BETWEEN August 1 and 10, Nigeria experienced protests by people voicing their concerns about the hardship in the country, under the banner of #EndBadGovernanceNow. What started as peaceful protests turned into riots in some parts of the country, particularly in the northern states, leading to looting and vandalism of public and private property, and resulting in clashes between security agencies and rioters, culminating in deaths.
On the fourth day of the protest, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu addressed the nation, appealing for calm. He assured that his administration had heard the concerns and was taking steps to address the hardships faced by the people. This helped ease the tension, but some felt that the president’s speech did not go far enough given the gravity of the situation.
The protests and their aftermath made it clear that the country was in crisis and needed urgent and strategic steps to improve the economy and the welfare of the people. The consensus was that the government needed proactive policies to address the fallout from the removal of the oil subsidy and the floating of the local currency, which resulted in soaring inflation and skyrocketing prices of essential items, especially food.
There are signs that the country was heading in this direction. The African continent and its component regions have been influenced by the international economic system created by the West, which has made them dependent on imports for virtually everything, including agricultural items. The recent removal of the fuel subsidy and the floating of the currency aggravated imported inflation, putting a strain on everyone’s budget.
Given these developments, it is crucial for the government to take prompt action to address the situation and mobilise the people towards self-sufficiency. The protests might have been avoided if the government had been proactive and engaged in effective public relations. Although the protests have subsided, the underlying issues have not been forgotten, and urgent steps need to be taken to address the rising costs of fuel and food.
In addition to addressing the rising costs, it is important to tackle the issues affecting agriculture, such as banditry and crop theft. Farmers, especially in central regions, are hesitant to return to their land due to the risk of crop theft. It is essential to make concerted efforts towards food production to improve the food landscape, particularly for staple food items like vegetables and root crops.
This is where the sub-national governments become very relevant. The state governments own land and so they can do much to ameliorate the pangs of hunger by not just providing the needed land space but to mobilise young people into the field and providing them with farm inputs and machinery for massive production. The Federal Government can assist with extension services through experts and enable easy importation of farm machinery. While the government is taking an ad-hoc measure to ensure food availability through duty-free importation of foodstuff for the remaining part of the year, there must be a massive investment in local food production, because sustained food importation might hurt the economy in the long run. It bears emphasis that attention should be given to agriculture as what would trigger the next wave of protest would still be hunger. A hungry man is an angry man.
We must emphasise the necessity for attention to be focused on the state governments. For too long attention has been on the Federal Government while governments at the sub-national levels wallow in obscene profligacy. Given that the state governors legally own land and both the state and local governments are nearer to the people, they should have the primary responsibility of ensuring robust economic activities that would ensure the proper welfare of the people. It would be more dignifying for the people to fend for themselves than be treated like refugees with palliatives at every crisis point. The people also must wean themselves of the entitlement mentality and engage in more sustainable ventures, even if at the subsistence level.
The Federal Government needs to adopt a more drastic approach to put an end to the issue of the availability of petroleum products at affordable prices in the country. It is a thing of monumental shame for a major crude oil-producing country to continue to be associated with this narrative. No matter what it takes, the government must ensure the proper sanitation of the petroleum sector; and even if it means bending over backward to ensure adequate local production of petroleum products, so be it. The stories out there about the sleaze in the industry are nauseating and would be a crying shame if the present administration is unable to unravel the racket.
The point must be made that people have the right to protest ugly situations, especially those touching on their existence. Protests are constitutional rights under our democracy, and Nigerians indeed have the right to protest because that is the only voice they have.
However, such protests must be carried out in such a manner that it does not jeopardise the lives and livelihoods of the citizens and undermine the security and integrity of our sovereignty. It needs to be emphasised that such protests must be properly organised, well directed and peaceful in execution. The state must not use brute force on the peaceful and armless protesters, even though it has a responsibility to maintain law and order and ensure that no criminal in whatever guise uses the cloak of protests to subvert the government. The government must play its part and ensure the protection and well-being of the citizenry.
