TakeItBack Movement – TakeitBack

TakeitBack Movement Blames FG For Impending ASUU Strike, Calls On Students To Support The Union’s Demands

A year after suspending a nine-month-old industrial action, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) says it would soon embark on an indefinite strike to reinforce its demands as it accuses the government of going back on their agreement.

To press home their demands, the Union had announced Monday, 7th of February, 2022, as a lecture-free day in universities across the country to inform the university communities and the public on the government’s failure to fulfill the agreement the parties entered into in December 2020, which led to the suspension of the then 9-month prolonged strike.

Given this development, the student wing of the TakeitBack Movement has issued a press statement decrying the proposed strike action by the union and the deadlock engagements between the federal government and ASUU.

Lamenting that students were the ones bearing the brunt, the Movement blamed the government for the pathetic state of education in the country and appealed to Nigerian students to support ASUU in its bid to salvage the education system from total collapse.

The press statement, dated February 7, 2022 with the headline “Proposed ASUU Strike: As Public Education Dies, We Must Rise”, signed by the National Coordinator of the student’s wing of the TakeitBack Movement, Damilare Adenola reads:

“Since 1999, Nigerian Universities have been on strike for a cumulative period of four years. If there is anything that has been constant about the Nigerian student’s academic calendar, it is the Academic Staff of University Union (ASUU) and the Federal government gripping each other’s throats over the funding of Nigerian Universities, better working conditions amidst other demands.

“Unsurprisingly, the student wing of the Take It Back Movement has again received the news of ASUU beginning mobilisation in a plan to embark on an indefinite strike, while kick-starting with a lecture-free day declaration for today 7th of February 2022. Whereas there are also indications that by February 14th the Union in the upper echelon will take the bold step in order to compel.

“Again, students of public institutions will be forced out of classes, deprived of their right to education as lecturers plan to put classrooms under locks and keys for the 16th time since 1999. However cruel and painful the proposed industrial action feels, it is important to pinpoint the real fountainhead of this unending menace facing public education in Nigeria today.

“Equipping public institutions with 21st-century facilities, employing enough lecturers to match the ratio of students and adequate payment of staff, Revitalization of the dying public education is ASUU’s chief demand and for which they have for decades been uncompromisingly pressing home.

“Providing free and quality education; instead of the Federal Government fulfilling the basic constitutional duty owed to Nigerian students, has further quickened the death of public education by underfunding the most crucial sector of any Nation desirous of peace and development. This year for instance, out of 16.39 trillion general budgetary allocations, N1.29 trillion, amounting to a paltry 7.9 per cent was allocated to education against the United Nations benchmark of 15-20 per cent.

“It is in thought with the above facts that we direct Nigerian students to own the struggle for the revitalization of education, spearheaded by ASUU. And in the spirit of solidarity rise up in protest against the deliberate act of the government to deprive children of the masses from accessing education.”

“Fund Education Effectively,” Take It Back Tells Oyo State Government, Declares Support For Ongoing Strike

Take It Back Movement, Oyo State Chapter, has accused the Oyo state government of using the Oyo State College of Education, Lanlate to play politics, while calling for a genuine revamping of the college, stating that it was not enough for the state government to claim ownership of the institution if appropriate funding would not be provided.

The group declared its support for the ongoing strike action embarked upon by the Joint Action Committee of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics in the state which include Emmanuel Alayande College of Education, Oyo; Oyo State College of Education, Lanlate; and Adeseun Ogundoyin Polytechnic, Eruwa.

In a statement, dated February 4, 2022 and titled “Take It Back Movement (Oyo State)”, the group decried the infrastructural challenges and the state’s government negligent of staff and students of the institution, and disclosed that the TakeitBack Movement is ready to do everything possible in order to save the institution from its infrastructure challenges and imminent collapse.

The statement, signed by the Assistant Secretary, Gbenga Oloniniran and the Coordinator, Solomon Emiola, reads:

“The Take It Back Movement Oyo state uses this medium to react to the deteriorating state of the Oyo State College of Education, Lanlate. We commiserate with the staff and students of the institution who have been subjected to such untold hardship for long but have found the courage to make their demands public.

“In a letter to the Oyo State House of Assembly, the Joint Action Committee of the three trade unions highlighted a very pitiable state of the college. From nonpayment of backlog of arrears to the workers, to lack of take-off funds for the college, lack of toilet facilities and poor roads leading to the institution, we cannot but sympathize with the college community on the hardship being suffered by the staff and students of the institution.

