Friday 21 December 2012

JAF Reaction to a Malicious Report in the PM News

The News Editor
PM News
Dear Compatriot,
The News Editor
PM News
Dear Compatriot,
Re: PM News Report - Traffic Law: Group Slams Okada Riders, Says Protest Illegal
PLEASE INVESTIGATE YOUR REPORTER – JAMIU YISA
The attention of Joint Action Front (JAF) has been drawn to a malicious and concocted report in the PM News of December 21st 2012 captioned Traffic Law: Group Slams Okada Riders, Says Protest Illegal authored by your reporter by the name Jamiu Yisa.
The said report, which we strongly suspect is at the behest of the Lagos State Government and the Lagos State Police Command was, aimed at disparaging the Joint Action Front (JAF), equally undermines the credibility of the PM News.
The malicious report as we reproduce in full reads:
A pressure group, Joint Action Movement, JAM, has described as illegal, the recent protest of some commercial motorcyclists popularly called okada riders against the Lagos State Traffic Law. The group, at rallies held at Agege and Mile 12 this morning, warned the protesters that they risked being charged with contempt of court because their grievance against the law has been adjudicated upon by a court of competent jurisdiction.
Addressing the rallies jointly, the National Coordinator of JAM, Kehinde Olaore and Kola Animasaun, President and General Secretary, respectively, wondered why an aggrieved set of people, who approached the court for adjudication on a matter could thereafter engage in senseless protest after their matter has been thrown out.
JAM dissociated its members from the last protest organised by Joint Action Forum, JAF, and some okada riders. It admitted that it was formerly part of JAF before it decided to engage in activities that are inimical and detrimental to the corporate existence of the country.
While pledging its support to the Lagos State government on the Traffic Law, the group warned against lawlessness and advised protesting okada riders to be guided by law and due process.
Olaore and Animasaun warned the JAF to desist from misleading those they are expected to guide aright.
Let us put the record straight:
JAF notes that the PM News has a record of prompt and effective coverage of the activities of JAF, which are very prominent in local and international media. None of your reporters covering the activities of JAF and other groups in the civil society would have written such malicious report without recourse to the leadership of JAF on such spurious claims by agents-provocateur that they were erstwhile members of JAF.
The Joint Action Front (JAF) and not Joint Action Forum as reported by the Mr. Jamiu Yisa is the pro-labour civil society coalition with irreproachable precedents of struggle on the side of the working people and the poor against exploitative and oppressive policies in its drive towards SYSTEM CHANGE for the socio-economic transformation of Nigeria.
JAF operates on the basis of affiliate organisations who subscribe to its goals. JAF cannot just be joined by the individuals. Thus, Kehinde Olaore and Kola Animashaun are impostors unknown to JAF as they never belonged to any of our affiliates.
We strongly believe that the floated JAM should be in the imagination of Mr. Jamiu Yisa, who, from our preliminary findings, has been exposed as an agent of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) working to undermine the credibility of the PM News.
Also, our findings showed no such rallies as reported by Mr. Jamiu Yisa took place anywhere in Lagos today. It is therefore, in the interest of the PM News and the profession of journalism that Mr. Jamiu should be investigated as to know whose interest is he serving.
Rallies and protests (even the rent-a-crowd government-sponsored) had never escaped the attention of a wide section of the media and the police. Mr. Jamiu needs to explain to the public who Kehinde Olaore and Kola Animashaun are, his invitation to cover the rallies and photographs of the rallies. Mr. Jamiu needs to convince the public of the history of JAM and its capacity to pull two supposedly held rallies in the morning hours as were covered by only him.
Given our high regards for the media, whose objective reporting of JAF’s activities in the past and present are well documented, we will not take Mr. Jamiu Yisa’s misleading and concocted report against the PM News. Instead, we urge the PM News to address the issues we have raised with utmost diligence and save the profession of journalism from being ridiculed by those violating its basic ethics and practice.
We appreciate your prompt treatment of the issue and feedback to the Nigerian public on the fact of the matter.
 
Yours fraternally
Comrade Abiodun Aremu
JAF Secretary

Thursday 20 December 2012

ARREST AND DETENTION CANNOT DETER US! THE MASS PROTEST MUST CONTINUE!!


PRESS STATEMENT

 
The Joint Action Front (JAF) condemns the arrest and detention of five members of the organization on Wednesday December 19, 2012 by the police at the behest of the Lagos state government. Those arrested were Dr. Dipo Fashina, National Chair, JAF, Abiodun Aremu National Secretary, JAF, Hassan Taiwo Soweto, Oloyode Usman and Segun Oladunni. 

