OYO ABDUCTION: Mere Appeals Will Not Free Abducted Teachers and Pupils
CDWR Urges NUT, NLC and TUC to Declare Statewide Strike and Mass Protests Now!
The Campaign for Democratic and Workers’ Rights (CDWR) has noted a press statement issued by the Oyo State Wing of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) calling for urgent action to secure the safe release of the teachers and pupils abducted in Oriire Local Government Area. While we share the deep concern, anger and anxiety expressed by the NUT over the continued captivity of their colleagues and pupils, it is regrettable that they have not taken a serious step. We must state clearly that appeals alone will not secure their freedom. A call for their release without concrete mass action, such as a statewide strike and coordinated street protests, will end up being an empty appeal!
The lives of teachers and students cannot be defended through press statements alone. The barbaric abduction of teachers and pupils in the Ahoro-Esinle and Yawota communities is not merely an attack on those directly affected; it is an attack on the entire working class, poor communities and the right to education in Oyo State. It demands a collective and determined statewide response.
We therefore call on the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) Oyo State Councils to commence discussion with the NUT and civil society organisations with a view to immediately convene an emergency meeting and declare a 48-hour statewide strike, as a first step, across all schools, accompanied by mass protests and demonstrations. Such action, which must be escalated and sustained if there is no immediate result, is necessary to place sufficient pressure on both the Oyo State and Federal Governments to prioritise the safe rescue and unconditional release of the abducted teachers and pupils.
The directive issued by the Oyo State NUT asking only teachers and students in Oriire Local Government Area to stay away from school is grossly inadequate. It isolates the victims, leaves other schools operating as if nothing has happened, and creates a dangerous illusion of safety. This approach is unjust and divisive. As far as we are concerned, no school is safe if one school is unsafe! Therefore, only a total shutdown of schools across Oyo State can create a level playing field, demonstrate collective solidarity with the abducted victims and their families, and compel the authorities to act with the urgency that this crisis demands.
We commend a group of teachers named the Teachers Action Group who organized a protest march in Ibadan and other parts of Oyo State on Friday May 29 over the plight of teachers and students in captivity. We urge all teachers across the state to emulate Teachers Action Group and through a series of mass actions reject situation whereby their colleagues and students are left pleading for their freedom through distressing videos while the wider labour movement remains passive.
The CDWR is ready to mobilise its members and supporters in solidarity with any strike action, protest or mass mobilisation called by the NLC, TUC, NUT or any group genuinely seeking for immediate release of abducted teachers and students. We also call on parents, students, market associations, community organisations, youth groups and all concerned residents of Oyo State to join a united campaign of mass action until every abducted teacher and pupil is released safely and unconditionally.
Com. Abiodun Bamigboye (Abbey Trotsky)
Oyo State Coordinator, CDWR
E-mail: [email protected]