Nigerians are gearing up for the August 1st nationwide protest. The protest is scheduled to be held from August 1st to 10th, with Nigerians, especially the youths, taking to the streets across the 36 states in the country to protest hunger and hardship and draw the federal and state government’s attention to the worsening plight of the citizens.
Within Nigeria has observed several economic challenges resulting in hardship since Tinubu assumed power. From the removal of fuel subsidies to Nigeria’s inflation rate, which continues to rise, reaching 34.19%, up from 33.95% in June and 33.69% in May. This has been associated with increased hunger and high cost of living.
However, as August 1st approaches, president Tinubu has warned Nigerian youths not to join the nationwide cost-of-living protests saying they are the work of “sinister” people “capitalizing” on the country’s economic woes.
According to him, “Capitalising on the economic hardship in the country, some men and women with sinister motives have been reported to have been mobilizing citizens, particularly youths, to stage a protest”.
A Show Of Force
The Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, on Tuesday, warned against going ahead with the nationwide cost-of-living protests, saying that it is “ill-advised and should be jettisoned.”
He expressed concern over the possibility of a Kenya-led protest replica happening in August and said that the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) will not sit back and watch hoodlums destroy things across the country. He added that he has deployed officers and men of the Force to ensure the protection of life and property.
While noting that the Nigeria Police Force will continue to accord Nigerians the right to peaceful protest as enshrined in the 1999 constitution (as amended), the IGP said the police were prepared for the protest and will respond most professionally.
However, human rights lawyer Femi Falana has warned the Federal Government against threatening the organisers of the planned nationwide protest. He cautioned the FG that taking the path of threatening protesters will further exacerbate the situation, calling the government to approach organisers with diplomacy.
“So, this time around the government should try to identify the leaders of the movement and then engage them, and then the questions be raised. There are demands that are being made, and the government should address these demands.
“Between now and August 1 is still a long way and I understand the government is going to address the nation. It is also important for governors to come out and let the people know what they are doing to address hardship in the country which nobody is denying,” he said While featuring on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Tuesday.
The Nigeria Labour Congress also warned the FG against engaging in a “war-war” situation with Nigerians by trying to suppress citizens’ fundamental right to protest, adding that Nigerians have the right to complain.
Popular Nigerians Support Protests
As the nationwide protest keeps gaining traction in the North and other parts of the country, several Nigerians have thrown their weight in support of the protest. One of which is the 2023 presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, AAC, Omoyele Sowore, who has been campaigning for the August protest via his social media handles.
Sowore, who had led several protests in the country, said revolution would start in August, insisting that “Nothing Can Stop An Idea Whose Time Has Come” #RevolutionNOW.”
Sowore wrote: “The REVOLUTION is now knocking on our doors! #RevolutionNow. Let everyone rise all once in August 2024!
“Nothing can stop an idea whose time has come. They asked for a revolution and It is here now! @officialABAT once asked for a revolution, even @MBuhari once asked for a revolution and Nigerians now want a real revolution.
“Nothing Can Stop An Idea Whose Time Has Come” #RevolutionNOW.”
Veteran Nigerian music star, Chalse Oputa, known by his stage name, Charly Boy also expressed support for the protest. Charly Boywho spoke with DAILY POST, said he believes that the Nigerian youths possess the ability to retrieve their country from the wrong hands.
FG Fingers Peter Obi, LP
Reacting to the different calls for the protest, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, on Saturday, July 20, said the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi, should be held responsible for his supporters’ alleged plans to cause mayhem in the country.
He noted that the “protest planners are also the same people who were instigated by IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu to launch the destructive ENDSARS protest in Nigeria in October 2020. ENDSARS began as a genuine protest by youths against the Police Special Anti-Robbery Squad, notorious for its high-handedness.
“IPOB members planning to extricate the South-East region from Nigeria infiltrated the protest and hijacked it for their own agenda. Lagos still bears the scar of the malicious destruction by IPOB elements until today.”
According to him, the IPOB and Obi’s supporters are the people spreading the hashtags ‘EndBadGovernance’, ‘Tinubu Must Go,’ and ‘Revolution2024’.
He further described them as anarchists and not democrats, noting that they were attempting to call out their people via propaganda due to Obi’s failure to win the presidency in the 2023 election. Am allegation the Labour Party has refuted.
According to the LP through its National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, it was wrong of Onanuga to link the LP and its national leader to the proposed ‘EndBadGovernance’ protest.
Obiora said, “We say there is no truth in the tweet. It is just the figment of the author’s imagination. Labour Party is known for being a very peaceful party, and it has on several occasions asked its followers to follow peace at all times. We are not known as a lawless group, as was evident in the aftermath of the last general election. It is therefore delusional for anyone to link our supporters to the planned protest. Labour Party, Peter Obi, and our supporters are not planning any protests.
“It is therefore puerile for the government or anyone, for that matter, to begin to look for whom to blame for the bad governance witnessed in Nigeria today. Nigeria can still get it right if the right policies are initiated. We also advise that some aides of the Presidency must be cautioned to avoid incendiary pronouncements capable of combusting the nation, all in the name of playing politics.”
Scary Data
An international human rights organisation, Global Rights, in a report released in January 2024, said the administration of the former president, Muhammadu Buhari, was characterised by threats or intimidation of journalists and protesters.
The report revealed that no fewer than 69 protesters were killed during the Buhari-led administration and also estimated that 250 protesters and 189 journalists were arrested, detained, or harassed under the former president.
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