evolved into a sustained and widespread movement, drawing participants from every corner of Nigeria and the diaspora,” the statement said.

The Million Man March will officially bring to an end the EndBadGovernance protests that rocked the country since Thursday August 1.
Organisers of the Take It Back Movement, Abiodun Sanusi, has underscored that mobilising 37 million Nigerians to protest against bad governance “is not a big deal” given the country’s population of over 220 million.

Also, speaking in an interview with ARISE NEWS on Thursday, Sanusi highlighted the reasons behind the decision to organise a larger protest today. He pointed to the defiance of President Tinubu and the federal government, saying, “The refusal of the President to listen to our demands, the assault on protesters and journalists during the last days have only encouraged us further.”
Sanusi revealed that the protest would span the entire country, covering all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
He also expressed frustration over the denial of the Eagle’s Square in Abuja as a venue for the protest, accusing the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, of filling the location with military and Department of State Services (DSS) personnel.

“We are not interested in any closed-door meeting or dialogue,” Sanusi declared. “If the President wants to dialogue, he should come to the Eagle’s Square in Abuja and speak to millions of Nigerians, just as he did on May 29th or June 12th.”
Sanusi criticised the government’s handling of the economic situation, pointing out the rising cost of living and the inadequacy of the minimum wage, which has been set at N70,000.

He also called for a reversal of the fuel subsidy removal, an increase in the minimum wage to N250,000, an end to insecurity, and the release of all politically imprisoned persons.
Reflecting on the recent violence, Sanusi claimed that the government was responsible for the unrest, stating, “The government has been attacking protesters with teargas and live bullets, and over 40 protesters have been killed across Nigeria since August 1st. The people who are not peaceful are the government, not the protesters.
“The protest has raised the consciousness of Nigerians like Karl Max said ‘the material condition of people is what determines their consciousness’ so the material conditions of Nigerians such as hunger, poverty and impoverishment is determining their consciousness at this moment.”

Sanusi concluded by calling on the Nigerian government to address the fundamental issues facing the country, warning that the ongoing protests are an “awakening moment” for both the people and the government.

Meanwhile, Mumuni has appealed to the organisers of the EndBadGovernance protests to leave the streets and dialogue with the government.

He gave the appeal yesterday in a statement by his media aide, Rasheed Abubakar.

Mumuni in the statement enjoined the protesters to suspend the protests and embrace dialogue with the federal government to bring about the desired change, stating that the protesters should send their representatives to present their demands and dialogue with the government.

He maintained that the national broadcast addressed by President Tinubu last Sunday was enough for the protesters to shelve the protests because he meant well for the country.

The statement read, “All of us are aware that  things are not going smoothly for many Nigerians and that is why people are protesting. But the truth is that Tinubu is a listening President. He feels our pains and doing everything possible to address the challenges bedeviling the country.

“The solution isn’t a violent approach but rather dialogue and engagement which the government is ready to do.”