with few hours to the commencement of the planned 10 days nationwide protest against hunger and hardship in the country, there is mounting anxiety and palpable fear across the entire Nigeria even as top politicians are allegedly fleeing the country in droves.
While there appears to be discordant tunes among the various segments of the youth population across the country over the desirability of going ahead with the planned protest aimed at expressing their angst over the hardship foisted on Nigerians, others had elected to go on with the protest in spite of the enormous pressure by government agents to sabotage the plans.
Yet, undeterred by series of threats and divisive tendencies from certain political quarters, the youth community, exhibiting bold and altruistic agenda, is pushing for transformative change in the country as they gear up for a nationwide peaceful protest. They are demanding a more equitable society with effective leadership, affordable food, zero hunger, and reduced cost of living for all segments of the population.
Unarguably inspired by the popular Arab Springs and the recent crippling protests in Kenya over tax increases, Nigeria youth had planned 10 days protest across the country. The essence, according to the protest planners, is to register their grievances as well as call the attention of the Federal Government to the growing hardship and obnoxious policies of the Tinubu administration, which have brought unbearable pains to the people and brought the nation to its knees.
Given the level of economic challenges ostensibly orchestrated by fuel subsidy removal, runaway inflation and other knee-jerk policies of the current administration with their attendant hardship, the inevitability of the protest actually highlights the depth of frustration and despair Nigerians are contending with.
While the ubiquitous nature of funding and remote preparations by the planners is rather unsettling the Nigerian government, we are however not surprised at the active involvement of the youth for obvious reasons of their growing hopelessness created by the twin economic policies of the Tinubu administration, which had widened unemployment in the country to the extent that many educated youths are without jobs today.
Emphatically, Africa’s most populous country cannot be said to be facing a complex web of challenges that has resulted in such terrible living conditions for citizens at this moment in our national life. From economic hardship to insecurity, poor infrastructure and deplorable environmental conditions; these are, indeed ,far-reaching and deeply linked to ineffectual leadership at the centre.
The planned protest if properly carried out and managed, will therefore , mark significant steps toward highlighting the obvious economic issues bedeviling the country.
Generally, Nigeria has assumed the seeming status of a failed state in the light of current development index, as over 130 million of about 200 million people are abysmally poor and impoverished, despite the nation’s abundant and rich resources mismanaged by few elements privileged to occupy the nation leadership.
Basically, a protest is an essential tool mainly to formally express disapproval of or objection to something or plan of action. In this regard, the Federal Government should drop the veiled threats against protest planners and validate the inalienable right of citizens to peaceful assembly and association at all times as sanctioned by the 1999 Constitution, as amended. The key demand is that it must be peaceful without the minutest traces of violence and looting.
Undeniably, the youth had given the nation’s leadership enough time to put its act together in addressing some fundamental issues, particularly those that are quite reprehensible. However, in the midst of a cacophony of voices that tend to create confusion in the polity, there is the need for the Federal Government to yield to some of the demands of the protest planners as quickly as possible. Doing that will douse the tension hanging on the horizon.
It’s incumbent on the planners and potential participants to a exercise some level of caution and moderation. They should shun the tendencies to go violent and on looting sprees while at the same time. We also charge the security agencies to act professionally by providing protection for the protesters in line with international best practices. All we need is peaceful protest.
