Mobilisation has stepped up for the planned nationwide protest scheduled to hold from August 1, with various posts on digital media platforms asking Nigerians to come all out to protest against ‘bad governance in Nigeria’.
The nationwide protest scheduled for August 1 to 10, titled: “End Bad Governance in Nigeria 2024,” and organized under the banner of “10 days of rage,” aims to address multiple grievances against the current government.
Various groups are expected to participate in the nationwide protest with major activities planned in cities like Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Port Harcourt, Enugu, and Kaduna.
Groups, activists, civil society organisations, individuals are reported to be mobilizing for what they describe as a grand protest that would rock Nigeria.
The primary demands for the protest are for reduction of fuel prices to below N300 per litre, reverting tertiary education fees to previous fees, restoring affordable electricity tariffs, establishment of emergency fund to support SMEs, reduction in salaries and allowances of senators, House of Representatives members, reopening of national borders, reforming the EFCC, declaring a state of emergency on inflation and reforming the judiciary.
Protesters are asked to wear white with black attire and encouraged to come with placards, handkerchiefs, a bottle of water, a white cloth or ribbon, and the Nigerian flag.
In mobilising for the protest, a group, Northern Initiative for Growth in a letter, dated July 16, 2024, written to the Director, State Security Services, Bauchi State Command, gave the notification of a protest across the 20 local government areas of the state on August 1.
The letter detailed the designated routes of the procession while assuring good conduct and orderliness during the protest, asking security to provide maximum protection during the procession.
The group forwarded similar correspondence to the Inspector General of Police (IGP), saying the protest would take place across Northern Nigeria, enjoining the IGP to direct police commissioners to provide security on the protest routes and ensure that police personnel avoid using excessive force or unconstitutional means to disperse protesters.
The Socio-economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), in a tweet on its official X handle, on Thursday, tweeted: “Protest is a fundamental right,” seven consecutive times.
In reply to the tweet by SERAP, an X user under the name, “A letter from Jagaban,” posted: “While it is the right of people to express their displeasure about government policies. It must be done within the ambit of the law or they will be clamped down. We will never tolerate repeat of EndSARS destructions in Lagos. You are free to go back to your state.”
Precious Omiunu, @prazolar9, argued that the protest was a mass opposition of the people, for the first time, versus the government.
On his part, Ibrahim Abdulkari, @ziter001, tweeted: “Protest is not Haram; Protest is Democracy,” though Babatunde Gbadamosi,
@BOGadams, argued against protest, calling rather for a “total, unyielding, relentless revolt against their criminal enforcers, regardless of garb, by any means necessary.”
Security agencies are also said to have put their personnel on the alert, through correspondences sent to the various commands, sighted on digital media.
Part of the mobilisers, tweeting @master_zeji, warned that the August 1 protest would change from #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria to #TinubuMustGo should any protester get arrested, hurt, or killed in the protest.
In another tweet, Zeji, in what was titled, “Know Your Rights,” stressed that section 40 of the 1999 constitution protects their rights to protect adding that they are guaranteed protection by the police, while they could seek redress from their Human Rights Commission if their rights are violated.
Supporting the protest, Darey, @kunmydrey, tweeted: “Bola Tinubu, Pastor EA Adeboye, Wole Soyinka, etc protested against the Jonathan government. They were not brutalised nor were they shot at. Nigerians are coming out to peacefully protest, if any protester is shot at or killed, Bola Tinubu and all his cabinet members including legislators must step down immediately. Nobody must be assaulted or killed by either the security agencies or sponsored thugs.”
Mobilisation is expected to be revved up in days to come with the argument that the largest percentage of Nigerians are under the brunt of the current hardship in the Nigerian economy.
However, there is a planned counter-protest tagged: “Nationwide Rally to Defend Nigeria,” from August 1-15 across the 36 state capitals and major towns.
The post read: “As Nigerians, it is time to rise to defend our country against forces of anarchy. Foreign interest is real, it wrecked havoc in Libya, Kenyans are asking tough questions of themselves now. We must protect Nigeria; August 1-15, 2024, we stay the hands of those who want to implode Nigeria from inside.”
Meanwhile, a post with the Lagos State Government logo asked rhetorical questions about why Lagos State was usually the epicenter of protests, calling on Nigerians to be wise in joining protest and not a destroyer of things.
Also questioning Lagos as the focal point for protests, Reno Omokri via a tweet on his X handle, @renoomokri, tweeted: “Abia is paying below minimum wage and still owes workers’ salaries. Lagos is paying more than double the minimum wage and is not owing workers. Yet, it is Lagos you want to protest and Abia you want to protect?”
Similar position is being shared by some Nigerians, who pointing to the #EndSARS experience, claim that the protest was being engineered by those they called agents of destablisation working with opposition elements to destroy the country like they did to Lagos during #EndSARS.
There are those who believe that government fearing the planned protest is already taking action to address Nigerians’ agitations with the approval of a new minimum wage, slash in the salaries of legislators.
On its part, the Yoruba Youth Socio-Cultural Association (YYSA) asked that the scheduled mass protest be put on hold to secure and protect Yoruba land from those it described as enemies of progress disguising as students and activists.
The YYSA in a statement by its national president, Olalekan Hammed and national secretary, Olawale Ajao, said its call was because it had uncovered plans by some unscrupulous elements to hide under the guise of protests to destroy local government secretariats and set ablaze public properties.
Meanwhile, Niger State Governor, Mohammed Bago, on Thursday, announced that the state’s youths will not join the nationwide protest against hunger and economic difficulties.
Speaking at a town hall on the State of the State Affairs in Minna, Bago emphasized the peaceful nature of Niger youths and urged for dialogue instead of agitation.
To mitigate hardship, he revealed plans to release 50,000 metric tonnes of food at a 50 percent subsidy and reduce food prices by 90 per cent by ending of the year.
