As the Lagos West Senatorial candidate of the Gani Fawehinmi-led National Conscience Party, I led a campaign team of the Party to Iyana Ejigbo main market during the 2003 elections.
The market leaders could not understand our audacity and told us we would not be allowed to campaign in the market because it solidly belonged to Alliance for Democracy, a precursor of today’s APC.
By the way I used to live near Iyana Ejigbo then and my family used to patronize the market but when it came to politics it was suddenly going to become a no-go-area. We told and showed them who we were. We entered the market and campaigned.
Perhaps if we had been attacked, we would have heard similar stories like we are hearing about the Charly Boy incident in Abuja.
Truth is, there should be no-go areas in peaceful protest in a democracy. Like the earlier assault on him by the police, I condemn this one at Wuse market.
Has it really occurred to the anti-Charly Boy protest elements that they are the ones popularizing his protest? I once ran into him and his small crowd at Ikeja under bridge in Lagos and I didn’t see any excitement.
Incidentally, on that occasion I ran into a fellow NCP combatant, Tunde Agunbiade, who I asked if he was part of the show. He said he went into the small crowd out of curiosity but turned back when he realized who they were. Now same Charly Boy is grabbing the headlines.
I also wonder if some of the anti-Charly Boy protest elements are listening to themselves. Some are writing that he shouldn’t have gone there because northern elements in the market are illiterates. Shocking insult!
I guess we would hear the same argument if tomorrow ASUU leaders decide to take their case to motor parks and get attacked. We would hear: they should have known they are touts!
This is how fascism begins even in democracies as history has richly taught. Unfortunately, those who do not learn from the lessons of history are often doomed by it.
