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Former Secretary General of Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers Union (NUPENG) and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Frank Kokori has said that lack of reservoir of people who have passed through the revolutionary struggles was one of the problems that killed the recent #ENDSARSprotest.
The former labour leader lamented that the young people most of whom were fresh from university missed the point when they failed to pick a leader from among the old generation of men who had gone through the struggles, particularly during the military rule.
In this exclusive chat with the Daily Sun, he took a panoramic view of the protest, warning the government to take seriously the message by the youths to avoid a second phase, which he said would be catastrophic if allowed to happen.
The #ENDSARS protest as we all know started well and was peaceful until the shooting at Lekki Toll Gate. What is your general assessment of the protest?
The protest was very successful until when the hoodlums hijacked it, but the youths were too fastidious about themselves. The people behind the whole thing think they know more than the elders in Nigeria and that they can rule. They don’t know that most of the people who have ruined this country are governors who were young at the time. People like James Ibori, Lucky Igbinedion and others were all young when they took over as governors, and they did not do as expected of them. As I said, the protest was okay except that the hoodlums were given a field day; they were not monitored at all by the security personnel. No country or government will allow anarchy to reign just the way they were doing it, breaking into people’s houses, looting and destroying property with reckless abandon. What has the court of law got to do with the protest? They were destroying the court of law, breaking into people’s shops and looting their wares, destroying just anything they could lay their hands on. That was what gave the government the opportunity to clamp down on them with the military.
So, what differentiated the protest from the ones your generation organised, although yours were under the military era? Is there any semblance?
No, this one was not organised. You see, with this kind of revolt, you can’t overthrow a dictatorship or any government in the world. It was not properly organised because there were no leaders. They were not holding the government by the jugular; the thing does not have any effect on the people in authority. Apart from the military in any country, the second most organised group is the labour movement, not the politicians. This is because of their comradeship and solidarity; and they also have their private funds and everything to run. So, labour can just overthrow a government without seeing anybody on the street; they just shut down the economy of the country. And once you shut down the economy of the country, there will be confusion and the military will have a reason to take over.
Looking at the labour movement in Nigeria in recent time, don’t you think it is their failure to give direction that forced the youths to do what they just did? Do you think the labour movement is still vibrant and relevant as to threaten any government in Nigeria like those of your generation did?
If they want, they can but they don’t want to; that’s all. They don’t want to but I know that they are most organised people. And that is why the youth think they can do this without the labour movement. Those of us who have gone through the school of revolutionary struggles know that the protest will end like this. You have a president who has made himself very difficult to reach and everybody under him worships him. Everybody is afraid of him, so they can’t talk to him the way they should talk to somebody. So, he does things at his own pace. He said that is his style but I won’t support that type of style. By and large, the youth tried; they sent a signal to the powers that be that it is no more a tea party in this country. I was in support of the protesters but not the hoodlums because when hoodlums come into a protest, nobody is safe. You can’t go into somebody’s private property and start destroying and looting; you can’t do that.
The hoodlums were alleged to have hijacked the protest after the Lekki shooting. How would you describe the action of the masterminds of the shooting incident?
That was madness.
Some people believe that the #ENDSARS protest was close to revolution; do you agree with that view?
Yes, it was a small revolution. It has never happened like that in Nigeria where the whole people were in support of the protest. But, the difference is that the Southern states were in support of it while the Northern states were not in support of it; that was a big minus. That was a very strong problem for the organisers. It showed the dichotomy that people have been talking about in Nigeria and I think that is why people have been calling for reforms or what some call decentralization or restructuring in Nigeria. It was amazing that in the Northern part of the country, hoodlums were being sponsored to attack the protesters, but that notwithstanding, it was the greatest thing that has happened in Nigeria for a long time. If it were in those days, there could have been a coup but because of the June 12 experience, the military and the world too will not support military regimes any longer. Any state that is military is regarded as a pariah state; that is why the military did not step in; otherwise if it were in the days of Babangida, Abacha, or Dogonyaro, they would have used the opportunity to stage a coup. They know that no military coup will be successful in any part of the world any longer because the whole world will go against you with sanctions and you can’t survive economically and politically. So, our boys tried their best but they should have had a sort of leadership. They should not just trust anybody. No matter what they do, they should have had good people who are older than them and then those people will be with them in negotiation. That’s all. In other words, they don’t trust people but when you have leadership, that leadership will follow the well known person in the country that people know their track record of integrity. Such persons would have been able to handle the matter properly for them.
