Nationwide Protests And Matters Arising

Nigeria has been convulsed by nationwide protests that paralyzed economic activities in most states of the federation leading to huge losses in lives and property. The #EndBadGovernance protests that started peacefully quickly degenerated into massive riots leading to looting, destruction of both public and private property and in some areas, death especially in northern parts of the country.

There are varied reasons why the protests turned violent and provided a free reign for looters and arsonists. The main trigger of mayhem was said to be the clampdown on protesters by the security operatives which, at the last count, resulted in the killing of over 30 people and injuries to many more. Immediately after this crackdown the looting spree started, destruction was unleashed on property worth billions while business activities were disrupted for days.

This intense protests were triggered by the twin policies of the fuel subsidy removal and the devaluation of the Nigerian currency -the Naira that sent prices of Premium Motor Spirit(PMS) otherwise known as fuel and other essential items to  all time high beyond the reach of the ordinary man unleashing enormous hunger and misery in the land.

Since President Bola Tinubu embarked on his supposed  neo-liberal economic policies on assumption of office in May 2023, the difficulties have multiplied to a level that appeared to have overstretched even the most patient of peoples.

The streets were filled with citizens who barely eke out a decent living and have to struggle to be able to buy basic things. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS),  prices of food and other essential items increased by over 250 per cent in the last three months. Unemployment in Nigeria is nearly 40 per cent while poverty rate is about 41 per cent and inflation at 34.19 per cent as of June 2024.

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Many businesses both foreign and domestic are battling to keep head above water in the midst of hostile operating environments causing many people who were previously employed to lose their jobs.  There is increasing loss of investment in the country with Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and capital inflows dwindling by over 50 per cent in a country with a huge population of over 220 million people.

Unconfirmed reports claim that Nigeria is no longer the biggest economy in Africa as its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has depreciated plunging it to the third position behind South Africa and Egypt. It is even worse for the Nigerian citizens when measured by their per capita income, which is less than $2000.

Perhaps the biggest instigator of these protests was the report that in the midst of the deplorable poverty and hunger ravaging the people, officials of the political class is indulging in splendor of obscene proportions with some indulging in inexplicable level of frivolous spending on luxuries.

At the peak of the protests, President Tinubu gave a nationwide broadcast in which he appealed to the protesters to embrace peace and dialogue while reeling out the reforms his administration is embarking on to ameliorate the suffering of the masses and bring the needed benefits to them. But it appears the people no longer believe in the rhetoric of the government, they want concrete results and not mere exhortations for patience and perseverance.

While the causes of these protests are noted, we believe that the nature and character of protests in Nigeria are changing. According to renowned writer Farook Kperogi, “there is now a profoundly consequential decentering of the locus of protest culture in Nigeria. In the past, protests against unpopular government policies used to be conceived, constructed, and carried out by a self-selected class of professional protesters based mostly in Lagos who earned activist bona fides from their anti-military, pro-democracy, and human rights advocacy in the 1980s and 1990s.”  Today’s protests are organized on social media barely with leaders but with massive outcomes in terms of turn out.

We believe that in today’s Nigeria one of the emerging issues is that hunger unites people who are previously divided along religious or ethnic lines.  It is instructive that the traditional rulers, religious leaders, politicians, civil society organizations and Non-governmental organizations that were probably persuaded to talk the people out of the protests failed abysmally to stop the protests.

There is a clear message here. When the historical forces that dictate the circumstances of a revolution begin to bring common people together, they could break loose from the divisive forces of bondage that held them captive over the ages.  When people no longer listen to the traditional and religious leaders, it is a clear signal that the social fabric that held the people hostage might be breaking down and the traditional system losing its hold.

This might be a positive development, but we advocate that any fundamental change within the socio- political system in Nigeria should take the trajectory of peaceful evolution.