With the intense debate that is raging over the removal of the fuel subsidy by the Goodluck Jonathan presidency, bloggers on several websites have said the social media has been responsible for the few protest so far and are now calling Nigerians to join an organized and peaceful protest slated for Friday.
? In exclusive interviews with LEADERSHIP yesterday, bloggers on www.omjuwa.com and lovenigeria.org, J.Japheth-Omojuwa, Azeenarh Mohammed and Sa’adatu Abuja, said millions of youths are angry at the way the subsidy was removed and are now organizing for a Friday protest to get their message across to government.
???? Omojuwa said that the government would be irresponsible not to listen.
??? “We are protesting already. We are on the streets already. As I speak to you, young Nigerians are on the streets and people are joining.
? “We are, through the social media, telling people that you should not just listen to these things; you should reach out. One million Nigerians have BlackBerry. There are five million Nigerians on Facebook and two million Nigerians on Twitter. You have to understand that these are influential people.
?? “We were there at Eagle Square. Dino Melaye called people up and we used our social media to call people up. Anybody that will say that the protest that is happening around the country was not from social media would be lying to you. As I speak to you the government is doing all it can to shut down BlackBerry.”
??? Mohammed on her part said, “People think this struggle will not happen because we are all online. But we are reaching out to the streets. What we are going to do singularly tomorrow is get people to stand in the streets and share fliers, get ready.”
?? “Jonathan got us and he got us good. They told us subsidy was not to be introduced until April 1, so we sat down folded our arms, and on January 1 it was removed. We are not organized. This is the time for us to organize and do as well as they have done, and do it better. We need everybody to agree that one thing is going to be done.
? “We want the subsidy returned. We do not want the people to adjust to the fuel hike and the expensive living condition they now have to live. We do not want to be in too much of a hurry. So we are using examples that have happened in other places. We are learning from others and we are using it.”
??? She said, “One consistent message we are trying to push is that we will not be violent; there will not be violence. We need to be able to strategise. Our job is to give the people the facts. Friday at 10am, that is when we will know whether Nigerians can move or not.”
????? While both have reached out to trade unions, an angry youth, Sa’adatu Abubakar, said she has bought into the idea of protesting:
??? “We want subsidy to be returned; we want the cost of governance to be reduced. We are going to protest and it is going to happen right here in Abuja on Friday,” she declared.