…As NLC calls for caution, puts death toll at 40
… N700b lost in two days – Analysts
….Protesters remain adamant
…Tinubu’s address may calm nerves
The #EndBadGovernance protests, which erupted across Nigeria on August 1, have inflicted a heavy toll on the nation, with lives lost, property destroyed, and economic activities disrupted.
As the demonstrations enter the fourth day today, the full extent of the damage is yet to be ascertained, but early estimates suggest significant losses.
While the anti-government demonstrations were largely peaceful in the south, it was characterised by violence, looting, and clashes with security personnel in Kano, Katsina, Yobe, Abuja and other parts of the northern region, prompting the declaration of curfews in some states.
At least, 17 people have been killed since the protests began across Nigeria on Thursday. The fatalities occurred in various locations, including Abuja, Kano, Niger, Borno, Kaduna, and Jigawa.
In Abuja and Kano, one person was shot dead in each city. In Jigawa, two people lost their lives. In Niger, six individuals were reportedly gunned down by security forces. Borno saw four deaths, while three people died in Kaduna.
The Amnesty International has also reported multiple deaths, while the Nigeria Police Force has confirmed the killing of one officer and injuries to others.
The economic repercussions of the protests are staggering. Nigeria’s economy has reportedly suffered a loss of over ₦500 billion in just one day. This massive economic blow is attributed to the widespread disruption of business activities, the imposition of curfews in several states, and the general atmosphere of instability that has gripped the nation.
Muda Yusuf, the chief executive officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) had earlier said that the nationwide protests could inflict an estimated daily loss of N400 billion to the already fragile economy.
He said the consequences of such a huge loss for the country and the citizens would be very severe, appealing for a shorter duration of one day in order for it not to degenerate into chaos and anarchy.
Read also: #EndBadGovernance: IPI Nigeria warns security agencies to stop attacking journalists
“Prolonged protests create opportunities for hoodlums, miscreants, and other criminal elements in the society to build momentum to unleash mayhem and destruction on the country,” the CPPE boss said.
Despite the government’s efforts to persuade and pressure the protesters to back down, they have remained resolute.
The demonstrators, driven by grievances over economic hardship, high food prices, and the removal of fuel subsidies, continue to demand changes.
Other demands include immediate reforms of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), along with renewed efforts to combat corruption among politicians.
Their determination is evident in the large numbers that have taken to the streets in cities like Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Jos, Kaduna and Port Harcourt.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s silence on the matter has been a point of contention. Many Nigerians have condemned his refusal to address the nation, interpreting it as a sign of disregard for the people’s concerns. This perceived indifference has only fueled the protesters’ resolve, as they feel their voices are not being heard.
The government’s handling of the situation, including the deployment of security forces and the imposition of curfews, has drawn criticism from various quarters. The situation remains tense, with the potential for further escalation if the underlying issues are not addressed.
As the protests entered Day 3, calls and entreaties for a suspension of the protest grew. The calls came from religious and business leaders as well as some stakeholders in the protest.
Suspend protests, allow dialogue with government – Adegboruwa appeals to protesters
Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, a human rights lawyer, has called for the suspension of the ongoing nationwide protests.
In a statement on Friday, Adegboruwa, who is the counsel for the “Take It Back Movement,” one of the organisers of the protests, urged protesters to withdraw from their various locations and suspend the protests immediately and indefinitely to allow for meaningful dialogue and engagement with the government.
“Though the intention of the organisers was to achieve peaceful and well-coordinated protests, it would seem that fifth columnists and some angry persons infiltrated the ranks of the protesters to derail their laudable mission,” he said.
“I appeal to the protesters to withdraw themselves from their various protest grounds and to suspend the protests immediately and indefinitely, in order to give room for meaningful dialogue and engagement with the government.
“Given that the protests were said to have been hijacked by sponsored agents, it is necessary to avoid further losses and casualties.
“The organisers of the protests and their representatives should embrace dialogue with the government,” he added.
Adegboruwa expressed regret over the deaths and losses recorded during the demonstrations. He emphasised that such outcomes were never the goal of the protests and extended his condolences to the families of the deceased security personnel and protesters.
On the eve of the protests, Adegboruwa had urged the organisers to reduce the planned 10-day action to a single day.
Adegboruwa called on Tinubu to directly address the nation and engage with the protesters through their representatives. He suggested that the government should form a committee of reputable individuals to meet with the protesters and address their concerns.
We’ll step in if breaches continue – Military
The Nigerian military on Friday said that it may intervene to control the escalating looting crisis and identify the sponsors of the ongoing nationwide hunger protests.
Christopher Musa, the chief of defence staff, addressed the situation during a press conference in Abuja, emphasising the military’s current support role to the police.
He said, “We are supporting the police all through. We are just on standby. The police are doing a good job; they are handling the situation for now.
“Unless it breaches beyond what they can handle, then the military will step in. The military is on standby and we are watching day and night.”
