By Babatunde Ayedoju
|
Thursday, August 1, 2024, could have been a day like no other, but it turned out to be a day loaded with curiosity and anxiety as many residents of Akure were eager to know what would happen, following the commencement of a 10-day protest against supposed bad governance which was called by some groups.
The atmosphere in Akure, the Ondo State capital, on Thursday was both calm and tense. Residents were putting their ears to the ground. Shops along major roads in the city, especially Oke-Ijebu down to Oba Adesida and Alagbaka, were locked; even commercial banks along Oba Adesida Road up to Alagbaka were locked. Policemen could also be seen in strategic places such as Ijomu Junction, A-Division Police Station and Adegbemile, Oba-Ile, Fiwasaye among others.
However, while protests took place in other parts of the country such as Ikeja under bridge and Ojota in Lagos, Port- Harcourt in Rivers State and MKO Abiola Stadium in Abuja among many other places, there was peace in Akure and other parts of Ondo State.
Some groups such as Take It Back Movement and Active Citizens Group had called for a 10-day protest at the beginning of August tagged #EndBadGovernance, following the economic hardships that Nigerians had been facing for sometime.
Following, the removal of fuel subsidy last year, Nigerians have had to battle with soaring price of fuel alongside skyrocketing prices of foodstuffs and other basic necessities. To make matters worse, the exchange rate of the naira to dollar has been nothing but discouraging.
Though at the beginning of this year, the exchange rate improved, the situation went back to the way it was before, with naira exchanging for a dollar at about N1,500.
Following the announcement of the protest by the organisers whom some have described as faceless, there were mixed reactions from Nigerians. While some believed that the protest was necessary, others opined that it was better to tread the path of dialogue, as the protest could be hijacked by hoodlums, leading to a repetition of the #EndSARS scenario about four years ago, or the recent Kenyan experience.
Few days to the d-day, the Presidency had told organisers of the protest that what we have in Nigeria is a thinking government, not a bad government. The Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Media, Tunde Rahman, while speaking at an event in Lagos, said that the President had identified with Nigerians’ problems and would address them in earnest.
Rahman, while emphasising that Nigeria’s problems were global in nature, said, “our people have a right to protest and it is their right to do so. But we don’t know the people behind this protest. I’m calling a lot of us not to go on the street. We have to be mindful of the real motive of people who are calling us to join in the protest. Yes, challenges are there. Our economy is in turmoil. And this is not peculiar to Nigeria. Most of the world’s economies are in turmoil at the moment.
“The President is doing his best to address this problem. They’ve tagged the protest end to bad governance. I do not think we have bad governance at the moment. We have a thinking government. Some problems need to be addressed. And some of the solutions that have been applied will resolve the problem sooner than later,” he added.
Similarly, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, had called on organisers of the protest to restrict their activities to identified locations and advised against street rallies. He said, “It is not advisable to go on street processions because as you are planning peaceful protests, some are planning violence.”
Likewise, the Lagos State Government secured an exparte injunction from the Lagos State High Court restricting the protest to only two locations in the state – Gani Fawehinmi Park, Ojota and Peace Park, Ketu. The Attorney-General and Lagos State Commissioner for Justice, Lawal Pedro, had approached the Justice Emmanuel Ogundare-led court asking for the movement to be restricted to definite locations and timeframe to secure public safety and prevent irreplaceable loss of lives and property.
Similarly, Vice-President Kashim Shettima appealed for calm, asking Nigerians to support the present administration, adding that the President is neither anti-north nor anti-Islam. The Speaker of House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbass, lent the weight of his voice to the call for calm, even as the Nigerian Correctional Service warned protesters to stay away from its facilities nationwide.
Religious leaders were not left out of the call for peace, as President of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Daniel Okoh, the Aare Musulumi of Yoruba, Edo and Delta States, Alhaji Dawúd Makanjuola Akintola, Catholic bishops from Ibadan province and Primate of Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, Most Reverend Henry Ndukuba, advised Nigerians to embrace dialogue.
Similarly, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) called for the cancellation of the protest, citing the economic implications.
The president, Yakubu Maikyau (SAN) who issued a statement on Monday said, “Our past experiences with mass protest are that they are usually hijacked by unscrupulous elements who use the opportunity to commit heinous crimes and thus turn an otherwise peaceful protest into a riot.
He added, “whatever we are going through right now, cannot be compared to the experience of a civil unrest and the chaos that could ensue therefrom. Needless to mention nations that are currently going through wars with the attendant carnage and destructions. We do not even want to imagine what the experience would be, and we must forbid it.”
One of the groups earlier clamouring for the protest, Northern Initiative for Growth, suspended its planned protest, even as some Niger-Delta leaders distanced themselves from the protest. Such Niger-Delta leaders included National Chairman of Pan Niger-Delta Forum (PANDEF), Emmanuel Ibok Essien; President of Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Jonathan Lokpobiri; and Mujahideen Asari Dokubo.
On the other hand, candidate of the Labour Party at the presidential election last year, who is also a former Governor of Anambra State, Mr Peter Obi, reportedly supported the protest, calling it a constitutional right of citizens. He, however, sued for caution against violence and asked protesters to stay within the bounds of the law.
Coming to Ondo State, less than 24 hours to the commencement of the planned protest, security agencies in the state called on people of the state to maintain peace and avoid repeating the #EndSARS and Kenyan experiences.
Speaking at a gathering of security personnel in the state, the Ondo State Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Oladipo, said that security agencies in the state were on ground to ensure peace. His words: “What we are saying is that we should allow peace to reign in Ondo State. As it stands today, there have not been any groups who have indicated interest to participate in the protest. In line with the virtual meeting held by the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, they should document their presence and locations with the police for the purpose of providing them adequate security to ventilate their concerns.”
On the eve of the protest, various women groups from the 18 local government areas of the state and members of the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) met with Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa in Akure, where the governor sued for peace and assured his audience of the present government’s commitment to the welfare of citizens.
He said, ““Our administration in Ondo State is in tandem with the RENEWED HOPE AGENDA of Mr. President. We are unrelenting in our commitment to the welfare and security of our people.
“We recognize the hard times, but synergy between the government and the people is crucial to overcoming these challenges. Our administration has urged youths and other stakeholders not to engage in protests to maintain stability in the state.”
He outlined several measures the government had implemented to combat hunger and poverty, including improved security measures to protect farmers, the provision of farm inputs, sales of subsidized food items, and the employment of teachers.