Conveners of #EndSARS protest in Osun have disowned one Olawale Adebayo Bakare, known in the local parlance as Mandate, saying he appears to be pursuing ‘Revolution Now’ agenda under the guise of #EndSARS.
Bakare, is an associate of Omoyele Sowore, the promoter of “Revolution Now,” who is standing trial for a reasonable offence.
In a statement jointly signed by four of the conveners, two of whom are members of the Osun Judicial Panel of Inquiry on Police Brutality, they described Bakare as an impostor, seeking to use the #EndSARS platform to achieve an ulterior motive.
The conveners are: Abdulazeez Ismail Abiodun, Queen Aderemi Fisayo, Babawale Poopola and Oluwasegun Idowu.
#EndSARS protesters had last Saturday suspended all forms of protest in Osun, following the hijack by hoodlums who laid siege on the parts of the State for several hours, looting private and government property in the process.
In a well circulated video that went viral in the State, Bakare was not only seen but also spoke on the need to suspend the protest.
But by Wednesday, he was said to have purportedly issued another statement which was at variance with the earlier position they had jointly taken.
However, the conveners of the #EndSARS protest in Osun are saying Bakare does not have their mandate to speak on their behalf.
In their statement, “Re: Osun EndSARS Protests and Judiciary Panel of Enquiry,” a copy of which was made available to journalists in Osogbo, the conveners said: “Our attention has been drawn to trending publication titled “OSUN STATE #ENDSARS PROTESTERS CONDEMNS MANIPULATIONS AND THE PRO-GOVERNMENT TENDENCIES OF THE JUDICIAL PANEL OF ENQUIRY; CALLS FOR IMMEDIATE REVIEW ” purportedly signed by Olawale Adebayo Bakare (Mandate) as Spokesperson, Olushayo Ogunleye, Mobilisation Secretary, and Queen Fisayo, Chairperson, Finance/Welfare Committee.
“#EndSARS protest movement in Osun never endorsed Olawale Bakare and others as spokespersons or any one amongst the purported signatories as the face and representatives of the struggle.
“We want to explicitly state that the author, who we strongly suspect to be Olawale Bakare, impersonated one of the signatrioes, Queen Fisayo, who is the one of the conveners of #EndSARS in Osun, the act that intrinsically gives out the narrative as criminally-motivated.
“That all the claims in the piece are false, misleading, selfserving and pursuance of personal and parochial agenda, which is totally in conflict with the original tenets of #EndSARS legitimate agitations.
“We are of robust conviction that these individuals are pursuing a very different agenda beyond #EndSARS and good governance. They are clearly out to blackmail amalgam of concious youths in the State of Osun, for the covert goal of making them to blindly accept their ‘Revolution Now Agenda’ under the pretext of genuine agitation against police brutality.
“They are obviously angry that the majority of #EndSARS activists in the state have agreed to put on hold the genuine protest, considering the prevailing circumstance of being hijacked by hoodlums, contrary to their wish of holding the entire state into ransom for selfish reason of impressing their paid masters and allies in ‘Revolution Now Fraternity’.
“It is instructive to note that those who are youths and students representatives in the Judiciary Panel of Enquiry are foundational #EndSARS conveners and part of the struggle from the begining to the day of suspension. They are also people of integrity with sound judgement to seek redress and ensure justice for the victims of police brutality.
“It is on that note that we want to urge the members of the public to disregard the so-called release, which tends to rubish the judicial Panel of Enquiry and sabotage the genuine prospect of EndSARS struggle. Their intents have been exposed as tactical move to put our dear state in disarray and state of anarchy.
“We therefore passionately put all security agencies on alert to nip this criminality and chaotic tendencies in the bud.
“We want to emphatically assert that we have no relationship whatsoever with ‘Revolution Now Agenda’ and we are using this opportunity to inform the general public that #EndSARS protest remains suspended across the state to give room for government to address the legitimate and fundamental issues raised by the teeming youths in the state.
“Finally, we implore the general public to disregard the claims of Bakare and his cohorts and approach the panel with their petitions, as members of the panel are men and women of integrity, carefully drawn from the Academia, Civil Society Organizations, Youths Council, Student body and Nigeria Bar Association. It is indeed certain that Osun citizens will laugh at last and laugh best,” the conveners said.
