Biafrans teach Nigerians how to conduct Earth-shaking Protest in a PEACEFUL and CIVILISED manner - ThisDay

Biafrans teaches Nigerians how to conduct Earth-shaking Protest in a PEACEFUL and CIVILISED manner - ThisDay

I have to confess that I was amazed at the IPOB protest yesterday. For two reasons, I thought it would be scanty.

First, Igbos are not easy to convince to embark on a street protest. Many Igbos actually believe that only unwise people leave their source of livelihood to embark on street protests which may cause them injuries or even death. They would rather complain and find a way to endure the problem or solve it.

Secondly, the highhandedness of the security operatives some weeks ago when IPOB had protested as well as the stories about security operatives being mobilized to suppress yesterday's planned protest made me think that many people would back out for fear of being killed by over-zealous security agents who don't care about peaceful protest or not.

But there is a point many people miss in this matter. Some issues need to be separated. It is one thing to support Biafra, or IPOB or Nnamdi Kanu; it is a completely different thing to insult and harass people over their right to peaceful protest and to ask that they be dealt with by the security people.

We are in a democracy and people have every right to peaceful protest and rallies. It has been repeatedly emphasized that people don't need a police permit to hold rallies or peaceful protests.

Biafrans teaches Nigerians how to conduct Earth-shaking Protest in a PEACEFUL and CIVILISED manner - ThisDay

People have a right to even peacefully protest that they don't want to go to school, or eat meat, or use cars, or brush their teeth, or enjoy electricity. As ridiculous as these seem, people have a right to peacefully protest that they don't want to be part of such. Nobody has a right to harass them or shoot them ... as long as they don't get violent.

This is not a matter of whether you are Igbo or Yoruba or Hausa or Ijaw. We must draw this line, so that if you decide tomorrow to peacefully protest about rigged election or the killing of your political leader or the terrible roads in your area and the security agents forcefully suppress you, you will have the moral right to complain and expect others to stand by you. We don't need to agree with IPOB or Biafra agitations before we can speak against the suppression of people's right to peaceful protest.
-Azuka Onwuka