By Okeri Ngutjinazo, ABUJA Nigeria
Across Africa, young people have been at the forefront of recent waves of protest, driven by unhappiness about their current living conditions and political leaders' failure to deliver economic progress.
In Nigeria, thousands
of people are expected to take to the streets on Thursday to protest
against the high cost of living and the government's handling of the
economy.
In recent months, the country
has experienced scattered protests, including
a labor union strike that disrupted air travel and caused
widespread power outages. The nationwide demonstration is expected to be the
largest since the #ENDSars movement against police violence in 2020.
The protests, organized mainly
by young people, have gained support on social media through the hashtags
"EndBadGovernanceinNigeria" and "RevolutionNow." The
organizers demand that President Bola Tinubu's government address hunger
and economic hardship.
Nigerian youth groups have
drawn significant inspiration from recent events in Kenya. There,
demonstrations by led by the so-called Gen Z, a name given to the cohort of
young people between the ages of 13 and 27, compelled President William
Ruto to dismiss his entire cabinet and revoke an unpopular tax hike bill. This
also inspired neighboring Uganda to hold a brief protest.
"If there's any country
in the world where people have been taken for granted on account of their
patience, Nigeria will be ranked number one," said Ibrahim Baba
Shatambaya, a political commentator and lecturer at Usman Danfodiyo University
in Sokoto.
Shatambaya said that the political and ruling elites had maintained social divisions among the populace for years to retain control. But the growing discontent in the country was beginning to have an impact.
"Manipulations that were
used over the years by the political elites to keep the people in check seem to
have faltered and people are demanding that the government should act
responsibly," he said.
Nigerians have criticized the
government's decision to scrap a long-cherished fuel subsidy.
Its removal has led to a substantial increase in the cost of living. Many
blame their current suffering on the reforms introduced since President
Tinubu took office in May 2023.
Ironically, Tinubu played a
crucial role in the 2012 Occupy Nigeria demonstrations, which opposed President
Goodluck Jonathan's government's removal of the fuel subsidies. Now, the tables
have turned, and like Jonathan, Tinubu finds himself under pressure. He
has frequently said that discontinuing fuel subsidies was necessary to prevent
the country from going bankrupt.
The US-based World Bank and
International Monetary Fund have said the measures were needed to revive
Nigeria's economy.
Authorities in Nigeria have
urged young people to stay away from demonstrations. Some top officials
have even accused the protest organizers of treason and seeking to destabilize
the country.
Ogun State Governor Prince
Dapo Abiodun cautioned the youth against protesting and called for constructive
engagement with the government to find lasting solutions to Nigeria's problems.
"We must recognize that
no investor will be attracted to a country perceived as unstable due to
frequent protests. We should not allow ourselves to be manipulated by
leaderless movements, often sponsored by frustrated politicians who have failed
to gain power," Abiodun said while speaking as a guest of honor at the
22nd convocation ceremony of Babcock University in Ilisan Remo in
Nigeria's Ogun State.
However, opposition leader
Atiku Abubakar of the People's Democratic Party insisted that the government
must provide security for "peaceful protests."
"Any attempt to suppress
these rights is not only unconstitutional but a direct affront to our
democracy," Abubakar said on X.
Our correspondent said the youth groups had alerted the Nigerian police force and all security
agencies and "there's no going back for them to take to the street on
August 1."
"It's one of the
indications that the youth are desperate to have their demands or their
problems solved," he said.
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