Protests, Counter-protests and allied Matters – Hope Eghagha

So it was that some Nigerians, exasperated, dissatisfied and angry with the existing socio-economic conditions in the country, gave a long notice to the Nigerian state that there would be a ‘day of rage’ come 1st of August, a day when Nigerians would take to the streets and express their umbrage about living conditions in the country. It was notice long enough for a new city to be built to accommodate a new generation of Nigerians; it was notice long enough for dialogue and policy direction change to whittle down the notches of anger in the land! At a point I thought the protesters were not serious, what with the full gear of negative reactions from the purveyors of the commonwealth. I thought that they were simply trying to rattle the government and move on, just to make a point that the Jagaban had not and has not put the conscience inside the pocket of complacency and money.

But, the state preferred threats, cajoling, labeling, and bullying tactics to scare the angry citizens in the land! Some of the spokesperson of government, official and unofficial, compromised and uncompromised, with some speaking from both sides of the mouth, made sure that the polity became a parliament of fowls! Was that ugly and arrogant statement credited to Senate President true?
There were also attempts to ethnicize the protests. Which was unfortunate. Hunger and inflation do not recognize ethnic boundaries. A hungry man from Sokoto can be as angry as a hungry man from Nembe. So, one of the features of underdevelopment reared its head: ethnicity as a basis for supporting or opposing the bad governance protest. Is being foulmouthed, insulting, and rude some of the requirements for being a presidential spokesman? Bayo Onanuga, what is wrong?

To be sure, the removal of fuel subsidy and the runaway inflation which unleashed itself on both the rich and poor compounded matters for everyone. As with the seller, the Bible says, so with the buyer! Garri, the poor man’s staple food, became gold. Rice? Chicken? These have become luxuries that only the upper middleclass can afford. Amidst these, there rumours of scandalous expenditures on luxury items in the seat of government. Rumours of humongous sums disappearing from the national coffers into the pockets of elected and appointed rulers. How did we enter this foretold hardship while a supposedly democratic government held sway?

The media, both social and mainstream, could not identify the leaders of the proposed strike. The federal government was insanely jittery. And it took desperate measures. The IG fingered mercenaries. A presidential spokesman fingered a former presidential candidate as the sponsor of the protests. Some ‘owners’ of the city of Lagos warned protesters against taking to the streets in Lagos, that they should go to their home states to stage their protests, that masquerades will be released into the streets to unleash the power of the Oro juju on protesters.

From this point on, a comedy of sorts grew wings like the proverbial horse in Greek mythology as government went on the offensive, recruiting foot soldiers to condemn the very idea of a national protest, and threatening brimstone and fire on protesters. Indeed, days before the protest was supposed to start, some groups who did not want the August 1st protests took to the streets with their placards, that is protesting the protest that was yet to take place! What an absurdity?

The protest took off. Arise TV gave us a big objective peep into the actions of protesters. Most states in the federation preached against the protest. Of course, they were protecting their infrastructure. They did not necessarily support the regime of hunger and hardship which the President unleashed on the nation as soon as he took over. But everyone knows the implication of a breakdown of law and order in any environment.

The President’s failure or refusa0l to address the nation before the protests is a minus. Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is a veteran of many battles. He has led protests, sponsored some and had established his credentials as a democrat. But in handling the ANISARS and Bad Governance protests, he did not acquit himself as a democrat. What has happened to the activist? Has he been caged by security forces and the henchmen who parade the corridors of power?

Protests are a part of democracy. Indeed, the very fact that people can protest is an ingredient of democracy. The protesters may not be right. But they have the right to be wrong. Often people who are in power get disconnected from the people they lead or rule over. It is a weakness in human nature. A protest is a way of jolting the powers-that-be into reality. It is true that often protests lead to violent actions. Some persons see protests as an opportunity to break all the rules of the land. They burn. They loot. They steal. They kill. Yet, this does not give the state the right to ban protests. Good governance minimizes protests.

President Tinubu should address the nation. He missed the opportunity to prevent the protest when he refused to negotiate with its leaders. He has unilaterally made some concessions by approving the new minimum wage with such speed as was never recorded before in our history. There is the naira concession to Dangote Refinery which if properly managed could bring down energy costs. But he must tackle inflation. He must do something about the value of the naira in relation to foreign currencies. He must step in vigorously into farmer-herder conflicts in the country which have affected production of food crops. The almighty rice must be taken on frontally now. Increased domestic production of rice has not brought down the price of rice. He should target garri production and its costs. Tinubu is a fantastic negotiator who can negotiate with the devil and get a reprieve or a bonus. He should do same with those who hold the levers of rice, wheat, and garri production and distribution.

There is too much anger in the land. It is fueled by lack of access to food. Food! Food! That people are hungry and angry is no news. Not even obsequious aides can hide this from the president. Hunger now wears a coat, adorns it with agbada and babaringa and parades round homes in the country. The energy behind efforts to thwart the protests should have been directed into meeting the demands of the protesters. As a democrat, Tinubu should side with the people, the people he had led to the trenches when he was on the other side. Let it not be said that he fought the system only because he wanted to inherit power. That would be a tragedy. Things ought to change, Mr. President, Sir!