There are months and seasons of the year that from the study of ancient history and mythology are associated with certain trends, tides, lovely expectations and in some cases evil occurrences. That is why February for instance is remarkable for love and emotion laden encounters while the ides of March brings to our consciousness the assassination of Julius Caesar on March 15, 44 BC.
From those historical events of March 15, 44 BC in the Gregorian Calendar, the month of March and particularly the date of March 15 has for long been associated with misfortune or doom both at the personal level and those of the conduct of the affairs of state. We are about two clear days away from the month of August.
Over the years, particularly in Nigeria, August has grown in reputation as signification for uncommon visitation hence the popular acknowledgment of rare and reputable guests as August visitors. In terms of nature and its elements, August also comes with some respite of a clement weather after the deluge of July which gets intensified again in torrential September. With the respite in weather come the seminars, retreats, second half of the year holiday culture and the home coming of groups and organisations especially women groups that have come to be known as August meetings and retreats.
This is particularly of note in the South Eastern parts of the country. At a deeply personal and passionate level, the month of August comes with it the birthdays of two members of my immediate family. To us therefore, it calls for so much celebration and heart felt gratitude to God. The month of August is therefore usually awaited with some pleasant expectations, not trepid anticipation.
This is however not the case in Nigeria as things currently stand with both the Federal Government and the citizens. The citizens have declared the first ten days in the month as ten days of rage to protest the soaring cost of living in the land, economic hardship, hyper inflation, low purchasing power amidst vastly devalued national currency, widespread hunger, insecurity and bad governance.
Government has maintained that it cannot fold its hands and allow the country to spiral out of control. This has come in addition to the various appeals from government spokespersons to the effect that the Federal Government needs to be given some more time to decisively address the economic challenges in the land.
As the polity is getting practically heated up over the planned protests, the month of August is also beginning to acquire additional commemorative epitaphs as the month with the highest level of migrations and exodus from the country in what has now come to be known as August Runaways.
IGP Egbetokun has interestingly come out to acknowledge that though the citizens have the right to peacefully assemble and protest, there’s the need for a national resolve to quench the fires of violence rather than ignite them. To the IG, it will be imperative on the part of the protesters to furnish the police with details of who their leaders and organisers are for the protests to qualify to be recognised as an organised protest, the routes to be taken by the protesters should also be disclosed ahead of time and be so designated.
He also harped on the need for concrete measures to be taken to prevent situations where the protests would be hijacked by criminal elements. Government has been deploying the State apparatus to ensure that the protest never gets to happen so that it does not degenerate into a state of violence and anarchy. I have however not seen enough of citizens’ engagement by government.
What is playing out the more is the inducement and compromising of individuals who are coming out in the various media platforms to declare that they are backing out of the planned protest. I consider this an ineffective and dysfunctional form of citizenship engagement. Because there is a fundamental reason and justification for the protest, it will be difficult for any government organ or agency to successfully stop it from taking place. It is in fact clearly undemocratic to stop the citizens from peacefully assembling to express their grievances and demand their entitlements of improved living condition from their leaders.
The EndSARS protests which started October 8, 2020 and the ongoing national protest in Kenya leave us with practical and enduring lessons of how organised, well intended protests can turn violently destructive when hijacked by criminal elements or wrongly handled by the law enforcement officers.
It remains indeed a remarkable paradox that President Tinubu whose political career has long been adorned by feathers earned in leading, organising and sponsoring protests against sitting governments has come out to emphasise that no government will condone the destruction of lives and property in the name of protests. There’s no doubt that the economic tension worsened by growing insecurity in the land has been further exacerbated by the wave of tension as the countdown to August 1 begins in earnest.
Nigeria is a very religious nation with citizens who begin the week prayerfully in churches and mosques while also heralding the dawning of a new month with trumpets and singing in places of worship. Thursday, the first day in August is another of such beginning of a new month, the eight month of the year but this time around, it is being awaited by both the citizens and the government with palpable anxiety with thick tension in the air.
The civil society groups, trade unions and human rights activists say the planned protests are simply to demand good governance and better standards of living. Nigerians, sure deserve a better standards of living. We deserve a system that should work for the betterment of the people and not the interest of a few. A democratic dispensation that promised Nigerians renewed hope should be able to demonstrate a hallmark in accountability and credible transparency.
The heated altercations, accusations and counter accusations between Dangote refinery and NNPCL alongside the fuel importation cartel have also opened up a whole lot of can of worms on why our local refineries have not been allowed to function and why subsidy and its removal has become a burden too heavy for the citizens to bear. It, therefore, behoves on us to come to terms with the fact that the economic hardship in Nigeria is man-made and system sustained. Such punitive system has got to change or be changed and if it requires an organised protest to achieve that, so be it. We must however be cautious not to ignite the fire that can burn what is remaining of Nigeria. Most times, protests are like fire, except when properly organised, they are easy to ignite but difficult to control and even the more challenging to put off.
Armed security must guide against shooting of protesters with live bullets. Looting and burning down of facilities must be avoided. Police are also duty bound to protect peaceful protesters from being attacked by hired thugs as this has the potentials of sparking off violence and escalating tension.
Peaceful protesters must also guide against the infiltration of their groups by others with ulterior motives. We all must be committed to seeing to it that Nigeria flourishes again. Will surely come your way again in the month of August.
