Perspectives, other things to know about the looming August 1st nationwide protest, by Ayuba Ahmad
There is a planned nationwide protest scheduled to commence on August 1st 2024. Organisers of the demonstration said they will be marching against hunger, hardship and bad governance, among many other things in every state of the country.
Nigeria has had experiences of protests, spontaneous and organised, way back to the colonial times through to the post independent years. Perhaps, the latest and most profound in recent times, are the 2012 protests against the withdrawal of petroleum subsidy by the administration of President Ebele Goodluck Jonathan, as well as that of the 2022 #EndSars riots.
However, it doesn’t seem that any of the previous incidents had generated the level of the furore and anxiety as the planned and looming nationwide protest tagged “#EndbadGovernance.”
No protests in the nation’s collective memories, portends greater prospects of wreaking monumental disruptions, to peace, security and, indeed, the very foundation of the country.
The so far, faceless, shadowy organisers have christened it a protest against “bad governane”, excruciating poverty, corruption, insecurity and sundry other challenges prevalent in the country. And they have been loudly sending out the message that, the ten-day action will be “peacefully” conducted. Surely, very few, especially those in government, will be bought on such a guarantee.
While at it, sympathisers or, supporters have been advancing reasons why it is logical and imperative to embark on the protest. For one, they posit that, it is universally, within the democratic rights of citizens to resort to protests, so far as they are peaceful, in expressing grievances against what they adjudged as bad policies or programmes of the government.
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Consisting of a broad-spectrum of the society: clerics of all the dominant faiths, political heavyweights, community leaders and the usual clan of human rights activists, advocates of the protest further point to the prevailing adverse economic condition in the country, as a legitimate and sufficient reason for citizens’ anger and resultant reaction in the form of a protest.
Referencing the 2012 protest against President Jonathan’s planned withdrawal of fuel subsidy, it is further pointed out that many of those wielding political powers in the country today, including President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, should not be averse to protests, having themselves, stoked and participated in such actions while they were in the opposition. What goes around, comes around.
The arguments of the many antagonists, those against the protest, include the fears that, an otherwise planned peaceful protest, could be easily infiltrated, hijacked and turned into a violent action and degenerating into anarchy or, a virulent insurrection.
They gave the example of the nation’s experience of the 2022 “End SARS” riots which, sprang out of a planned peaceful protest against the excesses of the police anti robbery squad. By the time the dusts settled down, the violence left in its trail, high death tolls, vast destruction of both private and publicly-owned properties and assets. So much, for what a “peaceful” protest can turn out to be.
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Many who have spoken or counselled against it, have cautioned that the nation must avoid precipitating the kind of the scenarios in the Sudan or the Middle East where small incidents of protests exploded into violence, anarchy, forceful change of governments, and civil wars.
This counsel is especially stressed in view of the prevailing volatile atmosphere of violent spots in different parts of the country. These include, the Islamist insurgency in the North-East, banditry in the North-West and North-Central and, armed irredentism or, seperatist movements in the South-East and South-West. It is cautioned that, the nation must be wary because, a so-called “peaceful” nationwide protest under the prevailing circumstances, could easily turn out to serve as a tinderbox or trigger of an Armageddon.
A few days to the D-Day of August 1st, the atmosphere, has expectedly, become electrified. The federal government, which had hitherto, surprisingly appeared nonchalant and unperturbed, has recently become agitated, frenzied as officials run helter skelter in search of strategies for pushing back what it is now perceiving as a dark, ominous cloud in the nation’s firmament. It is the sort of a stampede akin to the scenario of frantic efforts to put out a burgeoning conflagration. “Fire brigade approach”, some will say.
A dizzying, flurry of meetings of members of the cabinet, state governors and heads of security agencies have been holding. As usual, the meetings are followed by statements of different tones. Some of the statements such as the sort repeatedly made by a visibly upbeat Minister of Information and National Orientation, Muhammed Idris, are pacifist, appealing to Nigerians to bear with the government.
With the assurance of bright prospects resulting from the ongoing reforms under the government’s Renewed Hope policies and programmes, the Minister, in one of his several statements about the protest, remarked:
“On the issue of the planned protest, the President does not see any need for it… Nigerians should be patient and await government’s response to all their pleas, grievances.”
