Almost two months before August 1, 2024, it was announced that a 10-day protest would begin on that date; not many took the information seriously, others felt it was a rumour.
As the day drew nearer, the government became apprehensive, declaring the protest sponsor faceless because the government did not know who to talk to or assuage to prevent the protest from holding.
At the time, the Nigeria Labour Congress NLC was approached by the government, but the union stated that although it would participate in the protest, but can’t cancel the protest because it did not initiate it.
As the preparation for the protest started gaining more traction on social media, there was palpable fear at corridors of power, and every strategy was deployed to discredit it, at a time, , it was reported that the NLC had pulled out of the protest to make it less interesting.
In a jiffy, NLC president Joe Ajaero debunked the rumour.
Ajaero, in a statement signed by him, said the union cannot withdraw from a protest that it did not organise.
‘The Nigeria Labour Congress cannot withdraw from a protest it did not organise.’
The statement reads, “A news report of the Nigeria Labour Congress withdrawal from the widely discussed national protest has been brought to our attention. The Nigeria Labour Congress debunks such a story as patently false.”
He said, “The NLC is standing in solidarity with the Nigerian people in these “trying and excruciating times.”
Ajaero also called on President Bola Tinubu to invite the protest movement’s leaders to dialogue on their demands.
Feigning ignorance of the protest organiser, the federal government said they were faceless, using that as a subterfuge.
Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa (SAN) therefore, picked up the gauntlet and spoke on behalf of the organisers, so he became the link person the police started relating with.
He also wrote a letter to the police informing them of their plan to stage a protest on August 1 at Eagle Square, Abuja.
The police spokesperson, Muyiwa Adejobi admitted to receiving a letter intimating the police of the protest.
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The Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, therefore, invited him for a meeting in Abuja to discuss the modality and form the protest will take; then Mr Femi Falana (SAN) teamed up, and they opted to have the meeting online through Zoom.
The IGP wanted the protest restricted to a place, and there should not be a procession, but they disagreed with the terms and conditions the police boss proposed.
In Lagos State, the State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice Lawal Pedro(SAN) approached the court to get an injunction restricting the protesters to Gani Fawehinmi Park in Ojota and Freedom park in Ketu.
The organiser of the protest vehemently refused to be restricted to a spot.
Realising the protest was gaining momentum, the government at various levels began reaching out to some human rights groups and notable human rights activists, persuading them not to participate in the protest so that the planned protest would floop.
It was said that government is insensitive to the plight of the masses and not concerned about the pains Nigerians, go through daily.
The fact remains that rather than those in government adjusting themselves to the situation of things in the country, those in public office taunt the masses with the humongous money they acquired through the office they occupied.
A coalition of Civil Society Organisations, under the aegis of Coalition Of Genuine Civil Society Organisations and Right Activists, said that President Bola Tinubu should be blamed for failing to take the right steps that would have averted the planned protest slated for August 1 from holding.
The coalition, while briefing the press at the Human Rights building in Ijaye, in Ifako Ijaye local government area, Lagos State, said the organiser of the protest gave the president and government in power a long notice, which was enough for the president to moderate some policies that are damaging to the people, that would have prevented the sponsor of the protest from going ahead with the planned protest.
Speaking on behalf of the coalition, Comrade Declan Ihekaire of Activists for Good Governance, who was supported by other human rights leaders, like Comrades Ekundayo Shoyoye, Kushimo Olumiyiwa, Funmilayo Jolade- Ajayi, Bolaji Komolafe, Lawal Adewale among others stated that, the body language of the president did not depicts the picture of a president that is responsive, and in a hurry to address the yearnings and aspirations of the people.
According to him, rather than the president to address the problem on ground, to prevent the protest from holding, the attack dogs of the government in power were busy attacking the planner of the protest, to crack down on them.
He said, “Their sinister plot to crack down on the peaceful protest. In addition, a responsive and responsible government should have used the ample notice of these planned peaceful protests to make policies adjustments to pacify the aggrieved Nigerians rather the government at all levels chose the path of distraction, heating up the polity, name calling and shadow chasing.”
As it is said by the freedom fighter and former President of South Africa Dr. Nelson Mandela that, “Everyone can rise above their circumstances and achieve success if they are dedicated to and passionate about what they do.”
The protesters, however, made good their plans to stage the hunger protest. Nigerians whose memory of the EndSARS protest and the havoc wrecked is still fresh in their memory stayed indoors; offices were closed, shops and markets were closed, while the streets and roads were deserted.
The protest, which was staged in every part of the country, shows that the protesters have a common grievance against government, that there is hunger in the land, people can no longer feed themselves, and inflation has eroded the purchasing power of the people which was predicated by government bad policy of removing fuel subsidy and freeing the foreign exchange market.
The protesters unanimous demands were reflected in the placards they carried, which read, “reverse fee hikes in public tertiary institutions”, “one day the poor will have nothing else to eat but, the rich oppressors”, “president Tinubu let the poor breathe.”
A few days to the day of the protest, the federal government rolled out some programmes, signing the new minimum wage bill into law and payment of student loans to students, thinking that would make the youths and workers boycott the protest, but what Nigerians are going through could not be assuaged by those deceitful steps.
The general demand is that the government should continue to subsidise the oil sector because it is the increase in the price of petroleum products, and freeing of the foreign exchange market that had cyclical effect on all sectors, which led to the inflation the country is grappling with.
Showing commitment and support for the protest, lawyers were on the ground to protect the rights of the protesters if infringed upon; one them who spoke with Top Society at Gani Fawehinmi Park, Ojota, Emmanuel Ajide, said they came to render free services to any protester arrested or denied of their right, adding that it was some group of lawyers who volunteered to render that service and not the Nigeria Bar Association NBA that sent them.