“For us in the TIB, we cannot disconnect the issues faced by the college from other issues faced by many public schools in the state and in Nigeria. The commercialisation of public education has rendered many public tertiary, secondary and basic schools unworthy. We condemn this negligence of government on public education where future leaders are made.

“We must put it clear that it is not enough pronounce an institution autonomous, change its name or claim state ownership, without the adequate funding of the schools.

“We can see this trend also in the Seyi Makinde regime where institutions like the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) in Ogbomoso have been claimed fully by the Oyo State government.

“Meanwhile, the institution is still neither independent of underfunding nor of exorbitant fees being paid by the students. We recall that in the latter months of 2021, students of Lautech embarked on protest against the idea of “No tuition no exam” policy of the university management.

“This, regardless of the acclaimed paltry 25 percent reduction in their fees by the Seyi Makinde government, shows how insignificant such cosmetic reduction is to the economic realities confronting the people.

“We, therefore, condemn the attempts of the Oyo state government to continually use public education to play politics. We call for a genuine revamping of the Oyo State college of education, Lanlate and its environs.

“We call for an effective funding of LAUTECH to relieve the labouring parents and students. We believe that an emergency disbursement is due for the school and for many other public institutions suffering from deterioration in the state.

“The Take It Back Movement is ready to support the struggles of the Oyo state college, Lanlate, as well as of every worker and student centered agitation to save public education in the state.”

Since the college became an autonomous institution in 2016, it has been battling with series of challenges, as well as the non-accreditation of courses which have necessitated the statement.

Motorcyclist Dies, Student In Coma During Police Chase In Ogbomosho On Wednesday, TakeitBack Movement Reacts

Despite the nationwide protest of October 2020 against police brutality, officers of the Nigerian Police Force have continued to unlawfully detain, torture, and harass members of the public.

Following a recent case of harassment, high-handedness and unprofessional conduct by policemen in the city, the Oyo State Chapter of TakeitBack Movement has raised concerns over the safety and security of poor and helpless Nigerians, particularly young people.

In a video of one of such incidents that took place at 11:00pm, on Wednesday at NNPC petrol station along Illorin road, a popular section of the city, some policemen in an unbranded police vehicle were in pursuit of a black Lexus car.

During the wild police chase, one of the tyres of the Lexus car got burst and a motorcyclist, with his passenger, a female student, were unfortunate victims of the accident, and were rushed to Bowen University Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso. As at the time of writing this report, the motorcyclist has kicked the bucket and the student is in coma.

TakeitBack Movement had earlier reported how three young men were harassed, and subsequently arrested illegally by police officers in Lagos. It took media outcry from the Movement to have them released.

Speaking on the issue of police brutality generally, and the police chase and accident particularly, a student activist, who spoke on condition of anonymity said, “It’s been over a year since the disbandment of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and the Nigerian Police authorities promised reforms and more respect for the rights of citizens, yet nothing has changed as ordinary Nigerians, especially young people are still at the mercy of rogue policemen.”

TakeitBack: Nigerians Must Unite Beyond The Borders Of Ethnicity And Religion

The Nassarawa state chapter of the TakeitBack Movement, in a meeting held on Sunday, January 30, 2022, has stressed on the need for Nigerians to do away with ethno-religious sentiments and vote credible and radical alternatives in the forthcoming general elections.

According to the spokesperson during the meeting, Nigeria can only enjoy the dividends of good governance when young people are deeply involved in the decision-making process.

He further urged the youths to get their Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC) ahead of the 2023 general elections. This, he said, is the only way the full political participation of the youths can be facilitated, as well as ensure that they decide who pilots the affairs of the country.

The chapter also emphasized on the need for the Movement to keep organizing across the nook and crannies of the state towards the task of pulling down the system of greed and power.

TakeitBack Movement Secures Release Of Three Entertainers, Insist On End To Police Brutality

Three entertainers, Ibrahim Bakare, Idris Oseni and Oyeniyi Abeeb were arrested by policemen, attached to the Oke Odo Police station, in Lagos State on the night of Tuesday, February 1, 2022.

A report, obtained by the TakeitBack Movement revealed that the three young entertainers were thoroughly beaten and secretly detained in one of the police officers’ private office, and a ransom of N100,000 demanded by the policemen.

Following the illegal arrest, the Lagos chapter of the TakeitBack Movement campaigned vigorously for the immediate release of the young men, and demanded an end to police brutality – a carryover from the #EndSARS protest of October, 2020.

In the early hours of Wednesday, the young men regained their freedom.

TakeItBack Movement Meets, Plans Massive Voters’ Registration Campaign In Plateau State

On Sunday, January 30, 2022, the Plateau state chapter of the Take It Back (TIB) movement had a meeting with its lead organizers drawn from across all local governments.

