the All Progressives Congress (APC) Comrade Timi Frank, has condemned
the purported arrest of the convener of #RevolutionNow, Omoyele Sowere,
even as he appealed to other comrades not to lose focus.
Frank said the country needs such massive protest now more than ever
before because of the killings, kidnapping, banditry, hunger,
unemployment, economic disaster and all manners of mismanagement going
on.
In a statement released to newsmen on Saturday in Abuja, to condemn the
arrest of Sowere by the DSS, Timi Frank said the protest is not about
the convener but about the survival of Nigeria as a country.
He, however called on Tunde Bakare, Wole Soyinka, Femi Falana, Olisa
Agbakoba and others who he described as ‘fathers of protesters’ to
support Sowere’s idea if they are not also supporting the evil currently
ongoing in the country.
According to Frank, it is the constitutional right of the citizens to
protest when they are dissatisfied with anything in a democratic
government.
He said all over the world, citizens are expressing their disaffections
without being arrested by their governments.
The Bayelsa born activist reminded General Muhammadu Buhari of how he
led protest in 2003 when he was in ANPP and 2014 before he emerged
Nigerian President.
Frank said: “If the arrest is not resisted now, it will become order of
the day to the extent that even the Labour unions and the media will no
longer be free to air their views.
“Even the Abacha government did not do what this current government is
doing. In Sudan, Hong Kong and other nations, citizens are protesting
against their governments and nobody is arrested or intimidated. General
Buhari should know that this is democracy and if its hard for him to
cope, he should step aside.
“This revolution is long overdue. It is not about the convener but about
the unworkable system which has resulted in all these avoidable killings
of innocent Nigerians and all manners of evil in the land.
“I therefore call on like minds, the media, the real comrades and the
known fathers of protest like Olisa Agbakoba, Femi Falana, Tunde Bakare
and others to act now or else their names will become history for
keeping quiet in the face of evil.
“I also call on the international community, especially the American
government to speak up because Sowere is also an America citizen
fighting for the betterment of our society.”