Nigerian lawyer and human rights activist Dele Farotimi has argued that the sit-at-home protests that swept through Lagos and other parts of Nigeria during the pro-democracy struggle of 1994 and 1995 were far more impactful than the IPOB-led sit-at-home orders of recent years.
Speaking in an interview with News Central TV, Farotimi said, “Before there was the IPOB sit-at-home, there were sit-at-homes in 1994 and 1995 in this same Lagos and across Nigeria, during the years of the pro-democracy struggle. I was part and parcel of that. I was in the student union in those days, and I know that we participated at multiple levels. There are alternative forms of protest other than going into the street.”
Farotimi identified the deeper problem with how modern activists approach grassroots mobilisation, arguing that too many are unwilling to do the difficult work of engaging ordinary people particularly market women.
He insisted that activists have a responsibility to go directly to these communities, explain the issues clearly, and bring people along rather than issuing directives over their heads….See More
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