Nigeria: The Points, Problems And Priorities Of The Protests

By Bala Ibrahim

Today, I woke up with a sigh of relief, in expression of happiness, because Nigeria has come to the terminal date of the nationwide protests, organized in objection, or disagreement with what the protesters called, bad governance. Bad governance is an abominable act that causes hatred, disgust and repulsion by the people. It is a leadership style that is so detestable, and sometimes in the political vocabulary, it is referred to as “kakistocracy” . The term is used to describe a government that is considered corrupt or incompetent. In other words, when a government is made up in a way in which the worst people are in charge, the stage is set for the arrival, and probably, the eventual settlement of kakistocracy.” Such a government has the reversed ambition of democracy.

I am not among the protesters, so I don’t know the yardstick of their gauge, but indeed, through the protests, the protesters have made points, and pinpointed the problems, by asking the government to embrace the concept of prioritization. They want the stoppage, or outright blockage of wastage. Fortunately, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has said, times without number, that his government is favourably disposed to the action, or process of making decisions on the basis of relative importance of issues, in accordance with the urgency of matters, and the wishes of the people.

Going by such promise from the President, and the various submissions from eminent members of the society, including former President’s, and lately, the group of patriots, I think the protests have succeeded in providing the pulpit, for convenient conversation between the government and the people. The people said there are issues that are not being handled right, amongst which is the fuel subsidy removal, which in their own wisdom, is fuelling hunger and anger in the land. Although the government said removing the subsidy is a painful but an inevitable decision, yet, it is ready to dialogue, provided the discussions would go inline with sound judgement and sensibleness. That is good, very good.

All over the world, protesters usually organize protests as a way of publicly making their opinions heard by those in charge, with a view to influencing public opinion, to changing a government policy. And, in the event of the Government refusing to heed, or pay attention to their demands or plight, they may undertake direct action, in an attempt to bring about the desired changes themselves.

Under the Nigerian constitution, lawyers say, Nigerians’ right to peaceful assembly, including protest, is sacrosanct. That means, the protection of the right to freedom of assembly is very fundamental in a democratic setting like the one we have in Nigeria today. It also means that, the government, as well as the people, have distinctive responsibilities to play, towards the achievement of this protection. It is the responsibility of the government to put in place, adequate mechanisms to ensure that the right to freedom of assembly is completely enjoyed by the people. The people on protest also, have a similar responsibility, or obligation, which is to ensure that such right is exercised appropriately, and in accordance with the law. Variations, or violations can cause confusion, that may delay the arrival at an agreement.

From the points made by the protesters, issues of excessive use of force have been raised. That is a problem they want the government to look into, with a view to visiting justice on those whose rights have been so violated. They also said, if indeed the Government is willing to place things on the priority list, then, public institutions must be made to conduct their affairs with discipline. And the management of public resources should be done in a way that guarantees prudence. Dishonest behaviour by people in power, who are accused of acting in manners that are seen as untrustworthy, deceitful, or out rightly insincere, must be curtailed. The protesters say the people are hungry, but some leaders are not only extravagant, but openly exploitative, to the detriment of the country. The protesters are not against public spending, but they want things to be ranked in order of importance.

Although the government is alleging the involvement of the opposition in the protests, who are churning out lies against it, by painting unsubstantiated corruption cases, and actions taken to promote nepotism, the President has repeatedly said his actions are in the best interest of the country. And that, posterity would vindicate him. Shortly after they assumed office, the First Lady, Her Excellency, Senator Remi Tinubu, told the world that her husband has come to emancipate Nigeria and not to steal it’s scarce resources. She said, God has been benevolent on them, as such, it would be immoral, or even irreligious, for them to be involved in actions that are preposterous.

Nigeria is a democracy, that should not be turned into an Aristocracy, where the ruling elites alone, tend to enjoy both social and economic prestige, along with political power. The masses must be carried along, in the sharing of the so called national cake. That way, anger, would not follow the cry of hunger, I think.