Acknowledging the economic grievances driving the protests, Musa urged the protesters to understand the Federal Government’s position and called for unity during these challenging times. He also cautioned against vandalism and looting, stressing the need to maintain public order and protect property.
The defence chief also asked the media to reduce the coverage of the protests, saying some protesters are only looking for screen time.
“I noticed throughout yesterday all the stations were hooked up on the occasion. This is not an election, don’t give them that coverage because some of them are just looking for moments of being on the screen,” Musa said.
Read also: Amnesty International demands release of 50 protesters arrested in Abuja on Day 3
Protest may go beyond 10 days – Group
The TakeItBack Movement, one of the organisers of the protest, said the demonstration would continue and “may go beyond” 10 days, “depending on the response we get from the government.”
“It does not seem that we are dealing with a responsible government so they should expect it to go beyond 10 days if our demands and concerns are not addressed,” Damilola Adenola, the director of mobilisation, said on Channels Television on Friday night.
More reactions
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (PBAT) policy makers should have observed from developments culminating into the recent nationwide protest that people’s factor is very germane in any democratic government’s policies. The timing of the implementation of planned actions is equally crucial because doing the right thing at the wrong time will vitiate the goodness of the right thing done,” said Samson Oluga, dean, school of general and administrative studies, Federal Polytechnic Ede, Osun State.
According to him, President Tinubu has been facing a lot of challenges since he got the nation’s mantle of leadership last year with the intention of bringing back the country on the track of systematic societal transformation heading towards sustainable national developments.
However, he said that some of the present government’s economic policies leading to fuel price hike, foreign exchange floating, electricity tariff upsurge, import duty increment and value added tax upward review have negatively impacted on the masses socio-economically.
“Costs of essential goods and services like food items, house rents, mobile phone charges, medications, building products and educational materials have been skyrocketing and have not been nose-diving thereby defying the law of gravity,” Oluga said.
He further said that the government’s policy intervention has failed to appease the protesters because the policies were ill planned. He said further that the current administration should always be mindful of the plights of the people and should avoid things that will negatively impact on the people or jeopardise their interests.
“This is the only way the good plans that the PBAT’s government has for the country’s systematic transformation and nation’s sustainable development will work well without wounding the people who are the beneficiaries. This is pertinent because democracy remains the government of the people by the people for the people,” Oluga said.
Counting the huge losses so far, Bosun Tijani, Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, took to his X (Twitter) handle to lament the unnecessary looting of the Digital Innovation Part by protesters in Kano, amounting to millions of Naira, and sadly, a setback to deepening the country’s workforce for technology.
“Sad to learn that our Digital Innovation Park in Kano slated for launch next week to support our technical talent accelerator (3MTT) has been set ablaze and looted by protesters.
“Alongside #3MTT, this building is set to host our buildathon holiday maker programme for secondary school kids starting next week. A slight setback for our journey to deepen our workforce for technology while creating job opportunities for the youth. Millions of Naira down the drain.” The minister tweeted on X(@bosuntijani) recently.
Also counting the losses, Mathias Ineh, a chief driver of a popular transport company in the country, decried that apart from closing their 12 terminals across the country, two buses of the company were destroyed by angry mob along the Lokoja-Okene Road on the first day of the protest and passengers lucky escaped.
“The two were Lagos-bound buses from Abuja. They suffered delays on the road on July 31 due to many security checks and the drivers left early hours on August 1, yet the mob attacked.
“We have since closed all our terminals and mounted security to forestall destruction,” the driver said.
But Chijioke Umelahi, an Abuja-based lawyer, pointed to the insincerity of the government, which he accused of raising its own supporters to counter the anti-government ones led by true Nigerians, to be fueling the violence in the peaceful protest.
“I condemn the looting and violence. But I also see government’s hand in it because they never wanted the protest to happen. They think it is a vote of no confidence by Nigerians and that is exactly what we Nigerians are saying,” the lawyer said.
On the number of casualties, he noted that the security operatives are inflating the number to justify the government’s claim that the protest was ill-conceived, politically motivated and would be hijacked by hoodlums.
However, what bothers Adeyanju Ogini, a civil right activist and youth leader from Oyo State, is the refusal of President Bola Tinubu to address the nation and Godswill Akpabio’s sad comment that while Nigerians protest, they (politicians) are eating, which has gone viral.
“No matter the level of violence and looting in the protest, you cannot compare it with the level of insensitivity and wickedness of the ruling class. They don’t care about the masses at all,” Ogini lamented.
He is also calling out President Tinubu to face Nigerians, even if he claims to have bought his victory at the 2023 presidential election.
The National Coordinator of the Take It Back Movement, Juwon Sanyaolu, and the National Coordinator of the Education Rights Campaign, Hassan Taiwo who both lead protests in Lagos State have hailed the resilience of Nigerians.
Sanyaolu said the protest was to register the grievances of the hungry people in Lagos and Nigeria.
He said Nigerians and their families can no longer afford a single balanced diet in a day due to the harsh economic policies by the Bola Tinubu-led government.
