Hunger Protests: Kaduna, Zaria in turmoil, over N700bn lost in 5 days — KACCIMA, ASBON
The nationwide protest against bad governance in the country turned violent in Kaduna and Zaria on Monday, compelling the state government to declare a dusk-to-dawn curfew.
Apart from Kaduna, the protest also continued in Lagos, Abuja, Jos, Benin, Kano, and Zamfara, despite President Bola Tinubu’s nationwide broadcast on Sunday.
Meanwhile, losses to the economy have been estimated at over N700bn in the first five days of protest against hardship, and while N600bn was recorded in Lagos, Kano lost over N100bn billion, the Association of Small Business Owners of Nigeria (ASBON) and Kano Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KACCIMA) declared on Monday.
Hoodlums and other criminal elements hijacked the protest in Kaduna, unleashing terror on unsuspecting citizens by breaking into shops and snatching cell phones.
One of the miscreants in Kawo area of Kaduna North, met his waterloo as a mob beat him to stupor before handing him to security operatives.
The hoodlums also stopped vehicles going in and out of the state capital from the Zaria road axis, molested passengers and forcibly seized phones and other valuables, while brandishing dangerous weapons.
A procession of the protesters, comprising mainly youths, children and women, and hoisting Russian flag, moved from Kawo to join other protesters and tried to occupy the NEPA roundabout in the heart of the city.
They were subsequently, dispersed by security operatives when the miscreants among them started burgling shops and looting.
Meanwhile, there was heavy fight between miscreants in Tudun Wada, Kaduna and the security operatives as the youths continued to emerge in large numbers, destroying properties and looting shops.
It was the intervention of the military that restored sanity in the area, even though the hoodlums had reportedly taken over an Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) earlier deployed to the area to scare them away.
Before the military arrived, hundreds of miscreants hauled stones and other objects at a commercial bank near the polytechnic, vandalised staff cars and stole valuables.
Activities came to an abrupt end in the area as customers and other workers scampered for their lives in Tudun Wada, which was tensed before curfew was imposed and soldiers deployed to area.
The police had earlier warned that anyone found vandalising or looting shops, would not be considered a protester but criminal.
The police had arrested a number of persons who were supplying the protesters with Russian flags and other offensive items used during the protest.
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In Zaria, about 75km from Kaduna, the situation was tense as there was massive looting by the hoodlums but security operatives were able to contain the situation afterwards.
“Two hoodlums who tried to assault a security operative at the Danmagaji area in Zaria, were feared dead,” a source told journalists.
A top government official in Zamfara State, Alhaji Haidara, said just like in Kaduna, the protesters in Gusau also hoisted the Russian flag.
“Some of the protesters, especially the children, do not even know the implication of what they were doing. They don’t even know the Russian flag given to them,” Haidara said.
A protester, who craved anonymity, admitted that they were trying to attract the attention of Russia by waving the flag, so President Putin could come to their aid.
“Since the West, like America and UK, abandoned us and are conniving with the government to worsen our plight, we are now seeking the attention of Russia to come to our aid, just as was done in Niger Republic and other countries in the Sahel,” he said.
Meanwhile, there was calm in Kaduna, Zaria and environs at press time as the state government imposed a dusk to dawn curfew to stop further destruction and looting by the hoodlums.
Similarly, the former Deputy President, Kano State Chamber of Commerce, Mines and Agriculture (KACCIMA), Usman Darma, said losses incurred in the state within the five days of the protest was well over N100bn.
He said: “70 per cent in the state are into commerce and business, while 25 per cent of neighbouring African countries trade with Kano.
“With the current situation, businesses have been shut down. Kano State is the worst hit. So, aside from looting and vandalisation of properties, the state incurred losses of over N100bn minimum within the five days.’’
Similarly, the President of Nigeria’s largest grain market, Dawanau, Muntaka Isa, put the losses incurred by the market from the commencement of the protest till date at over N2bn.
The protesters, who have taken to the streets in cities across the country, are demanding an end to hunger, food inflation, and bad governance, and are also calling for the return of fuel subsidy, among other demands, but
FG is yet to effectively address the protesters’ demands.
President Bola Tinubu made a broadcast on Sunday in an attempt to address the protests, however, the broadcast was widely criticised for falling short of expectation of the protesters as well as prominent figures, such as former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka, the Peoples Democratic Party and the Nigeria Labour Congress, among others, who expressed disappointment with the president’s broadcast.
Proofreading, editing by Uji A Iliyasu, Editor at Neptune Prime.
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