Following the judgement of the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) headed by Justice Haruna Tsamani, the Big Tent Coalition has rejected the verdict and vowed to “Occupy Nigeria” on September 12.

The group also rejected what it described as President Bola Tinubu’s usurpation of power and its endorsement by the judiciary.

In a statement, the group stated: “We are further alarmed that our electoral commission organised an election with support from organisations who funded them like the European Union, whose election-monitoring reports clearly stated that the election was a farce but was blatantly ignored by a court system that says they did not prove the point. This is anarchy that we are moving toward, and so we are alerting the world that our institutions have failed the people and our nation is on a downward slide to fascism.”

At a consultative meeting of the global leadership of The Big Tent in response to the judgement of the tribunal, it also resolved to mobilise Nigerians “to take their country back.”

It called on all Nigerians everywhere across the globe to come out on Tuesday, September 12 to occupy wherever it is that they choose to occupy to avoid the relapse of the country into fascism.

It stated: “We now know we do not have a judiciary, but we cannot let our country collapse, so Nigerians across board must now arise to take back Nigeria. It is time to use the internet and other resources to mobilise all kinds of groups across the country to get Nigerians of all shades to reject the impending doom and strongly state that we cannot accept this present order. If we say it enough, something will give.

“The Big Tent encourages Nigerians to raise slogans such as SLAVERY IS NOT AN OPTION, AND IF WE DIE, WE DIE, develop mobilisation specific to groups. Nigerians are encouraged to occupy wherever it is they choose to occupy, and emphatically state that we cannot let our country collapse.”

While addressing the leadership of Big Tent, Professor Pat Utomi noted that fascism is targeted terrorism and fascists act like bullies who bully again and again after each success.

According to him, “It’s now happening in our clime, which we first saw with the elections (on February 25) because through bullying, people forced their way and procured results (which was announced on March 1 at 4.10 am). The judiciary has been dead for some time. I participated in a conference of the Nigerian Bar Association Section on Public Interest and Development Law (NBA-SPIDEL) about three months ago and I saw former presidents of the NBA repeatedly describing the Nigerian judicial system as a joke. I called for restraint but after today (PEPT judgement), it is clear that even the lawyers know we don’t have a judiciary anymore.”

The founder of Big Tent also stated that “It is now impossible to save Nigeria without a focused resistance otherwise fascism will go from bullying this person to that person. Look at even the media as they have decided that certain media are not welcomed in the presidential villa. So we can only but expect more and more of this, and the only solution is RESISTANCE. There needs to be resistance from the diaspora, resistance from within, resistance from the youth, thought leaders. You cannot build a country on lies, on criminality and expect it to go anywhere.

“The Big Tent is resolute in its determination to champion the cause to take back our country because what is worse is to do nothing, recognising that it is the excuse the usurpers are using to deceive the world that the Nigerian people have moved. We urge the Nigerian people to show that they have not moved on because there are genuine reasons why to accept this status quo is to move to the end of Nigeria. The naked truth is that we are fighting for the soul of Nigeria right now.

“We therefore enjoin all well-meaning Nigerians to join us as we also embark on a massive education of the people, because even as we encourage and mobilise to get on the streets it is important to reach the soul of the people who are getting on the streets to make them understand why they are getting on the streets. Nigeria is already effectively a criminal enterprise because the crop of the present leadership elite involved in making major leadership decisions are persons of questionable character.

“We are also not unmindful that our country is not isolated and can be sucked into what is going on in the continent – the anger of the young people of the continent of Africa. If we do not move in a controlled manner we may end up like Somalia, which is why we should all feel agitated and have the sense of urgency about how we suggest that Nigeria cannot continue like this.

“We encourage the many support groups of the Big Tent, Civil Society Organisations, pressure groups, organised labour, students, young professionals, diaspora communities, to quickly develop clear and lucid arguments to alert the world on what is happening in Nigeria. Groups should as a matter of necessity and enlightened self-interest mobilise and show why it is important to say that our country cannot continue like this on the road to Somalia.

“It is important that the world knows that the people are dealing with the end of their country because they have been pushed to the wall, and are going ahead to do what they think is important to save their country no matter what anybody is saying to them.”

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