26/7/24
‘__When people are pressed to the wall, they are left with no option but to turn back and damn the consequences’ __
On 6 February 2024, a certain, young 24 year-old lady A’isha Jibrin led a handful of young men and women to a peaceful protest in Minna, Niger state against the raging and unending insecurity and hunger in the land. Aisha’s team, in a peaceful manner devoid of any form of violence, mobilised and blocked the popular kpakungu roundabout in Minna, carrying placards that in summary sent a clear and unmistakable message to the government ‘THERE IS HUNGER IN THE LAND’
Onlookers at the protest scene not entirely sure of Amazon A’isha’s motives and trying to get a grip of what is going on, joined in the melee, grabbing any placard they can lay their hands on and moving to the front line. Some of them smiling sarcastically on the outside while hunger bites them decisively from the inside.
Aisha’s mini Minna protest was the precursor to the upcoming mega hunger protests planned for 1st August 2024 by the great, hardworking and resilient Nigerian youths and other concerned stakeholders. After A’isha stirred the hornet’s nest in Minna, Lagos, Kogi, Osun, Kano, Ondo and a few other states followed suit. Market women instinctively closing shops to avoid any possible break-ins rather than even understanding what the confusion is all about.
Indeed, the planned 1st -10th August protest should proceed as planned but it must be peaceful as provided for in the 1999 constitution. The protesters must shun all temptations to cause mayhem during the protests as violence is not covered by the constitution.
The peaceful protest is perfectly within the ambits of the law as effectively encapsulated in section 40 of the constitution, federal republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended which is clear, explicit and unambiguous that:
‘Every person shall be entitled to assemble freely and associate with other persons, and he may form or belong to any political party, trade union or any other association for the protection of his interests’
Nigeria’s democracy has indeed turned into crytocracy.
Even colonial masters have not maltreated Nigerians the way our own leaders are maltreating us today.
Everybody is tired. The haves cannot sleep with their eyes closed while the have-nots cannot feed.
_When the have-nots are not happy, the haves cannot have peace. _
There must be a fair distribution of resources for peace to reign in Nigeria. Government officials and their agents cannot take everything and expect everyone to keep quite.
The haves are holed-up in major cities such as Abuja and Lagos as they cannot travel to their villages when ordinary citizens cannot afford a meal per day. This is part of the root causes of the unprecedented rate of insecurity in the land today.
Citizens are being killed like chickens in Nigeria by bandits and terrorists including secessionists who think they can break up Nigeria. The death toll keeps rising while government officials are busy travelling on holidays abroad with their families, buying yatches, renovating their palatial homes, buying SUVs which they don’t need anyway through the use of scarce public resources that should go to building factories to create jobs, social security, building schools, hospitals etc.
The cost of one SUV is about N300 million. This amount can build a mini factory that could employ hundreds of skilled and unskilled job-seekers.
Unemployment in Nigeria is about 40% and counting while Government officials continue to be in denial of the current sorry state of the nation. They always either tell us that ‘everything is ok’ or ‘it is the handiwork of the opposition’ or at best ‘we are doing something about it’ or all of the above.
Citizens are literally dropping dead on the streets of Nigeria due to HUNGER while government officials at federal and state levels are having the time of their lives, buying special utility vehicles (SUVs) for themselves and their families almost every week.
The National Assembly early this year purchased almost 500 pieces of Toyota Lexus SUVs valued in total at over N70 billion and shared among our senators and House of Representatives members in a choose-the-one-you-like manner.
This happened while majority of their constituents cannot afford one square meal per day.
What an irony!
Something has to happen for Nigeria to redeem its lost glory battered by greedy politicians and other public office holders.
The Minna protest led by A’isha was a wake up call coming barely 8 months after President Tinubu unilaterally removed fuel subsidy without any due diligence to ascertain its impact on struggling families.
A’isha was a legend. She saw it coming. She was certain that if the exacerbating hunger amid the high rate of insecurity, senseless killings by bandits and terrorists continue unabated, the people will revolt and when they did, it will be massive. She called out the leaders to do something about it but they ignored her. Instead they ordered for her arrest along with 24 of her comrades.
The rest is history.
From Endsars to A’isha and now to the upcoming imminent nationwide #Endbadgovernance protest effectively tagged ‘10 days of rage’ it is clear that Nigerians are tired of this journey to nowhere.
Nigeria is rich, yet poverty has taken over this country because a few individuals holding public office especially the politicians-in-government who constitute less than 2% of Nigeria’s total population, have cornered 99% of the resources to themselves and left less than 1% to the ordinary citizens who constitute 98% of the total population.
During the imminent #Endbadgovernance protest next week, security agencies viz the military, police, civil defence etc must provide security to the peaceful protesters as provided for by the constitution. It is the responsibility of security agencies to provide security to the protesters as long as they conduct themselves in a peaceful manner. It is the duty of security agencies, not the peaceful protesters to ensure that there is no breakdown of law and order during the protests.
