by Dominic E. Obozuwa

It is important, as Nigerians fight to reclaim their country tomorrow, to be careful and take some universally advised steps to keep the protests effective.

1. Be sure you are medically fit to join a protest. Can you endure the walk, standing for long and more especially, does your respiratory system allow you to withstand tear-gas attacks?

2. Be properly kitted for this exercise. Dress as light as possible. If you have many phones just take one and make sure u have adequate credit, better to wear canvas or light trekkers too.

3. Report your location to your loved ones at intervals.

4. Be aware of your environment. Always be sure that your physical surrounding is okay, the ground is firm. If you ever have to walk on a bridge, ensure you do so briskly, the Nigerian police make most attacks on protesters near bridges. So watch out for the bridges in Lagos, Abuja and elsewhere.

5. Don’t stay too close to people in clusters. That’s to prevent a stampede. Ensure at least 2 feet between you and those around you.

6. Keep yourselves hydrated by taking a lot of water.

7. Be aware of infiltration. The popular ones to watch out for are criminals who want to loot, thugs sent from politicians, and SSS agents.

8. Once it’s getting violent, leave. Remember our police aren’t trained to deal with demonstrators but rioters.

9. While you may want to take pictures, do so discreetly to prevent being misunderstood.

10. Further, ‘leave yourselves an out’. That means have an escape route. Be sure you are familiar with that route. If you ever need to run, keep your eyes open. Also ensure you don’t run in a straight line, run in a zig-zag manner – this is to prevent anyone aiming at you from getting an easy target. Don’t ever run into places like garages or markets.

As important as this demonstration is , we cannot afford a casualty.

Don’t get Violent!

Finally, watch and pray.