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Mr Bayo Onanuga, a senior aide of the President on Information and Strategy, while blaming Professor Pat Utomi and the entire leadership of the Labour Party of orchestrating the protest, has also declared the protest as an, “Attempt at a civilian coup.”
Dada Olusegun, another aide of President Bola Tinubu, is more combative and forthright: “Those who want to burn the country down under whatever guise, will meet the strongest resistance of their lives. Not from the security agencies but from the silent majority that gave their mandate to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for four years in the first instance. We are waiting.”
A number of Muslim and Christian clerics and bodies have also joined elder statesmen such as former Head of state, General Yakubu Gowon, former President Olusegun Obasanjo and General IBM Haruna among others in calling for dialogue and peaceful resolution of the issues that gave rise to the agitations and call for of the protest.
Speaking in his Friday prayers sermon in Katsina, Sheikh Yakubu Musa enjoined the people to shun the protest because:
“Instead of getting out of a bad situation, we may end up jumping into a bigger one…We should shun the protest because it could destroy the nation. We have seen what happened to some countries, where as a result of protests, the countries have been thrown into wars and total destruction.”
The National Christian Elders Forum, cautioned that those drawing inspiration from Kenya for example, should be aware that the, situation in Nigeria is different from the one in Kenya. “There are too many agrieved groups in Nigeria for any one to be toying with the idea of a national protest.”
On the other side of the divide, a chieftain of the Labour Party, Professor Pat Utomi, even as he denied any knowledge of, or involvement in the planning of the protest, however said that, if he was involved in the protest, ” I will wear it as a badge of honour.”
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar openly declared support for the protest: “It is deeply ironic that those who now seek to stifle the people’s rights were themselves, leading protest in 2012.
“A responsible government must ensure a safe and secure environment for citizens to exercise their constitutionally guaranteed right to peaceful protest.”
Not unexpectedly, Kaduna-based Sheikh Ahmad Abubakar Gumi has strongly thrown his weight behind the protest. According to him, the protest must hold because, “politicians are very stubborn. Protest seems the only language the government understands.”
As it is, August 1st is here, the die is cast. Will the much vaunted protest hold? Have the organisers decided to hearken to, “wise counsels” and therefore, changed their decision? If the organisers of the protest have not, on their own, voluntarily rescinded, has the government laid out enough strategies to completely stall the protest or, at least, whittle down it’s ferociousness?
The administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is certainly at a cross roads as it takes on the challenge of the palpable, concrete reality of what looks like an unprecedentedly powerful gale of a mass protest against any government in the nation’s history. So much of us as a nation is at stake. Not least of which, is our democracy.
Yes, if it goes on, the protest will have a tumultuous and enthusiastic participants. And predictably, it will might turn violent, anarchical. This is for the simple reason that, the vast majority of the citizens are hungry, angry and therefore, can’t be bothered or restrained by the nice, sweet talks of a peaceful protest.
This much is attested by the United Nations Department of Safety and Security which, in its Threat Assessment Report, has warned that: “The anticipated high turn out of participants in the ten days of rage protest, could lead to large-scale disruption of normal economic and social activities.”
Unhelpful and counterproductive in the circumstances, are the types of combative approach of the likes of Bayo Onanuga and Dada Olusegun. Instead of dousing the flame, their uncouth rhetorics will result flaring up passions. Unhelpful also, is the strategy of seeking to break the ranks of the potential protesters by whipping up divisive primordial, ethnic sentiments.
READ ALSO: Council of traditional rulers stands with FG on planned nationwide protest
In other words, while the government is trying stop the protest, doing so implies its thinking out of the box. It calls for subtle, nimble tact, deployment of the strategies and mechanisms of dialogue and ‘diplomacy’. That is, imploring the government to listen to the advice of the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Joe Ajaero:
“Dialogue with planners of the protest. It is condescending and dismissive to describe the protest as sponsored political dissent.
“These are dire times. Nigerians are angry. The time requires government to jaw jaw and not war war.”
In the same vein, the Christian Elders Forum, believes that, beyond the immediate imperative of preventing the protest, the government of Bola Tinubu must soon afterwards, embark on the long term solution of, “REBOOTING the country but, with a human face.
Proofreading by Gift Luckson, Editor at Neptune Prime.
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