The meeting, presided by the Deputy National Coordinator, North Central, Deborah Yusuf had exhaustive deliberations about rising insecurity, attacks on students’ and workers’ rights, as well as the overwhelming state of poverty and helplessness within the state.

According to the information made available to our correspondents, the meeting had far reaching resolutions, including the need for young and old people of working class and poor background to take very keen interest in deciding the direction of the coming elections in the interest of posterity.

In a statement credited to Deborah Yusuf, the movement will be undertaking massive voters’ registration and education drive. This is in addition to intensifying efforts to challenge all anti-people policies and developments that have continued to plague the good people of Plateau state.

2019 ELECTIONS: WE MUST ALL DEMAND FOR A NEW PROCESS

The just concluded 2019 elections were fraught with baggage familiar with Nigerian elections. First of the issues was the postponement of the elections over logistics, consequently deflating the interest of anticipating Nigerians. Another was the President’s order to the military tasking them to shoot at sight any ballot-snatcher without any form of questioning or arraignment, and Nigeria, which once was grinded beneath military jackboot, did not hesitate to associate such plaguing of civilian communities with armed military personnel with terror. Also very troubling were the unimaginable terrors perpetuated by APC and PDP thugs across the nation. All these, amplified by social media among other factors, culminate into voters’ apathy.

The Advancement of Our Democracy and the Electioneering Process

But we associate our democracy with some seemly useful qualifiers. The most popular is its description as fledging. This qualifier forms the basis for some of our thinkers advocating for moderated expectations and mild interpretations of events. But one’s worry should be to answer the pertinent question of how the fledging would become mature and resilient to the vices of dangerous politicians and ploys. Ranges of lofty recommendations for the advancement of our democracy abound. One is the abolition of one of the legislatives arm as proposed by the AAC presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, arguing that the bicameral legislation is wasteful and slow. But while different recommendations abound, harrowing to attentive minds is the gory of the last Saturday elections – the violence – the electoral process that puts helpless citizens in harmful and precarious situation should be condemned and considered a crime.

But beyond the violence, social media pictures and videos show how different players hacked the current electoral process, perhaps the most telling is the clip of Aisha Buhari showing her husband, the current sitting president, who she voted for. The worst of the setbacks is the Polling Unit officers manually counting the votes and how manually the votes are aggregated, from LGA to FCT, shamefully taking over 48 hours to determine the winners of the elections. Yet, to advance our democracy, the urgency for all of us must be to re-imagine our electoral process for the emergence of a peaceful process that will not only be transparent but disallow all forms of intimidation while encouraging more participation of the Nigerian people and inclusion. But without deliberate and well organised mass based action such desired process will remain a mirage.

The Question of Electronic Voting (EV)

If electronic voting (EV) is adopted some, if not all, of the challenges will be overcome. With electronic voting, there will be no need of physical moving of ‘sensitive’ electoral materials to about 120, 000 polling units. This will therefore mean that elections won’t be postponed over logistics issues. EV will also come with the advantage of comfort and inclusion: since PVC already carries Polling Unit codes which is a derivates of State, Local Government, Ward and Polling Unit, votes can be easily aggregated by Polling Units without the voters having to travel to their polling units. But on the contrary, as at last elections, some people have to travel as far as 17 hours by flight in order to exercise their franchise. The possibility of EV also speaks to another advantage which is reduction of cost; the reduction of cost on the side of INEC and on the side of the voters. There could be online facility accessible by any computer or mobile device, or one may consider a possible reliance on already existing infrastructure i.e. the ATM machines. To further make a case for cost reduction, EV process will have no need of heavy deployment of security and the shutdown of socio-cultural and socio-economic process, therefore, people can still go ahead and have their business meetings while elections are going on and also people can have their marriage ceremonies without hitch while elections are going on. In addition, all the elections can be held in one day and collation of result could be done in less than 24 hours. And most importantly, EV will completely remove all forms of violence and voters intimidation since voters will not be required to converge to a particular location in order to exercise their civic right.

Why Not Electronic Voting

The demand for EV is not a new demand. What it lacks over time is the ability to garner critical mass support. Staring at the campaigners are huddles like constitutional reforms, adoption of voters and accessibility of such platform to uneducated Nigerian. The way to think about this is around useful statistics that may inform the possibility for its adoption. For example, as at January 2018, the Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC) reported that mobile phone users are about 146 million. This figure when merged with over 92 million internet users reported by Statista (2019) provides rare and interesting opportunities for more voters inclusion. This span of individuals included in the aforementioned data exceeds the number of voters we’ve recorded for elections since 1999. They can be educated on how to use the EV platform and how it works. They are also large number of Nigerians that can be expanded through voters education to be more representative of the Nigerian diversity. One lesson staring at us is that, giving the death toll of about 250 individuals, the maiming and stabbing, the last weekend elections struggle to garner only about 27 million voters, a figure that bares a shameful mark of decline. But for our nation to reach the utopia of election success, all actions must start right now to surmount the challenges and demand adoption of a better process such as EV.

