The people have a fundamental right to protest. But there is a whiff of danger in this
In the past few weeks, the entire country has been soaked in tension due to a planned 10-day protest scheduled to begin on Thursday, August 1. Driven largely by people on social media, the protest is essentially a demonstration against the all-pervasive economic hardship and hunger across the country. And as its hashtag (#EndBadGovernance in Nigeria) suggests, the protest is also aimed at drawing attention to governance issues. And for good measure, some of the organisers have written to authorities in many states as well as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), seeking permission to use public spaces for the nationwide protest. In Abuja, for instance, a group has written to the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, seeking to use the Eagle Square for their demonstration.
Indeed, there are many things to protest against in a system stacked with plenty odds. For many years, millions of Nigerians have been living in abject poverty - living from hand to mouth, and hardly able to afford a good meal a day. This situation has further deteriorated since mid last year when the present administration came into power, abolished the petrol subsidy and floated the naira. Though hailed as
sound economic policies, the government failed to put in place measures to cushion the immediate impact of the fallout on the people. The result has been soaring cost of living, which is telling hard on the people, many of whom are unemployed.
Inflation, now at more than 34 per cent, is the highest in three decades, and has worsened the purchasing power and living conditions of millions of Nigerians. These are further exacerbated by a combination of weak and compromised institutions cutting across the executive, legislature and the judiciary with massive taint of impunity and corruption. Many of the overpaid politicians and public officials act as if there are no consequences for their conspicuous consumption and actions.
In a democratic society, protest is a fundamental right that does not require anyone's permission. The Nigerian Court has ruled that the right to peaceful rally and peaceful demonstration is a fundamental human right protected under our Constitution. Specifically, section 41(1) of the 1999 Constitution guarantees the right to freedom of movement. Besides, peaceful strikes, lockouts, non-violent positive actions and others are well-known legitimate weapons of expression in a democracy. Protests only become matters of public safety when they degenerate into riots.
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But there is still the pervasive fear that the protest will be infiltrated by hoodlums and hijacked, and hence degenerate into violence. Indeed, some have labelled the proposed demonstration an orchestrated effort to create fear, panic and anarchy in the polity. Citing the 2020 EndSARS protests which were marred by widespread violence, and the recent Kenyan protests which led to the death of dozens of protesters, several critical stakeholders remain uneasy, even after some of the groups have developed cold feet and dropped out of the proposed demonstrations.
While we do not know the objective of the protesters and how they intend to actualise it, there can be no denying that there are far too many things in the country that should ordinarily compel citizens' action. As we have reiterated repeatedly on this page, by voluntarily entrusting to a few elected officials the responsibility of governing their affairs, the people have not relinquished their power. They can invoke that power at periodic elections or by staging public protests over any issue on which they may feel dissatisfied.
However, we align ourselves with the sentiment that a public protest under the prevailing situation in Nigeria today could easily be hijacked by hoodlums. And when that happens, it is the same poor people on whose behalf the protesters claim to be fighting that would bear the brunt.