How would you describe the government’s approach or response to the protest?
You will see that the Southern governors were playing safe but the Northern governors were not in support of the whole struggle. So, the Southern governors know that their people were very enlightened and they were supporting it, but the Northern governors came out openly to disown the whole thing. But, the president spoke too late and that is his style which is not good. We gave him a mandate to govern the country properly. He can’t expect the protest to run for almost 12 days before the government will come out to talk and pacify the people. That was one of the biggest mistakes because at that time it was only the president they wanted to hear from; not even the governors because they don’t trust the governors any longer. They expected the president to come out and talk to them in a fatherly manner and things will start moving.
You said you don’t trust the government and their promises; so where do we go from here? What do you think the youths should do to ensure that those promises made to them by the government are fulfilled? Do you think it is all over for the youths?
If they are well organised they will come back again. And I know that they are well organised and if they come the second time, it will be more dangerous for the government because at that time, they must have learnt their lessons and they must have dotted the I’s and crossed the T’s. As we all know, there were a lot of educated people among them. They were not just ordinary youths or rabbles; they were professionals who had gone through tertiary institutions and most of the leaders knew what they were doing. But unfortunately, Nigeria did not gain her independence through physical struggle; Nigeria’s independence was gained through dialogue. So, we don’t have that reservoir of people who have passed through the struggles; freedom fighting and all that. That is one of the problems that killed the protest because most of them were just young people from the university; the highest they had was just students’ union experience. Many young people only follow their internet; they don’t read books; they don’t read biography; they dont read about great people and great struggles all over the world; they don’t read about effective revolutions all over the world. Revolutions are not cheap. Look at the American revolutions, French revolutions or even the Russian revolutions; do they know how these revolutions became successful? But when we were young people like them, we knew everything about every revolution; we knew about the assistance they got from certain areas. So, revolutions are things that are planned over a long time. This one was just a spontaneous something; there was no leadership. But, in spirit and mind, I am with the Nigerian youths and the Nigerian people in their suffering, because the people do not deserve the kind of suffering they are going through. People like us are always disillusioned when we see what the government is doing in this country. You don’t run a country where 0.1 percent of the population corners 95 percent of the commonwealth. It is not fair but that is what is happening. Are you not surprised that up till now, 9the National Assembly has not done what they are supposed to do about restructuring Nigeria? They gain from the system, so they don’t care but when they were outside they shouted at the rooftop condemning the government. The National Assembly and the state assemblies are supposed to do more in a constitutional democracy like ours but they are not playing their roles properly, that is why governors and presidents have become lords of the manor. They have created a master – serf relationship but that is not supposed to be in a democracy.
One of the fallouts of the #ENDSARS protest is the move by the government to regulate the social media, what is your take? Are you in support of the move?
How can anybody think of regulating social media? Normally, there is so much fake news in social media, but as a wise person, you should know what to take and what not to take. Social media has helped the world so much. In our own time, I would have an encyclopedia in my library and models for everything but now you can get all those things from social media just by the click of a finger. So, social media must always be there for the world.
After the protest, the security agents particularly the police were nowhere to be found; they deserted the streets. How can you describe a situation where the IG gave orders to his men to return to their duty posts but they bluntly refused and nothing happened to them?
That is the trauma; it was too much for them. They never expected the Nigerian people to react to them in that manner. They were afraid of their shadows. If they are good people, they will just go back to the streets but they are bad people. Most of them have unclean hands. That is why you can only boast of about 10 percent of the security agents in Nigeria that are good; the rest of them have disappointed the country. When you are recruited into a security service; securing life and property of the citizens is one of the most patriotic jobs you do for your country. The Nigerian people who are in security agencies are not patriotic.º
