Nigeria is trending around the world for the wrong reason, as usual. This time, it has to do with the arraignment of minors in an Abuja High Court for alleged treasonable offences, with possible death sentences or life in prison.
The #EndBadGovernance protests that took place in August this year was peaceful and orderly in parts of the country. But in many parts of the North, particularly Kano and the Zaria axis of Kaduna State, it deteriorated into violence and rioting. There was widespread looting of government and individuals' property, especially food stores. As the rioting wore on, youth started flaunting the Russian flag. Some even called for military takeover, just as had been happening in the Sahel region around them.
The Police and security agencies swept hundreds of them into their net. Over 100 of them, the typical almajiri or homeless children seen in Northern cities mostly aged between 12 and 17, were taken to Abuja detention centres. Their arraignment in court and the alarm raised by detained social activist, Martin Otse (VeryDarkMan), kicked off the furore that brought the world's attention to Nigeria.
After over 90 days in detention, they looked malnourished, almost like the Biafran children of the Civil War. Some of them fainted while in court. The presiding Judge, Obiora Egwuatu, offered them bail with the most laughable conditions that showed government's determination to keep them in the slammer. Each child was admitted to bail for the sum of N10m. In addition, they were to present two sureties - one who must be a senior civil servant on GL 14 who lives in Abuja, the other who must be a parent.
Questions followed. Most of these are among the North's abandoned 20 million almajiri children. Many are orphans or children of the most vulnerable. They went on that protest mainly because of hunger, an existential threat. Children whose parents can afford N10m bail and the prescribed sureties never come out for the protests. They are comfortably sheltered in their parental homes. These were impossible bail conditions! All for what?
As I see it, the Bola Tinubu regime decided to use the #EndBadGovernance protest to send the message that it would not tolerate any "threat". He was copying from the late General Sani Abacha's playbook, where some military officers were rounded up and condemned to death for what most critics called a "phantom coup". Abacha sought to scare prospective coup plotters and ride on the atmosphere of fear to impose himself as an "elected" president.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, had invited the army when #EndSARS protesters took over the Lekki Toll Gate in October 2020. The ensuing riots targeted the Lagos government, Tinubu and his political family. President Tinubu intended to use the #EndBadGovernance protests to silence protests to pave the way for his unfettered eight years. Even the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, President, Joe Ajaero, was recently invited by the Police under IGP Kayode Egbetokun allegations of "treasonable felonies".
Taking this cheap antic to the level of minors is the height of it! Wisdom and empathy are needed in handling protests or even riots over hunger and hardship. Tinubu and his boys in the Police did not demonstrate wisdom here. They did not consider the consequences of their action. It was when pressures from around the world hit them hard, and some Northern groups suddenly found the liver to issue ultimatums that we saw desperate haste being made to release the children and save face.
Tinubu even claimed that those responsible for the arrest and prosecution of the children will be "sanctioned", as if he was innocent. They can tell that to the marines!
Where in the Constitution does it say I cannot carry Spanish flag if I want to? Even if we think the children committed an offence, why did we not see their sponsors in the dock? The children did not just think of the Russian flag all by themselves. Some big men gave it to them and induced them. You grab the small fries and leave out their sponsors...that's cowardice.
Talk about Arewa groups threatening Tinubu, they are the main problem of their region, their people and the country at large. Where were they all these over 90 days? Are they not the same elite that misrule the North and breed millions of these mendicant children? Are they not the ones that weaponise them? As children they carry bowls. As adults, some carry assault rifles and become Boko Haram, bandits, armed herdsmen and professional kidnappers.
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Northern children vote in our elections despite that our law forbids it. In the 2023 election, the Kano State Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Yakubu, said, on live television, that child voters were "stunted adults". In a twist of irony, Tinubu's government prosecutor, Rimazonte Ezekiel, outrageously claimed, with a straight face, that most of the children were "married men". Every charitable and uncharitable attitude is a boomerang!
The Northern elites do to the children of their poor what they will never tolerate done to their own children at home. They use and dump them in the streets like trash. The Muslim North is the only the region that does this to the children of their weak and vulnerable. That is why that zone has become the main source and epicentre of hunger and insecurity which threaten the rest of us.
Tinubu's government demonstrated an unfatherly attitude towards famished protesting minors but suddenly lost spine under pressure. I hope they learn and take it easy with Nigerians. Power still belongs to the people.
To us.
