NOW THAT THE PROTESTS ARE OVER

There should be an end to impunity in governance

The 10-day protest dubbed #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria, ended at the weekend with a planned ‘One-Million-Man March’ across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) that was largely ignored. The nationwide protests, triggered essentially by unprecedented economic hardship, bad governance and corruption began on 1st August with many Nigerians trooping into the streets to openly express their discontent. However, what was billed to be orderly and peaceful protest slipped into disorder and chaos, particularly in the northern parts of the country where several business owners are still counting their losses.

In many northern states, including Gombe, where protesters pelted the government house with stones, children joined the demonstrations. In Abuja, the police fired tear gas shells and gunshots to disperse protesters. In Kano, Kaduna, Yobe, Bauchi and Plateau, authorities in the states, at different times, imposed curfew to stem the violence. In a few states, protesters set fire on public and private property, including vehicles, while also looting and vandalising shops and supermarkets. With hoodlums hijacking the protests, Kano descended into chaos. The retail outlets of Barakat Stores in Kano for instance claimed losses in excess of N5 billion. The Digital Innovation Park built at enormous cost and earmarked for inauguration last week in Kano, was burnt and ravaged.

 Beyond the brigandage, the security agencies did not manage the protests well. Noteworthy was the use of arms against citizens excising their rights to protest the inadequacies of government. At the last count, about a dozen protesters fell to the bullets, among them a 16-year-old said to have been hunted down on the street of Zaria. Hundreds of others were also injured, some severely. Amnesty International complained aloud. “Live bullets as a state response to civic protest-itself becomes the core issue,” said Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka. “Even tear gas remains questionable in most circumstances.”

Nationwide, the economic loss as a result of the peaceful protest which spun out of control is estimated in trillions. For an economy which is already lying prostrate, this is double jeopardy. To restate what is obvious, the prevailing economic hardship exacerbated by the removal of petrol subsidy and the floating of the naira has further fuelled the poverty for millions of Nigerians. In the north, millions of the children are already out in the streets, hungry, dependent on others who are also finding it difficult to fend for themselves.  

Indeed, Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule was apt when he declared that many of the people protesting were Almajiris. But that does not remove the fact of hunger and desperation for millions of people in Nigeria. At 40 per cent, food inflation in Nigeria is highest in three decades. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Nigeria has the highest number of food insecure people in the world at 31.8 million. Besides economic insecurity, kidnappings, terrorism and banditry are additional daily challenges.

No doubt, the socio-economic situation in the country has made many young people the cannon fodder, pliable to all kinds of manipulation by the political elite. This time, as part of the protest, they were equipped with Russia flags which they waved across many of the states, a clearly treasonable offence. Unfortunately, they knew not the implications of what they were doing. When President Bola Tinubu addressed the nation during the protests, he asked for patience, and dialogue, to address the basket of grievances. The nature of the dialogue is yet to be spelt out. But even if hunger will not vanish from homes overnight, there should be an end to impunity in governance. That is one message from the protests that should not be lost on the authorities, at all levels.