Omoyele Sowore, the convener of #RevolutionNow, has released a list of 14 demands from Nigerians to President Bola Tinubu’s administration, aimed at addressing the country’s governance challenges.
The demands, published on Sowore’s X account, are a result of inputs from Nigerians participating in the #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria campaign. The demands come ahead of the planned ‘Days of Rage’ protests, scheduled to take place from late July to August 2024.
He said, “So far, these are the commonest but fundamental demands from those who have responded to pursuing a general set of DEMANDs to #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria for the Days of Rage revolt scheduled for the end of July until August 2024.”
According to Sowore, the 14 demands are: “1. Scrap the 1999 Constitution and replace it with a People-made CONSTITUTION for the Federal Republic of Nigeria through a Sovereign National Conference to be immediately followed by a National Referendum.
“2. Toss the Senate arm of the Nigerian Legislative System, keep the House of Representatives (HOR), and make lawmaking a part-time endeavour.
“3. Pay Nigerian Workers a minimum wage of nothing less than N250,000 monthly.
“4. Invest heavily in education and give Nigerian students grants, not loans. Aggressively pursue free and compulsory education for children across Nigeria.
“5. Release Mazi Nnamdi Kanu unconditionally and demilitarize the South East.
“6. Renationalise publicly owned enterprises sold to government officials and cronies.
“7. Reinstate a corruption-free subsidy regime to reduce hunger, starvation and multidimensional poverty.
“8. Probe past and present Nigerian leaders who have looted the treasury, recover their loot, and deposit it in a special account to fund education, healthcare, and infrastructure.
“9. Restructuring of Nigeria to accommodate Nigeria’s diversity, resource control, decentralisation and regional development.
“10. Reforms of Security Agencies to stop continuous human rights violations and duplication of security agencies and enhance the physical security of Nigerian citizens.
“11. Establish a Special Energy Fund immediately to drive massive, corruption-free power sector development.
“12. Immediate Reconstitution of the Nigerian Electoral Body, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to remove corrupt individuals and partisan hacks appointed to manipulate elections.
“13. Massive investment in public works and industrialisation will help employ Nigeria’s teeming youths.
“14. Massive shake-up in the Nigerian judiciary to remove cabals of corrupt generations of judges and judicial officers that continue denying everyday citizens access to real justice.”
Sowore has declared the ‘Days of Rage’ protests to coincide with the fifth anniversary of the 2019 #RevolutionNow demonstration. He is urging nationwide mobilisation and calling for people to join the movement.