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It started sporadically, trickling down intermittently to some parts of the country with ignorable outcomes.

Groups of market women irked by dwindling sale of their wares or exasperated customers unable to buy much from hard-earned incomes, or parents unable to send their children to schools marched out in lamentation, but by the next moment dispersed as quickly as they had gathered. This happened in February this year.

From Ibadan to Kano, Yola, Minna and Ilorin, the protesters were unanimous in voicing out their grievances.

The reasons were the same: there was hardship in the country owing to how the prices of essential commodities were shooting up without control and the attendant consequences on the citizenry.

Later in February, the protests assumed a more serious dimension as people started closing roads and carrying placards in the streets, calling for the reversal of some policies of the government like the removal of subsidy on petroleum products, believed to have birthed the hardship.

It was, however, in early July that the signs began to appear that a more thorough and coordinated nationwide protests akin to the EndSARS protests that happened in 2021 during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari was in the pipeline.

Flyers with various designs and inscriptions began to appear and were trending on social media handles that included X, Instagram and Tik Tok with various messages.

In no time, what started like disparate and uncoordinated outbursts began to appear linked and assuming frightful dimensions that the government had to move in to nip it in the bud.

Various reactions of the government showed that it could no longer ignore the calls of the plan to stage a nationwide protest due to two major concerns.

The first had to do with what is happening around the world, especially in Kenya and Bangladesh, where citizens rose against the government to demand for better deals.

In the case of Kenya, youngsters took to the streets to protest a controversial tax bill, effectively forcing President William Ruto to back down. 

The second one had to do with what was experienced during the EndSARS protests in Nigeria, which began like any normal protest but grew rapidly and affected socioeconomic life in

defined leadership have the possibility of getting out of hand.”

 

Past mass actions in Nigeria 

The idea of popular struggles used to be common during the colonial days when people marched onto the streets to protest policies and actions of colonial administrations.

The colonial government, to its surprise, witnessed a popular struggle by women in Bende district in the present day Abia State in 1929, which later became known as the Aba Women Riot, to protest the restriction of women in government activities by warrant chiefs.

There was also the Abeokuta Women’s Revolt (also called the Egba Women’s Tax Riot) led by the Abeokuta Women’s Union (AWU) in the late 1940s against the imposition of unfair taxation by the colonial government. 

It continued, such that protests became a culture in the early days of independence, with many groups adapting the practice to press for their demands.

In 1964, rising tension in Tivland over the imposition of tax led to riots, resulting in the destruction of lives and property.

During military administrations, protests were led mainly by the labour unions, student groups and civil society organisations.

In one of such cases, students abandoned academic work and took to the streets during the military administration of Olusegun Obasanjo over the removal of subsidies for students. 

Known as the Ali Must Go riot, it was led by Segun Okeowo, the then president of the National Union of Nigerian Students.

Students again led the country into mass revolt, when in 1989, the then military president, General Ibrahim Babangida introduced the Structural Adjustment Programme.

Civil rights and pro-democracy activists mobilised people to demand the return of civil rule when the military government of Babangida seemed to be reneging on his promise to hand over to a democratically elected government.

It got worse when Babangida annulled the June 12, 1993 presidential election as many segments of the country were mobilised to demand for the validation of the mandate believed to have been given to the presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Moshood Abiola.

The protests forced General Ibrahim Babangida to step down and hand over to Ernest Shonekan, who led the Interim National Government (ING). 

When Sani Abacha took over the reins of government, sacking the ING, there was temporary calm to ascertain which direction he was headed. 

Immediately his body language was interpreted as not ready to hand over to Abiola, things changed and the agitation for the restoration of democracy and release of detainees under different guises increased in frequency and intensity.

The successful handover to a civilian government and the restoration of democracy by the General Abdulsalami Abubakar regime calmed frayed nerves as the main issue for the frequent agitations had been addressed.

A new wave of concern, however, brought the labour unions back to the trenches under the civilian administration.

Whenever the government tampered with the price of petrol, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) mobilised to force it to review the stance.

In 2002, the country witnessed a series of protests led by the NLC over an increase in the price of petrol by the Obasanjo-led government.

The then president of the NLC, Adams Oshiomhole, led the protests, demanding a reversal of the increase in the pump price of petrol.

During the President Goodluck Jonathan administration, the NLC, under a new president, Abdulwahed Omar, led other Nigerians to demand a halt of government’s plan to remove subsidy on fuel. 

When in January 2012 Jonathan announced the removal of fuel subsidy, adjusting the pump price of petrol from N65 per litre to N141, citizens were ready for a mass action.

People trooped onto the streets in what became known as the Occupy Nigeria protest, where prominent opposition figures like former President Muhammadu Buhari, former Governor Nasir el-Rufai and notable clerics like Tunde Bakare, Pastor Enoch Adeboye and others joined.

But when Buhari took over from Jonathan, his administration was able to diffuse attempts at mass revolt even when it increased the pump price of petrol.

Some agitators were even manhandled by mobs, who believed the protesters were not being fair to the administration; and the usual sporadic agitations died down until the latter part of its second term when the EndSARS protests happened.

The protests started as a revolt against police brutality by one of its departments, known as the Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) but later went out of hand, shaking major cities like Abuja and Lagos and brought in its wake wanton destruction of property and loss of lives.

Since the EndSARS protests are still fresh in the memory of Nigerians, the government obviously did not want a repeat, according to many who spoke against the current protest.

