Thread by @ogundamisi

Short Thread
As student activists in UNIJOS, we actually celebrated the coup by Major Gideon Orkar on April 22, 1990, naively we mobilised then started a march towards 3rd Armoured Division to 'mobilise in support of the overthrow of General Babangida'
vanguardngr.com/2020/04/flashb…

We were so glad IBB was 'gone', can't remember now. I think it was either @AbdulMahmud01 (then NANS President) or Benjamin Okonofua who knocked on my door and said 'Sankara it is over'. I was Sec-Gen of the Students Union Luka Dalang was President I had more or less overthrew him

Fell on myself, Kemi Afolayan (Asst Sec Gen) Benjamin Okonofua, Kashim Ibrahim I think, Abiodun Olamosu and a lot of members of the 'Movement' to mobilise Abuja hostel (Every "revolution" starts in Abuja' we did not think, we were charged, moved the entire Abuja, Babylon, Village

From Abuja to Naraguta hostel, joined by Angwa Rogo and Katako off-campus Students we just saw ourselves marching towards the main Jos terminus, the mission to mobilise the masses and 'take over' 3rd Armoured Division is a division of the Nigerian Army. We were charged and ready.

The 'Revolution' was not planned, it was spontaneous, we already had runnings with IBB over the IMF/WORLD BANK Loan meant to 'take away academic freedom'. This was payback time. The coup plotter also promised in Okah broadcast that 'Students will be part of the ruling government'

No one had the opportunity to read Okah's Coup speech in full, no internet in those days, just your transistor radio, by the time we got to Bauchi Road a division emerge in the massive protest, some students no longer wanted to join the 'revolution'. Okah's speech had an error👇

Gideon Okah had announced the take over of government as being
"on behalf of the patriotic and well-meaning peoples of the Middle Belt and the southern parts of this country"
That fatal statement broke our ranks, Students from the North understandably withdrew from the march.

By the time those of us in the student's leadership tried to get over the shock of Okah's error and also reconcile our students, the Army had mobilised from the 3rd Armoured Division is a division of the Nigerian Army Rukuba Barracks, the police joined, bullets sang and we ran.

Army specifically targeted the leadership of the movement. I was whisked by I think Yakubu Aromoshodun or some other Comrades, can't recall after several failed attempts to break the Security agents, riots escalated all over Jos campus area and we were all dispersed all over Jos.

Interestingly Oladipupo Diyya who was the GOC 3rd Armoured Division is a division of the Nigerian Army, made a broadcast supporting 'the current government' some say a strategic statement to see if Okah would be successful, giving us enough time to storm the streets of Jos.

After the coup failed, IBB came after the NANS leadership, @AbdulMahmud01 and almost the entire leadership of NANS were picked up by the SSS.
UNIJOS being the hotbed had the 'radical wing' of the Students Union declared wanted. I was picked up in Jos and Okonofua in his village

As we grow old I look back at the many failures of the Nigerian Students movement, we had the organisational capacity to disrupt the unjust system but ended up struggling to create a power vacuum and rather than step in handed power back to better organised politicians.

The Students movement WAS NOT prepared for the leadership of the country, the greatest mistake was the resolution NOT TO TAKE PART IN THE TRANSITION PROGRAMME. The few amongst us such as Bamidele Opeyemi, @ToksAfikuyomi and others were tagged, TRAITORS. We fought, others gained.

The shortsightedness of the then students movement despite the heroic efforts to fight for democracy led to the same people who had occupied the political space becoming the one to determine who ran for election, negotiate with the military and push the way forward.

Now that a lot of us have crossed age 40, some approaching age 50's and 60's we must at some point admit that try as we might in saving Nigeria we failed when we almost got to the finishing line, our ideological divisions 'Stalinist Vs Troskytes' etc looking back now is a JOKE!

My hope 4 younger activists are 'Revolution' is good, but without a well thought out roadmap, all you create is chaos and you won't be the beneficiary. You will be tagged HEROS as we were tagged, the system will reset itself, you must find a way to chart CLEAR roadmap.

Learn not to dig trenches to the point where you are unable to form alliances for the betterness of the Nation. DO NOT compromise your position but also note that times will come you will need to LISTEN more than SHOUT.
Do not rule out REFORM in the short term before REVOLUTION.

Back to our failed attempt to unwittingly help Major Gideon Okah overthrow General Babangida. It is time I publicly thank Mute Olori and her then partner (Name withheld) for saving my life from the bullet of the men of the Nigerian Army in Angwa Rogo. Never had the opportunity to

Also to tell everyone that no matter our disagreements today on almost every issue @AbdulMahmud01 Kemi Afolayan, Ben Okonofua, Late Dominic Ogampa, Bisi Akinola, Kashim Ibrahim and many more in my generation of 'Jos Collectives' I can not name here are like my family members.

Sadly as we age, we are all being called by God, someday, one day, not minding our differences, we will create time to just visit Jos, meet again and reminiscence on our near-miss with death, our spontaneous service to our Country at such young age and honour our fallen Comrades.

You can read the Gideon Okah APRIL 1990 COUP D'ETAT SPEECH here 👇