Our security agencies, the military, police, civil defence etc should not allow themselves to be used as willing tools by our desperate leaders. They should provide security and cover to the peaceful protesters. After all, the security agents are also victims of this current Nigerian system that spreads hunger and promotes income inequality. Our security agents are paid poorly while sacrificing their lives for the country just as politicians collect jumbo pays and allowances running into several millions of Naira monthly.
The security agents should understand that ‘WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER.
The planned hunger protests are a wake up call to the government that they must stop the current ‘winner takes all’ politics in Nigeria. Clearly, if nothing is done to change this system that breeds insecurity and hunger, a much bigger protest that will shake the very foundation of the country is coming. Kenya is a child’s play if Nigerians pour out.
The peaceful protests this August tagged ‘10 Days of Rage’ will not be a precursor to anarchy in Nigeria as some people are won’t to believe. It will not be a problem to the government. Rather it will help the government put its house in order.
The planned protest this August will set a new direction towards fixing the myriad of economic and political challenges facing our dear country. The protest will help both the leaders and the led to come together and chart a new course for Nigeria. It will promote an inclusive democratic government where the views of everyone is respected as against the current system where only the views of the led are important.
There has to be a solution to hunger and insecurity in the land before all hell broke loose.
Clearly, protests are an indication that there has been a bottled anger in Nigeria about the wrong direction that breeds hunger which our leaders are taking the country to. This anger will continue to rise as long as government officials turn public resources into their personal property.
To be able to afford the proverbial 3 square meals a day in Nigeria today, one needs to be in government or have a relative who is in government.
You need at least N5,000 daily to get through the day meal-wise even at Mamaput level.
You can’t have a meal at Mamaput unless you are at least N1,500 in credit. This is happening when the income of all Nigerians including the civil servants who by the way are less than 10% of the entire population, is frozen. Income hasn’t increased while prices of goods and services have skyrocketed by over 400% courtesy of Tinubu’s removal of fuel subsidy. Abrupt removal of fuel subsidy is wrong. If there is corruption in fuei subsidy, it is the duty of the government to remove corruption and leave subsidy for the people. How many oil thieves have been prosecuted since records began? I will
leave this topic for another day eise I digress from my title.
Curiously, instead of accepting the wrong path they are taking Nigeria towards, government officials continue to live in denial that it is all rosy. Nothing do Nigeria. These government official take turns in queues to spew liars and denials that there is insecurity and hunger in the land. They insult the collective sensibilities of Nigerians by employing sabre rattling and threats to use the security forces against innocent citizens who are only exercising their constitutional rights. This further underscores the fact that these so-called government officials are completely disconnected from reality and do not understand what the people want. They forget their campaign promises as soon as they get into office.
To douse tension in the country and avert a much bigger protest than the one coming up on 1st August Insha Allah (SWT), the federal and state governments should do the needful:
1. Stop the current high rate of kidnapping for ransom and senseless killings in Nigeria. The military and other security agencies should take the fight to the bandits and terrorists and not wait until these bandits attack before the security agencies go for damage control.
2. Set up a social security system that guarantees the payment of N30,000 monthly to each unemployed Nigerian. Yes there are enough funds to implement this policy if the various loopholes of corruption are plugged.
3. Build at least one mega factory in each of the 774 local government areas to create jobs and sell off these factories to the private sector for efficient management.
4. Privatise the 4 government-owned refineries
5. Bring down the ex-pump price of petrol to N200 per litre where the Tinubu administration met it.
6. Allocate 75% to capital expenditure and 25% to recurrent expenditure in the annual budget.
7. Ban any further purchase of SUVs for the comfort of government officials and thier families.
8. Abolish tuition fees in Universities
9. Launch a strategic agricultural Revolution programme focussing on massive rice and cotton production.
10. Cut down the size of government to only 24 ministers. Amend the constitution to get this done!
56 ministers and countless SSAs are way too much for the country to bear.
11. Create skills acquisition centres and job centres in each of the 774 local government areas to promote job creation and self reliance.
12. Implement a unicameral legislature by closing down the senate and retaining only the House of Representatives with two representatives per state. The National Assembly is eating about 40% of the national budget and this is unsustainable.
13. All bandits and terrorists in custody of the security agencies should be tried and prosecuted through special courts to be set up by the federal government.
14. The national assembly should enact laws stipulating death penalty for bandits and terrorists who kill the innocent.
15. The so-called Presidential yatch and presidential jet should be withdrawn. The British Prime Minister doesn’t have an official jet, he flies commercial flights while Nigeria is hellbent on buying jet for the President while people are dropping dead on the streets of Nigeria due to hunger. Britain has a unidimensional poverty rate of 22% while Nigeria’s poverty rate is 86% and multidimensional.
The Tinubu administration should not continue to live in denial and pretend that all is well in the country. There is the urgent need to address the genuine grievances of Nigerians before the situation gets out of control completely.
Tags
Opinion