Hundreds gathered in Abuja on Wednesday for a march to the
presidency to demand that that ailing leader, President
Umaru Yar'Adua make a public appearance.
President Yar’Adua, 58, has not been seen in public since his presumed return to Abuja about two weeks ago in an air ambulance from Saudi Arabia, where
he was flown for medical treatment for heart and kidney conditions.
The secretive manner he was ferried into the country has raised suspicions that his kitchen cabinet led by his wife, Turai had planned to use him
as pawn in their power game to checkmate Acting President, Dr. Goodluck
Jonathan.
Barred from Aso Rock
Thousands who joined the Save Ni.ge.ri.a Group (SNG) to protest the continued absence of President Umaru Yar’Adua were stopped by the police from taking their protest to the Presidential Villa yesterday in Abuja. This is the second protest organised by group in Abuja,
“Section 144 must be invoked,” Yinka Odumakin, the group’s spokesperson, said. “We are tired of a president we cannot see. We need a president we can see, who can talk to us, who can govern. Not one they will be telling us that he said; somebody saw him drinking tea, somebody saw him playing with his grand children. We want to see him and if we cannot see him, we want a functional president.
Diary of a protest
The protesters had trickled in, first in dozens and then in hundreds, to the Unity Statue, beside the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, to demonstrate their displeasure at the state of affairs in the nation.
Buses from Lagos later arrived, bringing in more protesters. Carrying placards with different inscriptions, such as ‘Jonathan, Get decisive now;’ ‘We must know Umaru’s health status;’ and ‘Turai, leave 9ja alone,’ the protesters patiently listened to the speakers.
But just as they began their march to the villa, they were stopped. John Ahmadu, an Assistant Inspector General of Police, explained to the leaders of the SNG that the acting president, Goodluck Jonathan, was on his way to the nearby Transcorp Hilton Hotel, and the protesters had to wait for his motorcade to pass. The protesters reacted with loud crises, but Mr. Ahmadu stood his ground.
“We are here to give you all the necessary protection while you march,” he said. “Because we want to take care of those who may want to hijack your good intentions for a bad intention, please we urge you to go with our people orderly. Until you leave, we shall not stand down.”
The march continued after Mr. Jonathan’s passage and the crowd, now split into about three sections, sang choruses to show their displeasure.
The protesters were, however, stopped again when they got to the Bullet Junction that leads to the presidential villa. They were told by the police boss that they could not go beyond that point.
After over 20 minutes of waiting at the point, and placating speeches by their leaders such as Tunde Bakare, Femi Falana, Najatu Mohammed, and Abdur-Rahman Ahmad, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Yayale Ahmed, arrived to receive the protesters message.
‘This is our message’
“When we received your request that you will like to hand over a letter to Acting President Jonathan, he directed the Secretary to the Government, in my own person, to come and receive it. I find it very easy and natural to come and face you because yours is a demonstration of democracy in action in Nig.eria,” Mr. Ahmed said, despite being booed all the way by angry protesters.
“Your three basic demands are noted,” he said. “One, you want to know the status of your president; it is because you love your president that you want to know his status, because you elected him. Secondly, you want us to take constitutional ways of dealing with it. This government is a creation of the constitution and we will do what the constitution says. Thirdly, we are aware of your concern regarding credible election in this country. Only two weeks ago, the Acting President handed over, again, Uwais committee report unedited, to the National Assembly.”
An assembly of drama
The protesters then moved to the National Assembly to submit the same demands, only to yet again be stopped at the gates by stern looking mobile policemen.
Despite several minutes of discussion between the SNG leaders and the police, the protesters were not allowed into the compound of the National Assembly. But for the intervention of Messrs. Falana and Bakare, the protesters were ready to confront the police.
“Their (members of the National Assembly) days are numbered,” an angry Mr. Bakare declared. “Whether by election or by divine intervention, their days in the National Assembly are numbered. Since they refused to allow Nige.rians, for whom the institution is built, to enter their premises, they can die inside. Nige.ria will flourish again. Nig.eria will conquer our conquerors.”
When contacted, however, the leadership of the Senate denied issuing orders to security officials to bar the protesters from entering into the premises of the National Assembly.
The Senate’s deputy spokesman, Anthony Manzo, said “Certainly, Wole Soyinka and his group are welcome anytime. We are ready to receive anybody that embarks on meaningful protest.”
However, the police officers had claimed they were acting on the orders of the leadership. Two rows of the officers interlocked their elbows to form a formidable barricade.
The Sergeant-at-Arms of the National Assembly, Okere Emeka, who is in charge of the security of the complex, was not immediately reachable to clarify who gave the orders to bar the protesters.
One of the demands of the Save Nigeria Group is that the lawmakers should begin the process to remove Mr. Yar’Adua from office. Mr. Manzo however said the Senate is not contemplating that yet.