Buhari and Atiku APC/PDP; Two Sides Of The Same Coin; Omoyele Sowore’s AAC, The Only Alternative For A Better Nigeria.

Amidst the rumbles of the upcoming 2019 general elections, in the hope of electing a new President for the most populous country in Africa and the 7th most populous country in the world, with an estimated population of

200,962,417 and a yearly change of 2.60 percent [ according to worldometers ]. Nigerians all over the world [ including the international community] are very much concerned with the outcome of the upcoming general elections on Saturday, the 16th of February, this year.
Meanwhile, The Guardian Newspaper, London, published a very interesting article on Monday, the 11th of February, 2019. The article read thus;

Nigeria’s 84 million voters will go to the polls next weekend to give their verdict on Muhammadu Buhari. The country is Africa’s most populous, and by some measures has the largest economy on the continent. Nigeria celebrated Mr Buhari’s election in 2015 as not only a resounding rejection of the unpopular Goodluck Jonathan but also the first democratic transition since the return of civilian rule in 1999.

Unfortunately, the highlight of Mr Buhari’s presidency appears to have been the gaining of it. The economy struggles, and his pledges to curb rampant corruption have been applied to political opponents. Insecurity remains a pressing issue: notably, Boko Haram appears to be resurging despite the government’s repeated assurances that it has beaten the extremist group, and a spreading herder-farmer conflict has killed thousands. The president’s extended absence overseas, for medical treatment, prompted such persistent rumours of his death and replacement by a body double that he felt obliged to tell voters: “It’s the real me, I assure you.”

A country with a median age of 18 faces, it would appear, an uninspiring choice between two septuagenarian political veterans. The slate of candidates is lengthy – helped by a 2018 reform which lowered the age limit for presidential candidates to 35 from 40. But the only serious rival to Mr Buhari and his All Progressives Congress party is the business tycoon and former vice-president Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic party. Both men are Fulani Muslims from the north, and have chosen running mates from the south. Mr Buhari headed the military junta in the 1980s and now describes himself as a “converted democrat”. But Mr Abubakar has won the backing of an influential bloc including former military heads of state. Supporters portray him as an energetic contrast to the ineffective incumbent; opponents highlight corruption allegations, including a 2010 US Senate report which said that he and one of his wives had wired $40m of “suspect funds” into American accounts. Mr Abubakar denies the claims.- The Guardian UK, Monday, 11th February, 2019.

While it is obvious that neither of the candidates of the ruling All Progressives Congress and the former ruling Peoples Democratic Party is capable of making Nigeria a nation to be proud of in the league of developed nations.

Omoyele Sowore, of the African Action Congress, AAC is the only Presidential candidate among all, that is prepared and determined to make Nigeria the true giant of Africa and a country to be reckoned with in the world, especially in the United Nations and among developed countries of the world.

AAC; TAKE IT BACK!!!

AAC RALLY IN IKORODU, LAGOS.

Omoyele Sowore, Oluwaseun Ajireloja, and Francis Shonubi [Mani Congo] rallies with Nigerians in Lagos!

Omoyele Sowore, the Presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, AAC, Mr. Oluwaseun Ajireloja, the gubernatorial candidate and the Lagos East senatorial candidate of the party, Mr. Francis Shonubi and other party loyalists were present at the rally in the Ikorodu area of Lagos state on Wednesday the 6th of February 2019.

The party through the Presidential candidate reiterated to Nigerians its plans for the spontaneous development of the country if elected into office.

The party was warmly welcomed in Ikorodu by some royalties and their chiefs.
Many Nigerians who have been admirers of the AAC Presidential candidate voluntarily followed the party members all around Ikorodu in excitement.
This event took place less than 48 hours after the party held the most organic mass-filled political campaign in Nigeria since the country became a republic in the year 1963.

As the February 16th 2019 general elections draw near, millions of Nigerians yearn for a genuine change not just of those in government but also for the failed system of governance, especially the Nigerian constitution which harbors a vacuum to protect corrupt government officials and politicians and also restrict citizens from holding corrupt responsible for their ineptitude.