The activists were later released after they had been detained for about six hours at the Lagos state police command Ikeja. They were asked to report back at the command on Thursday December 20.

The arrest was tantamount to kidnap as the activists were arrested in their car on Yaba-Ojuelegba Road after they had left the Lagos Secretariat of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) where the peaceful mass protest march organized by JAF in solidarity with okada riders had been formally rounded-off.

It should be recalled that JAF has since Monday December 10 flagged off a series of mass actions to protest the Schedule 2 of the new Lagos traffic law which unleashes brutal attack on livelihood of Okada riders. This anti-poor provision bans the operation of okada riders in 475 roads and restricts their operation to between 6am and 8pm. The action was also to protest the brutality and extortion of okada riders by the police and other government agencies under the guise of the enforcement of the law.

JAF and okada riders have demanded dedication of a special lane for okada operation, stop to the brutality and extra-judiciary repression of Okada workers  and the release of illegally motorcycles impounded and adequate compensation for those destroyed.

The attack on Okada riders is part of the repressive and anti-poor policies and vicious conducts of the Babatunde Fashola government against the poor in Lagos state.  We recall that different sections of the poor in the state daily bear the brunt of cruelty and crudeness which is the thrust of the Lagos state government.

For instance, the children of the poor have been denied access to Lagos state university with outrageous fees, the use of tokunboh (imported used cars) for taxi operation has been banned while many residents of Makoko have been rendered homeless.

JAF holds that the descent to undemocratic and unconstitutional method by the Lagos state government, which incidentally prides itself as progressive, or by any other state government or the federal government will not deter JAF from continuing its actions against the unjust Lagos Road Traffic Law and its solidarity with okada  riders and other sections of the working people  across the country.

We shall resume the mass action against the anti-poor law and police brutality of okada riders soonest.

We appreciate the intervention of legal practitioners who came to the police command to challenge the unlawful arrest and detention of JAF activists and  demanded their release

Dipo Fashina                                                                     Abiodun Aremu
National Chair                                                                                         National Secretary

Saturday 8 December 2012

JAF Leaflet: Anti-Poor Lagos Road Traffic Law and Kick-off of Mass Action


Joint Action Front (JAF)

SUPPORTS

THE OKADA & TRICYCLE OPERATORS!

THEY HAVE HUMAN AND CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS!

IT IS NOT A CRIME TO BE POOR!!

THEY DESERVE THE RIGHT TO LIVELIHOOD!!!

JAF Declares

Monday, DECEMBER 10TH 2012

KICK-OFF of MASS ACTION against the ANTI-POOR & UNJUST Lagos Road Traffic Law

@

Nigeria Labour Congress,

29 Olajuwon Street, Tejuoso-Yaba, Lagos

@ 8am prompt

ARISE OKADA RIDERS, ARISE OKADA USERS, ARISE NIGERIANS, ITS TIME TO STOP THIS INJUSTICE AGAINST THE POOR!

THE LAW IS FAULTY & NA WURU-WURU TO THE ANSWER

· The central issue of contention in the New Lagos Road Traffic Law was the fraudulent listing of 475 inner roads in Schedule II (which was not presented as part of the Traffic Bill during the Public Hearing), but is now signed into law by Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola.

· Why should a government that says it is ‘progressive’ make a Traffic law to jail offenders 3-years when those who daily loot our collective wealth (that should have been available to create jobs and provide social wealth), are walking the streets and using the looted fund to undermine the law?

· Why is Lagos State Government (LASG) not interested in making laws for improvement in the social welfare of Lagosians?

· Why is it not making laws to enhance job opportunities and wealth creation?

· Why is Governor Fashola bent on laws that will further punish the poor masses?

· Why is the LASG NOT MAKING LAWS TO PROTECT THE POOR?

· Is it not true that the megacity project is not meant for the poor?

· Is it good governance to use public office to get rid of the poor in a city of stark affluence of class allies of the government?

Join others to organize and mobilize for this MASS ACTION!

FREEDOM IS NOT GIVEN, IT IS FOUGHT FOR AND WON!!

DARE TO STRUGGLE, DARE TO WIN!!!

Read, make copies and pass to others

DR. DIPO FASHINA          Comrade ABIODUN AREMU
JAF Chairperson                        JAF Secretary

Issued on 7th December 2012 by the Joint Action Front (JAF)

10 Afolabi Lesi Street, Ilupeju-Anthony, Lagos-Nigeria. 08035068524, 08033347962. www.jointactionfront.blogspot.com, Email: jnt_action@yahoo.co.uk