 

Government’s reactions

The government spoke through various channels to discourage the present protest.

The Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, said the president had good intentions for the country and was ready to address the challenges. 

The minister said, “On the issue of the planned protest, Mr President does not see any need for that. He asked them to shelve that plan, and he has asked them to await government’s response to all their pleas. He has listened to them.

“The young people out there should listen to the president and give him more time to see to the realisation of all the goodies he has for them.”

The presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, pointed accusing fingers at opposition leaders, saying the supporters of Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party during the last elections were behind the protest and that Obi should be held responsible.

“Don’t be fooled: the malcontents planning to stage nationwide protests are supporters of Peter Obi, the failed presidential candidate of the Labour Party. And he should be held responsible for whatever crisis emanates from the action,” he said.

Last Wednesday, the federal government, through the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, said that rather than protest, Nigerians should engage the government through another means to ensure that the current administration delivers on its campaign promises.

“The government is weary of the dangers associated with protests that are vulnerable to being hijacked by bandits, insurgents and other criminals.

“Rather, we request that dialogue should be advanced, and we remain open to such,” Akume said, insisting that protest is not the solution to the challenges, which the President Bola Tinubu-led administration is working to solve.” 

The presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, is one of those in support of the protest.

Using his social media handles, Sowore had insisted on the protest, saying it would cause changes in the country. 

 

Will Tinubu meet protesters demand?

The demands of the protesters are a dozen. They’re asking the government to put an end to subsidy scam and reverse fuel price to below N300 per litre; bring tertiary education fees back to their previous rates by reversing subsidies; restore electricity tariffs to affordable levels for the public; return import duties to their previous rates and publicly disclose and reduce the salaries and allowances of all senators, House of Representatives members, and the Speaker. 

They’re also asking the government to establish an emergency fund to support SMEs; make INEC independent of the executive branch with transparent processes for appointing its chairman; enact a law mandating INEC to electronically transmit live electoral results; reopen national borders; reform EFCC; declare a state of emergency on inflation and reform the judiciary. 

Though the president and key officials of government have spoken on the protests, they were mainly rehashing the achievements of government, asking the protesters to give the administration more time. 

The president is yet to respond directly to the demands, but going by the responses from the officials of government, it appears government is yet to conclude on the key demands like reversing the price of petrol to N300.

 

The way forward 

 

Government must be sincere in addressing demands – NBA

The President of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Yakubu Chonoko Maikyau (SAN) has emphasised the need for the Nigerian government to show sincerity in addressing the issues that sparked the ongoing nationwide protest.

Maikyau in a statement issued on the mass action, also urged the federal government and organisers of the protest to come to a roundtable for a frank and sincere  discussion on what must be done to immediately begin to turn around the plight of the people for good. 

He said the NBA had consistently called the attention of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led government to the suffering of the people of Nigeria and the need for the government to take decisive steps to revamp the economy and get Nigerians out of hunger and poverty.

The NBA’s boss, however, said there was a need for the government to show sincerity and commitment in addressing the issues facing the country.

“As earlier noted, Nigerians need to be convinced of the sincerity of government in taking us out of this quagmire. The efforts by government in dealing with the present economic hardship must be communicated to Nigerians at all levels in simple terms, accompanied by tangible interventions that will provide the necessary succour to alleviate our sufferings in the immediate, while giving us reasons upon which to place our hopes and general aspirations in the long term, for improved welfare and standard of living.

“Nigerians are a resilient and hardworking people, who deserve the respect of their leaders. Understanding and true followership need to be reciprocated with purposeful leadership; the government has the responsibility of translating its purposefulness and sincerity into concrete benefits to the people.  

“Mechanisms should be put in place for government/people engagement on a regular periodic basis.  Timelines for certain specific actions should be put in place and implemented as the circumstances dictate. We call on members of the National and state Houses of Assembly to immediately engage with their constituents based on the plans of government at the federal and subnational levels to address the demands of the people.

“We further recommend that a National Security Summit be convened, where serving and retired military, police, intelligence, and other law enforcement officers will assemble to re-examine our security situation, proffer workable solutions and implementation strategies. 

“Traditional institutions and religious leaders should be co-opted and given specific tasks in this regard. Civil society organisations should be engaged at all levels of the proposed dialogue and in the monitoring of  the implementation of the decisions that may be reached”, he said.  

Also. a human rights activist, Ebun Olu Adegboruwa of the Take It Back Movement, one of the organisers of the protest, believes the contrast between the hardship being experienced by the people and what he called the luxuriant lifestyles of those in government instigated such action and advocated bridging such gaps.

“There is need to urgently end the wastage by government functionaries, arising from their lavish and luxurious lifestyles,” he said. 

Senator Sani, on his part, said the best way to curb protest is for the government to listen to the demands of the people.

He said the government should “set up a committee. Just as they sat with labour, they should also sit with the leaders of this protest and see how it goes.”

Abeny Mohammed, a lawyer, said the failure of the president to address the protesters before or on the slated date for the commencement of the protest was a missed opportunity by the number one citizen to show empathy and identify with the suffering of Nigerians.

 “The massive deployment of security forces to stop the protesters from protesting is an admission of failure by the government that it has no solution to the genuine demands of the protesters and Nigerians generally,” he stated.

While the protest has not been called off, many insist that the protesters have made their point.  How this pans out in the days to come remains to be seen.