Thoughts on the proposed protest against hunger – By Tony Eke

By Tony Eke

Nigeria is in the grip of a probable protest propelled by remote and immediate issues of economic hardship. Even a category of the blind gifted with an extra sensory organ could fitfully see the emerging inclement horizon! It may be quite distinct from earlier pockets of protests witnessed within the intervening years of 1999 and today. The main difference lies with the national coloration as conveyed by the inclination of various groups within the country’s two broad divides to participate in the protest.

Amidst tension and fear induced by the hashtags of the protest, the debate about its desirability has however taken the centre stage of discourse rather than issues which continue to feed the agenda of the protest planners.  It shows the occasional tendencies  of our compatriots to obfuscate an idea which is so clear and graspable. Exhibiting a disposition that questions the reality of an idea likely to catalyse a profound change in a polity is preposterous.

That the proposed protest has the support of many Nigerians is not difficult to discern. If a plebiscite were conducted today to determine the percentage ratio of supporters vis-a-vis naysayers, it’s very likely that the former would take the lead. Nigerians had been wearied by long years of poor governance, but rather than take their discontent to the streets as seen in many climes, our people have chosen the undignified silence of willing sufferers.

Let’s make it clear. The protest planners like the rest of us have not categorically put the blame of Nigeria’s retrogression on Tinubu, but the common complaint is that our socio-economic lives have gone awry within one year of his emergence as President. Granted, he may have initiated economic reforms with a view to remedying Buhari’s ruinous years, but his reforms are literally killing the people in a worse degree than his predecessor’s. There is indeed a parallel between Tinubu’s recourse to hurtful economic policies at the behest of the Bretton Woods institutions and Rehoboam’s chastisement of biblical Israelites with scorpions, following the thoughtless counsel of his youthful friends.

It’s the degree of suffering, privation, hunger, and hopelessness that prompted the choice of one of the two hashtags ‘Days of Rage’ which, of course, is petrifying to Tinubu and his lieutenants. It’s easier for them to read a deeper meaning into that phrase, but they probably find it difficult to address the causative circumstances that birthed it. Such a glaring feature is underscored by the widening gulf between the perception of those in government and the ordinary people that bear the brunt of policies mostly bereft of human face.

As it were, the cumulative grievances have bred extreme frustrations amongst youths, but quite unlike the older category of the population who continue to show resilience, perseverance, and the post-1999 form of cowardice, a number of issues have awakened their zest and put them on the path of resistance. No right-thinking person goes on a protest when he’s happy. The youths are agitated over certitude of graduating into joblessness, growing poverty of the masses in the midst of opulence by few persons,  pervasive insecurity, lack of hope not only today but even beyond tomorrow, and the unfavourable atmosphere which has unmanned many so much so that a large number of family men have become impotent, economically speaking.

All the while, it was expected that the President and his team will take proactive steps such as meeting the planners’ demands half-way in order to stave off the protest. While no concrete measures had been unfolded yet to woo the protesters, the President has surprisingly showed a certain degree of opposition to protest of any form. It’s as if the sheer contemplation of protest by any group of people is now a sacrilege! They seem unmindful of the fact that ours is a democracy despite its failings and distortions.

A social issue such as the type unfolding before us provides an opportunity to dissect the nature and character of leadership we are burdened with. Many years back, Tinubu was seen as a typical democrat, but it’s incredulous today that a Tinubu, who had led protesters against the policies of the then Jonathan administration, is frightened by a proposed protest to the extent of exhibiting the unenviable trait of an hare which tucks its tail in-between its hind legs at the sight of an overcast weather!

Some questions are pertinent. What’s the issue with Tinubu? Is this the same person who made enormous sacrifices fighting for democracy in the pre-1999 years? Has he undergone a peculiar metamorphosis which either makes eminent persons to become lily-livered at the twilight of their existence or extremely withdrawn from those pastimes they hitherto relished?

Perhaps, Tinubu may have been inspired by the Nobel Laureate Professor Wole Soyinka who recently lost his once-respected voice flavoured by fervour of unbiased criticism of successive administrations when he toed the path of metaphorical dumbness at a time he was expected to assess the first year of Tinubu administration. Human nature is indeed unpredictable! Just as Soyinka left many Nigerians disappointed, so has Tinubu’s disapproval of a justifiable protest in the face of misgovernment shocked our compatriots.

All in all, the proposed protest if it ever holds for some days would alter the apparent arrogance and insensitivity of the present rulership to the complaints of the masses. Allowing protests by the very people the government purportedly derived its mandate from will strengthen the democratic course. Not only does Lincoln’s quintessential definition of democracy make the people its centre point; democracy  itself denotes more than seasonal elections that throw up a number of politicians as mandate holders. One of the ultimate tests of a thriving democracy is the extent to which the people are allowed to voice their discontent, aspirations, and preferences.

Yet, contrary to perceived fears, the protest will likely not degenerate into uncontrollable scenes provided the security agencies perform their roles by protecting the protesters and keeping miscreants away from hijacking the noble intention of the planners. Let the voice of the youths be heard in a peaceful atmosphere across the country. Since the future belongs to them, the onus lies with them to protect it today without which tomorrow will be bleak.

Tony Eke, a journalist, based in Asaba, can be reached via  tonek6819@gmail.com or 08035504896