President Muhammadu Buhari’s senior spokesman Femi Adesina and the and the National President of Revolutionary Lawyers Forum, Mr Tope Akinyode, exchanged words over the #RevolutionNow protests on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme on Thursday.
Adesina stated that the protest organised by the Publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore was a child’s play.
He said, “Was it really a protest? Protest is a mass thing, what happened yesterday was just a sprinkle of people trying to be irritating. As far as I’m concerned, there is nothing to worry about because when you talk of revolution, its is a mass thing, not the young boys and girls you saw in a different part of the country yesterday. It is a funny thing to call it a revolution and a revolution protest.”
“When asked why he was talking down on the individuals who staged a protest saying they were not okay with the way things are going in the country, he said, “it is your opinion and saying I’m talking down on them simply because I do not agree is wrong. I do not have to agree with everything anybody says.”
On calling the protest a child’s play, Femi Adesina said “seeing that number of people in a country of over 200 million people is a child’s play”
When asked if the government determines the seriousness of a protest by the number of people protesting, he said “crowd will is always taken into consideration when a protest is held.
The lawyer Tope Akinyode said, “We have to forgive Mr Adesina and the Buhari government for all the things they speak. They don’t understand these things. They are bereft of the fundamental workings of democracy and the rule of law. They don’t know what protest means, they can’t appreciate it.
“Buhari is a dictator. He doesn’t obey court orders so he doesn’t know that Nigerians or the people have the right to protest which is why Mr. Adesina was continuously talking down on Nigerians, saying it was a child’s play and an irritation.”
He said, “I am disappointed by the myopic definition that Mr Adesina gave the word revolution especially being a journalist who should have a fundamental knowledge of the English Language. Revolution has many meanings to it. You cannot attach a single meaning to the word.
“For those who have a deficiency in the use of English, revolution can also mean an improvement, an advancement in a system which has a positive long-lasting impact. The demands of the protester are well articulated. They are engaging the government in its failings – unemployment, insecurity, non-payment of minimum wage N30,000 and many other things.
“And if the protesters are demanding the removal of the present government that is constituted, it is a constitutionally guaranteed right. The law allows for impeachment of any validly elected government and for a government that has woefully failed, is it not right for it to resign?”
Adesina, who appeared irked by Akinyode’s response, however, took issue with Channels Television for pairing him with “such a character”.
He said henceforth, the TV station must let him know who he is up against when next he is invited to a programme.
The President’s spokesman said, “Let me make this point. Channels TV should have been ethical and professional enough to tell me that I was appearing with somebody and then I could decide whether to appear or not to appear.
“The way this young man is talking, if I had a chance, I wouldn’t want to share a platform with him because he is irascible, he is irrational and he doesn’t understand and I could have decided whether to appear with him or not.”
Akinyode, however, stated that he was a lawyer and a learned individual.
“It is not just the way Mr Adesina sees it, that I am a young guy. I am a lawyer and I have an understanding of the law. It is a constitutionally guaranteed right of Nigerians to protest. It is the law,” he replied.
Source: Punch
