Protests Break Out over Kidnapping of Students and Teachers

Working People and Youth Should Join June 12 Nationwide Protest against Insecurity and Economic Hardship.

NLC and TUC Should Declare a 48-Hour General Strike and Mass Protest.

By Peluola Adewale

Since March 15, 46 people, including teachers and pupils, have been abducted by bandits or terrorists in three schools in two communities in Oriire Local Government, near Ogbomoso, Oyo State and still remain in captivity. Worse, one of the teachers was bestially beheaded by the abductors. This was in addition to a teacher and a commercial motorcyclist who were earlier shot dead during the attack. Among the victims are toddlers and a nursing mother.

Of course, this was not the first time a school has been attacked and teachers and students seized by bandits, Islamists or other criminal elements in Nigeria. There were many examples before it. Indeed, Oriire victims are not the only students in captivity at the moment. Over 40 students from Mussa Primary and Secondary Schools in Askira Uba Local Government Area of Borno State were abducted on the same day.

However, this is the first time school kidnapping perpetrated by criminal elements suspected to be Fulani bandits or Islamist terrorists has taken place in Southwest Nigeria. More importantly, it is the first time such an incident has attracted serious trade union actions. On June 2, there were nationwide solidarity protests by the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) and the teachers in Oyo state have been on an indefinite strike since June 1.

These actions are commendable. But it is possible that the trade union leadership would have responded to the Oyo incident in a characteristically irresponsible and unserious way as they have often done in the past, limiting intervention to mere press statements and lamentation. The pressure from left and civil society organisations, as well as the rank-and-file teachers, mostly likely contributed to forcing them to act differently and responsibly. For instance, NUT President Titus Amba had reportedly threatened in an interview with the Punch that NUT would shut down schools across the country if another attack occurred (Punch, May 29). In other words, the union was not originally prepared to do anything serious in reaction to the latest attacks on schools. On their part, the Oyo state leadership of the union only initially called for prayer and fasting and later asked only teachers and students in the affected local government area to stay off schools while students in the rest of the state continued with their education.

In reaction to the initial do-nothing approach of the trade unions in the face of the failure of both the federal and state governments to rescue the victims and generally guarantee protection of lives and property of the people, the Campaign for Democratic and Workers Rights (CDWR) in a series of statements articulated what should be done generally by the working people and importantly called for protests and strike action by the Nigeria Labour Congress, Trade Union Congress and NUT. The statements were not only sent to the media but also sent directly to labour leaders especially in Oyo state and different WhatsApp groups with a significant number of trade union of activists. Similarly, Take It Back (TIB), a civil society organisation led by Omoyele Sowore, also announced days for protest, something which was held before and after the NUT nationwide action. Significantly, a group of teachers named Teachers Action Group (TAG) held a protest action on May 29 in Ibadan, the state capital.

Members of the Democratic Socialist Movement (DSM) participated in the said protests by the TAG and TIB as well as the June 2 nationwide action by the by NUT. In Lagos, 40 copies of SD, paper of DSM, were sold. The massive turn-out of teachers for the NUT protests, despite a 48-hour short notice, shows that teachers are prepared to struggle for a safe school system if the leadership takes it seriously and consistently mobilise teachers for action.

Also importantly, mass actions demanding safe rescue of the abducted teachers, students and others in captivity and serious measures by the government at all levels to protect lives and property of the people must not be one-off. It is only a consistent struggle that can mount pressure on the government to take the rescue operation and the wider security seriously. For instance, the attitude and conduct of both the Tinubu government and Seyi Makinde led government of Oyo state suggests that they prioritize the politics of 2027 elections over the lives of the people in captivity. Governor Seyi Makinde did not visit the affected communities and families of the victims until May 31, over two weeks after the incident. Apparently felt threated by the visit of Makinde, who has also declared a desire to contest for Presidency in the 2027 elections, on his re-election bid President Tinubu immediately dispatched a powerful delegation who visited the communities and families the following day.  This partly explains why a similar visit has not been made to Borno where over 40 students are also in captivity.

Already, a coalition of left and civil society organisations including the #EndBadGovernance Movement and individual activists has declared a nationwide protest for June 12 which is officially “Democracy Day” in Nigeria. Aptly, “No Democracy Without Security” has been agreed as a main slogan for the protest. However, in addition to the demand for safe release of all captives across the country and around wider crisis of insecurity, the protest will also put on the front burner issues of cost-of-living crisis and anti-poor policies of the Tinubu government. In the situation where a recent report spoke of youth unemployment now standing at 53 per cent, meaning about 80 million young Nigerians have no jobs, it is inevitable that some will turn to crime to survive. This is why it is urgent that the labour movement acts to demand concrete change.

We call on trade unions, especially the NLC, TUC and NUT, to openly support the June 12 protest and mobilise workers to join it nationwide. More importantly, as the next step following the June 12 protest and previous June 2 NUT nationwide solidarity protest, the NLC and TUC should declare and campaign for a 48-hour general strike and mass protest as a first step.

By and large, we call on the working people and youth to support and fight for the following the demands:

• Free all abducted children and teachers. Release all captives now!
• For a non-sectarian and democratically run security/defence committee in communities
• Probe security votes. End insecurity now
• Reverse all anti-poor policies. For a living wage and decent jobs for the working people and youth
• For a mass working people’s party with socialist program with which to begin the reconstruction of Nigeria in the interests of working people and their families
• For a 48-hour general strike as the next step after June 12 protests