The Presidential candidate of the African Action Congress who have being in the Nigerian political space for about thirty years as an activist and an investigative journalist who has been fighting for democracy and good governance and the eradication of corrupt politicians from our political sphere have been proven by antecedent to be the only credible candidate worthy to be the next President of Nigeria by June 12th 2019 when the democratically elected President would be sworn into office after the February 16th general elections in less than two weeks from now.

SOWORE IS THE ANSWER TO NIGERIA’S PROBLEMS: VERDICT FROM “THE CANDIDATES” TOWN HALL SESSIONS

The Candidates – the presidential town hall co-production between NTA, Daria Media and the MacArthur foundation, drew to a close last night following Atiku’s appearance with his vice-president, Peter Obi. If it is fair to say that a leader’s true worth shines forth under pressure, then we can state categorically that there was one winner from the series and that was Omoyele Sowore, presidential candidate of the African Action Congress.

Although Buhari and Atiku have artfully dodged a frontal debate with Sowore, The Candidates placed all the candidates on the same platform, with the same interviewer. And for 2 hours, Nigerians had the opportunity to hear the presidential and vice presidential candidates of the four leading political parties in the country talk about their plans and programs for Nigeria, as well as answer questions about their past. The town hall series was revealing. Nigerians have now had an opportunity to weigh their candidates for the highest offices in the land.

Buhari demonstrated a worrying cluelessness about many of the goings on in the country. He frequently had to be prompted by his Vice President, as he failed to hear or comprehend most of the questions asked. Buhari seemed neither mentally present nor interested in Nigeria. The APC has no ideas for how to steer Nigeria away from the crippling problems of insecurity, power sector failures, growing unemployment, farmer-herdsmen conflicts and lack of affordable healthcare access that continues to plague Nigeria. One could almost be moved to sympathy for Buhari after his catatonic performance, if it weren’t for the vicious wickedness that is the intention of foisting a second term that would extend and double our misery, on Nigerians.

Kingsley Moghalu and his running mate demonstrated that their ideas were as dated as those of the establishment they seek to replace. There were no bold plans to create jobs or to light up NIGERIA. There were no clear policy positions on how to address the challenges of insecurity and corruption. The town hall session also revealed the glaring lack of preparation of his vice presidential candidate. Suffice to say that his policies and heavy reliance on his previous stint as the deputy governor – a position that makes him complicit and responsible for a lot of the financial rot that Nigeria faces today – reveal him as being part and parcel of the establishment.

Atiku and Obi proved yesterday, that all of our fears that electing the PDP would simply replace one layer of corruption with another more complex and pernicious one, were true. Atiku could not satisfactorily explain his part ownership of a company that did extensive business with the Ports Authority when he was still in the Nigerian Customs service. He could not explain the money laundering indictments and allegations made by the US Senate Homeland Security Committee. Peter Obi squirmed and faltered as he attempted to convince Nigerians that he was doing Anambra state a favour when he invested billions of the state’s money in a venture in which his family’s NEXT International Nigeria, was a major shareholder. It is now clear that Atiku and Peter Obi complement themselves well. They are two vultures with the same corrupt feathers. They had no clear plans for any of Nigeria’s most pressing issues. They were clear on one point though – they were willing to offer amnesty to all corrupt persons.

We are thankful that despite the attempts to prevent Nigerians from seeing and contrasting Sowore with Buhari, Atiku and others on the national stage, the NTA – Daria Media Town Hall series provided objective points of contrast. Sowore demonstrated a masterful grasp of Nigeria’s issues. He showed amazing clarity in his vision for the country. Nigerians were able to learn first-hand that Sowore has been involved in the fight to move Nigeria forward for 30 years. Nigerians saw the courage of his plans and the strength of his conviction. Nigerians were reminded that he is the only candidate that committed to increasing power by 17,000 MW, doubling Nigeria’s road network from 200,000 km to 400,000 km, boosting our rail system from 3,700 km to 8,000 km, creating 5 million new jobs, paying workers a living wage of 100,000 Naira and creating an enabling environment for businesses to thrive.

Nigerians also got to see that in Dr Rabiu Rufai, Sowore has a running mate who equally understands Nigeria’s challenges and has the intellect, integrity and political will to be a strong partner in the task of positively transforming Nigeria.

Nigerians now know what their options are. We have seen all of those offering themselves for the leadership of our nation. The choice is clear. There is only one team that can move Nigeria forward, and that is the Sowore-Rufai team of the African Action Congress!

Dr Malcolm Fabiyi
DG Sowore 2019 Campaign

The illuminating session of Omoyele Sowore and Dr Rabiu Rufai on The Candidates with Ahmed Kadaria

Tag: TakeItBack Movement