Why I shunned anti-fuel price rally — Gani Fawehinmi
Kayode Ketefe
Renowned constitutional lawyer, Chief Gani Fawehinmi (SAN), on Thursday explained his refusal to participate in the mass rally organised by the Nigeria Labour Congress and civil society groups in Lagos.
He told our correspondent in an interview in Lagos that he stayed away from the Wednesday rally because he felt it would serve no purpose.
He would have preferred a more confrontational and purposeful approach to force the "stubborn" Federal Government to revert its decision on fuel price hike.
He said though he was slightly indisposed on Wednesday, he would have participated "even if it means being carried on a stretcher," if the organisers had embraced a more confrontational, effective and result-oriented method.
Fawehinmi said, "The NLC and civil society groups should have combined the mass protest with an all-embracing national strike. All the trade unions: NLC, TUC, PENGASAN, NUPENG, and professional groups like ASUU, indeed, everyone should have joined forces in staging a national strike for two weeks.
"If there is no lifting of a single barrel of oil in the Niger Delta for two weeks and the Federal Government earns no income from oil and there is a total economic paralysis, Obasanjo will be brought to his knees.
"With that kind of strike, Obasanjo's government will collapse within two weeks and he will be forced to revert the prices of petrol to N49 per litre.
"Since three weeks ago when the fuel prices were increased, the combined forces of labour and civil society groups should have paralysed the economy by now.
"As for this rally, I could not see the result. It is too soft a measure, too smooth. A more stern, severe, and confrontational measure should have been adopted. That is the reason why I was not there."
Fawehinmi described the fuel increment as callous, an evidence of insensitivity of the present administration to the plight of the suffering masses.
The Federal Government announced the increase in fuel prices on August 26 in accordance with its policy to deregulate the downstream petroleum sector. The price of petrol rose from N50.50 per litre to N65 per litre.
The PUNCH, Friday September 16, 2005