“It is important to say that this protest will continue till August 10 and beyond until the government reverses all the anti-people policies it has introduced.
“The FG must immediately reverse fuel subsidy removal, reverse fee hikes in schools and give students grants, not loans that they cannot pay back, because people who cannot feed themselves cannot pay any loan in this economy as you can see”, he said.
Lucky Odili, a 35-year-old trader, said he joined the protest because of the prevailing state of the economic and current hardship. He said he was finding it increasingly difficult to feed his family of three, because of exorbitant cost of foodstuff.
He lambasted President Tinubu for initiating such reform without any programmes to help the masses.
The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) on Saturday, berated President Tinubu for failing to address Nigerians over the #EndBadGovernance protests.
The PDP called on President Tinubu to immediately address Nigerians on urgent steps to reduce the price of petroleum products, stem the fall of the Naira and ensure speedy provision of food among other critical issues so as to revamp the productive sector, stimulate employment and restore stability in the polity.
The party, in a statement signed by Debo Ologunagba, the national publicity Secretary, expressed concerns about President Tinubu’s silence which it said “is sending a very dangerous signal and heightening public apprehension that the All Progressives Congress (APC) government is insensitive to the feelings of the citizens and the overall sorry state of affairs in the nation.”
The opposition party further said: “It is indeed worrisome that President Tinubu could remain silent as Nigerians are on the streets demanding for good governance, protection, security and welfare, which are the primary purpose of government.”
Paul Alake, Chief Economist at SPM Professionals, had, while appearing on Channels television, estimated that Nigeria lost N700b to first two-day of the protests, which began on Thursday, 1st of August
He noted that the protesters came to the streets to make the government “hear their cry.”
“The gain from the protest is for the government to hear the cry of the people and for the government to know that the people can also checkmate their actions. But it comes with costs. When people are not able to move, At least the cost we are able to estimate is about N350 billion,” he said.
NLC reacts
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), in a statement on Saturday, called on the Federal Government to stop the killing of innocent protesters, even as it said about 40 protesters have been killed
Joe Ajaero, the NLC president, said: “With unconfirmed reports putting casualties at 40+ in two days of managing the #EndHunger protest across the country, we have sufficient reasons (backed up by reports and video clips) to call to question the professionalism of our security personnel as this represents nothing but MASSACRE of citizens.
“Had the security personnel deployed the same thoughtless brutal precision against bandits or other criminals, our country would have been an eldorado.
“As the lead-agency in internal security management, the police bear the burden of this massacre.”
The NLC president further said: “Kaduna State police command under the watch of Compol Audu Ali Dabigi represents the worst-case scenario in which one of the fleeing protesters was heard on camera desperately appealing to deployed police personnel to not shoot until his voice was drowned by a hail of bullets with the resultant death of a protester on the spot and several injured.
“In the same breadth, Edo State Police Command under the personal command of COMPOL Funsho Adegboroye represents the best in crowd management as he could be heard interacting and cajoling the protesters and almost effortlessly bringing them under control
“It might be convenient to argue that the two states do have different socio-cultural milieux, however, an incontestable truth common to both, and indeed, all the states, is that human life is sacred and should NEVER be taken.
“We are deeply saddened by this wanton taking of life by trigger-happy police personnel.
The NLC also noted how in Asokoro, Abuja under the command of Bennett Igweh, protesters were heard querying why the police were shelling or tear-gassing them as they were marching solemnly without breaking a twig.
“One noticeable pattern was that once police personnel introduced violence, all hell broke loose in fulfilment of the credo that violence begets violence.
“We pause to ask, what happened to all the years of training or experience? No lessons learnt or was this a case of loss of human values on an industrial scale? Don’t our police personnel watch their colleagues in other parts of the world manage equally challenging (if not worse) situations?
The NLC demanded “that the cops with blood stains on their hands be fished out for appropriate disciplinary action. Ditto their commanders.
“Secondly, adequate compensations should be paid to the families of casualties while government should be responsible for the treatment and rehabilitation of the injured.
“Thirdly, all those arrested should be released immediately and unconditionally.”
Cleric speaks
An Abuja-based cleric, Jeremiah Sanya, who spoke with BDSunday on the implications of the protests, noted that Nigeria, with current fragile economy cannot afford to shut down its economy.
He therefore, called on President Bola Tinubu to urgently move in to halt the ongoing protest before it escalates beyond the current situation.
“We know the Politics has crippled into the #EndBadGovernance protest, but the President himself is a politician and an experienced man at that, so he needs to do the needful.
Senator Iroegbu, a public analyst/Security expert who also spoke on the ongoing protests, noted that the protest is uniting Nigerians for the first time, against unfavorable government policies
“For the first time after the 2023 general election, the issues of hunger, need for good governance and unfavorable economic policies are now uniting Nigerians. So, the government must give listening ears.”
President Tinubu’s address may calm nerves
As President Tinubu speaks to the nation today, chances are that tension may be doused and the protesters may be dissuaded from completing the 10 days’ mark.
