As the hardships faced by Nigerian citizens worsen, reports have emerged of a planned nationwide protest from August 1-10, 2024. The protest aims to draw attention to the plight of the citizens and is gaining momentum in the North and other parts of the country.
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The hardship is believed to have stemmed from the abolition of fuel subsidy, announced by President Bola Tinubu in May 2023. This has led to calls for the government to reverse certain policies that are thought to have caused the hardship.
Previous protests have already taken place, with angry youths and women marching in Minna and Kano on February 9, 2024, to protest against rising food prices. In addition, civil society groups rallied in various Southwestern states on June 12 to highlight issues such as the cost of living and insecurity.
The planned August protest will occur in all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. While some organizers remain anonymous, Omoyele Sowore, the 2023 presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, has been actively campaigning for the protest on social media.
“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”, Sowore wrote in his X handle.
However, leaked internal memos suggest that the Nigeria Police Force is making plans to halt the protest. In the memo, dated July 8, officers are instructed to prepare and deploy personnel to strategic locations, gather intelligence, disperse unlawful gatherings, and engage with community stakeholders to prevent any form of protest during the scheduled period.
“INGENPOL directs you to be proactive, mobilize well kitted and equipped personnel, synergize with other sister agencies and the military, takeover all strategic points in your AOR, deploy undercover for intelligent gathering, disperse unlawful gatherings, be in heart-to-heart conversation with community stakeholders, no form of protest must be allowed during the period,” it said.
Government officials, particularly lawmakers, are reportedly in a state of panic due to fears of potential attacks during the protest. The Nigerian Senate engaged in a debate on the issue, expressing concerns about public office holders being targeted by angry Nigerians who have been affected by the hardships. Former Senate President Ahmed Lawan warned that if immediate action is not taken to address the situation, the power of the government could be lost.
“If we don’t take immediate action, we will lose the power and our citizens under the situation of increased fuel price, increased electricity price, increased everything and we are yet to get the right measures to provide questions for our constituents.
“We wouldn’t like the kind of thing that we see in our streets and it is time that we take every possible action to get out of the arms of the government to ensure that food floods our country, the right food”, he said.
Amidst the fear and anticipation of the protest, some individuals have urged the organizers to find alternative means of expressing their grievances, highlighting the potential risks and negative impacts of protests. Others have suggested that Nigerian youths should focus their energy on farming and agriculture to address issues of food scarcity and hunger.
For the President General of the Coalition of South East Youth Leaders, COSEYL, Goodluck Ibem, Nigerian youths should jettison the planned protest and channel their energy to something useful.
“Nigerian youths should redirect the energy they want to use for protest into farming and full time agriculture.
“That is the major way to end hunger and food scarcity.
“Many of our farmlands are not cultivated even when we have so many youths. They only want white collar jobs, which are not available.
“We have to remain positive here. Hunger cannot disappear if we fail to embrace farming as a culture and lifestyle. That is the bitter truth”, he said.
In conclusion, the planned nationwide protest in Nigeria has caused panic among government officials, with police preparing to prevent the protest and lawmakers expressing fears of potential attacks. The hardships faced by citizens have fueled the protest, with organizers aiming to draw attention to the situation and demand policy changes.
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