A powerful declaration has emerged from the Take-It-Back Movement, spearheaded by Omoyele Sowore, asserting that the upcoming June 12 will transcend mere ceremonial observance. Instead, the movement has proclaimed it a day of nationwide resistance, a stark condemnation of pervasive killings, governmental repression, and the palpable regression of democratic principles within Nigeria.
In a scathing indictment, the group, through its National Coordinator, Juwon Sanyaolu, decried the duplicity of official celebrations, vehemently arguing that any notion of freedom is illusory. They unequivocally stated their refusal to partake in such "hypocrisy," unequivocally branding the day a "national day of resistance" against what they perceive as tyranny and misgovernance.
The movement's statement painted a grim picture of Nigerian democracy under siege, highlighting an alarming erosion of fundamental freedoms and rights. They specifically cited a troubling pattern of aggression against journalists, arbitrary detentions of activists, and the weaponization of the Cybercrime Act to stifle online dissent. The digital landscape, they warned, has become a treacherous terrain where the "digital footprints of dissenters" are relentlessly stalked.
Beyond the assault on civil liberties, the Take-It-Back Movement expressed profound anguish over the relentless violence plaguing regions such as Benue, Plateau, Southern Kaduna, and the broader Middle Belt, where mass killings and widespread displacement have become tragically commonplace. They lamented the burgeoning numbers of internally displaced persons while perpetrators roam unfettered, accusing the state of complicity through its "inaction, negligence, or outright denial." Such a state of affairs, they declared, is not democracy, but "organised cruelty."
This June 12 protest, the movement stressed, is intended to be a profound tribute, extending beyond democracy's foundational heroes to encompass the present-day victims: those brutally murdered in rural communities, the voiceless languishing in detention, and the vast populace suffering under the yoke of what they termed "a corrupt elite." Their march, they affirmed, is not solely for themselves but for the slain in Benue, the displaced in Plateau, the silenced in detention, and the "starving masses abandoned by the ruling class." The Take-It-Back Movement has issued a resounding call to all Nigerians to participate in this nationwide demonstration, demanding nothing less than justice, freedom, and the realization of genuine democratic governance.