According to him, “We were told some people wanted to hijack the protest, they(protesters) were told to go inside the park, but many of them because of the fear of laying ambush on them, they said they would not go inside the park.
“NBA is not in support of the protest, but we have some lawyers, they have taken it as part of their own responsibility to run a probono service as regard any protester that is arrested, it is the decision that some lawyers come together, they want to ensure there is peaceful protest, and at the same time, to fight for any protester being arrested or being denied of their rights.”
According to one of the protesters, identified as Comrade Juwon, he alleged that, there were plans by the Lagos State government to hijack the protest by sending hoodlums to attack the protesters so as to discredit it.
He said that was one of the reasons they refused to go inside the park.
He, therefore directed the protesters to keep marching back and forth on the service lane while the police formed an army round them, monitoring their activities.
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Juwon added that, part of the agreement reached with the Inspector General of Police Kayode Egbetokun was that police would protect the protesters.
Participating in the protest in Lagos, a grandmother and a retiree Mrs Adewunmi Oyewole, said that Nigerians are hardworking and peaceloving people, and it is government policies that trigger them to react in an unruly way.
She explained that inflation and high cost of living have pushed them to the wall, and Nigerians can no longer bear the hardship, making them stage the protest.
Mrs Oyewole said if the government can’t find a solution to the challenges facing Nigerians, then they should be left alone to fend for themselves.
She said the government should give the people an environment that is enabling them to survive and reduce the price of petroleum products.
Despite the protest, which knock down every economic activities in Nigeria, leading to loss of billions of Naira that could have accrued to government, while some people also lost their properties because, some hoodlums capitalise on the protest to loot peoples properties and broke into shops and warehouse.
It took president Bola Tinubu three days before he deemed it fit to address the nation.
The expectations that the president’s speech would address the demands of the people was, however dashed because his speech falls short of Nigerians expectations, neither did he address the demands and agitation of the people nor try to placate them, rather than do any of these President Tinubu was trying to justify the actions he took so far, urging Nigerians to be patient, that the pain they are experiencing is necessary for them to be able to enjoy in the future.
The Nobel laureate Professor Wole Soyinka also felt disappointed that, the president’s speech did not address the crackdown on some Nigerians by security operatives during the protest.
Also expressing his disappointed in the president’s speech Femi Falana(SAN) felt bitter that, the president never addressed any of the issues raised by the protesters.
The protesters became more infuriated and bitter by his speech.
The president’s action also led to the polarisation of the protest organisers, because Barrister Adegboruwa appealed to the protesters to call off the protest since the president has addressed the nation.
Damilare Adenola, Director of Mobilisation of Take It Back Movement, a non-governmental organisation and organiser of the protest Endbadgovernance, stated that Adegboruwa is not part of them.
Adenola said human rights lawyer Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa does not speak for his group, although the Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) had written security agencies to seek protection for them before the rallies.
The youth activist said his group won’t suspend the 10-day protests despite Adegboruwa’s pleas that the demonstrations be called off because fifth columnists have infiltrated the rallies to wreak havoc.
He said the protests might exceed 10 days depending on the response of the government.
Adenola said, “Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa is not our lawyer and he doesn’t speak for us. He might have presented himself as the solicitor but he is not hungry. He is a senior advocate of Nigeria who lives well. He is not hungry like the people taking over the streets.”
“We are waiting for the government to respond to us and address our demands. And until then, the protests continue,” he said, adding that though, the demands of protesters have not been addressed, a statement has been made to the government of the day.
Rather than the president reconsidering his stance, he remained adamant and kept appealing to Nigerians to bear the pain, that it is worthwhile.
The question on the lips of Nigerians is, is the president and members of his family feeling the pain as well? Are those in public office also feeling the pain? The answer is no. They live in affluence and flaunt their ill-gotten wealth. They keep appealing to the average Nigerian who is impoverished by their bad policies to keep bearing the pain.
It is often said that Nigeria is sitting on a keg of gunpowder, which may explode at any time because Nigerians are aggrieved, and Nigerians don’t need anybody to propel them to revolt, they will take such action, the experiences Nigeria had during this #Endbadgovernance protest, #EndSARS protest and death of Mohbad protest are enough to convince a serious-minded government that, there is problem in the land.
To further exacerbate the problem is the high rate of unemployment. Higher institutions keep turning out graduates every year, and no provision for them.
These lack of plan and provision for the teeming youths, encourages some to go into crime.
According to Chief Olabode George, the failure of government to feed the youths of the programme it has for them further infuriates them.
Many at times, the Federal government announced it has voted some amount of money for youth programmes or that certain empowerment programme have been set up for them. Still, they only get to hear of that programme or read it on pages of newspapers it never gets to them.
These are part of the things the government need to probe.
It is always said that an idle hand is the devils workshop, if government fails to address the needs and demands of the youths, it is then grooming them for a revolution, as experienced in neighbouring countries like Kenya.
What should be paramount to the government now is how to find solutions to the problems on ground, not the recent clampdown on offices of Nigeria Labour Congress NLC and CDHR.
There is no way an aggrieved person will not stage a protest if the situation warrants it, because is said a hungry man is an angry man.
Nigeria government needs to quickly address the hunger biting many Nigerians, which has turned many to a slave on their father’s land.
A new policy to tackle the increasing rate of inflation in the country should be quickly formulated because this idea of President Bola Tinubu that Nigerians should bear the hard time is an invitation to a revolution which the government may not be able to curtail because the people are famish.
