Hardship: Govt officials panic, police on red alert over planned nationwide protest

According to ZINGTIE, some young Nigerians are organising nationwide protests starting August 1–10, 2024, as the country’s hardships get worse.

The demonstration, which is presently gaining momentum in the North and other regions of the nation, aims to bring the residents’ misery to the notice of all levels of government.

According to ZINGTIE, there has been unfortunate hardship in the nation ever since President Bola Tinubu announced the elimination of fuel subsidY in May 2023, marking the start of the current administration.

This has prompted demands for the government to reverse some of its policies that are thought to be the cause of the hardship.

ZINGTIE remembers that on February 9, 2024, irate women and youths protested in the streets of Kano and Minna, the capital of Niger State, about the skyrocketing cost of food and other necessities.

Similar to this, on June 12th, a number of civil society organisations staged protests against the rising cost of living, insecurity, and other issues affecting the country. These organisations included the Take It Back Movement, the Education Rights Campaign, the Coalition for Revolution, and the Socialist Workers League.

Protesters carrying placards with slogans like “President Tinubu, let the poor breathe,” “Payment of a living wage to all Nigerian workers now,” “End Insecurity,” and “Nationalise the power sector” stormed the streets of several states in the Southwest. “Reverse Fee HikesNow,” among others.

The protest scheduled for August

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as well as the 36 states are expected to participate in the demonstration.

Omoyele Sowore, the African Action Congress’s (AAC) 2023 presidential candidate, has been promoting the August demonstration on social media, even if some of the organizers—especially those from the north—remain nameless.

Revolution would begin in August, according to Sowore, who has spearheaded multiple protests across the nation, adamant that “Nothing Can Stop An Idea Whose Time Has Come” #RevolutionNOW.”

Sowore wrote: “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.”

Similarly, a flyer titled “End Bad Government in Nigeria 2024” that anonymous groups were spreading on social media blamed the government’s ten policies for the unanticipated misery that Nigerians had to endure.

The group asked the government, among other things, to “stop subsidy scam and reverse fuel price to below N300 per litter, bring tertiary education fees back to their previous rates, restore electricity tariff to affordable levels for the public, return import duties to their previous rates, publicly disclose and reduce the salaries and allowances of all Senators, House of Representative members, reform EFCC.”

In a leaked memo, police take action to stop the protest.

The Nigeria Police Force is purportedly started efforts to prevent the scheduled protest.

“Some groups are mobilising for mass protest nationwide beginning from 1 to 10 2024,” the police stated in an internal memo that a ZINGTIE correspondent was able to view.

The memo, dated July 8, asked officers to be proactive and “mobilise well kitted and equipped personnel” in advance of the protest. It was copied to the Assistant Inspectors-General of Police for each zonal office.

“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.

Popular investigative journalist and social commentator @PIDOMNIGERIA shared the secret memo on his verified X handle.

ZINGTIE was unable to get through to Force Public Relations Officer Olumuyiwa Adejobi over the issue, since he did not answer any calls or texts left on his phone.

Officials in government are terrified.

Nigerian public officials are afraid of the upcoming nationwide protest, especially politicians who are restless about potential attacks on them.

According to ZINGTIE, the Nigerian Senate held a frantic discussion on Tuesday out of fear of attacks by enraged citizens who are suffering from the current situation.

The lawmakers expressed concern that enraged Nigerians may turn on public office holders and launch an insurrection or attack.

The motion, which was co-sponsored by Senator Ali Ndume Mohammed of Borno South Senatorial District and Senator Sunday Karimi Steve of Kogi West Senatorial District, with the title “Urgent Need to address Food Insecurity and Market Exploitation of Consumables in Nigeria,” set the stage for the debate.

Former Senate President Ahmed Lawan, who praised the motion’s sponsor, said that because of extreme hunger, Nigerians had enough and would turn on them if nothing was done quickly.

“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.

A few days prior, Godswill Akpabio, the President of the Senate, had received a warning from former legislator Shehu Sani not to approve a route in Wuse 2, the Federal Capital Territory, due to protesting Nigerians.

Sani reported that he saw protesters holding signs against “hunger in the land” in Wuse 2.

According to the former lawmaker, he was recognised and given permission to pass by the protesters.

Sani did, however, imply in the post that protesters might not give Akpabio a free pass. As a result, he suggested to the Senate President that they avoid Wuse 2.

He wrote: “I just passed a group of protesters in Wuse 2, carrying placards against ‘hunger in the land’. Some ladies among them recognized me and shouted “No be that Afro Senator be that”, I answered “yes na me the former Senator”; then they responded “Oya pass”. Make Akpabio no pass there o.

In the meantime, Mr. Kayode Oyeniran, a Chieftain of the Labour Party, told ZINGTIE in Abuja that “if the protest is allowed to hold, government officials may have to find where they will hide themselves.

“The truth is that Nigerians are angry. For the past few months now, there has been debates on the salaries and allowances of the Federal lawmakers.

“I don’t know how much they earn but the way it is painted in public, many Nigerians now see them as their number one enemies.

“It is my prayer that the organizers find other means of expressing their grievances. It must not always be a protest. You see what is happening in Kenya?

“Both the government and the protesters are having a bad time. Protests most times make things worse”, he said.

Oneyiran, however, stated that “sometimes you can’t blame these people. They have had enough and have been patient enough.

“Since 2023, the government has only been making promises. The Port Harcourt refinery that they said would work last year December, I don’t think it is functioning now.

“They said when the CNG vehicles are rolled out, prices of goods will crash, where are the vehicles? How long would Nigerians wait? People are suffering.

“People have come to a level where they are no longer afraid of anything. If you stay back, you may die of hunger and if you protest you may die, so they will tell you that it is better to protest and die. We have never had it like this”.

In the meanwhile, Nigerian youths should abandon the planned demonstration and direct their energies into something constructive, according to Goodluck Ibem, President General of the Coalition of South East Youth Leaders, COSEYL.

Ibem stated in a Saturday conversation with ZINGTIE, “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”.

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