Protests have overtimes taken place across different parts of the country with different reasons behind them, mostly to kick against a particular government policy. The protest scheduled to kickoff across the nation slated for August 1 to 10, has generated reactions and diverse responses.
The protest was announced by Nigerians to commence on August 1 as a way of expressing their displeasure over the economic hardship faced in the country with the hashtag #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria.
BusinessDay compiled a list of seven major protests that were held in the country since 1929
1. #EndSars protest (2020):
#EndSARS was a social movement with a series of mass protests against police brutality in Nigeria, in 2020.
The protests called for the disbandment of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a unit of the Nigerian Police known for its extensive record of abuse against Nigerian citizens.
The protests originated from a Twitter campaign in 2017, using the hashtag #EndSARS to demand the unit’s disbandment by the Nigerian government.
SARS officers were alleged to profile young Nigerians, mostly males, based on fashion choices, tattoos, and hairstyles. They were also known to set up illegal roadblocks, conduct unwarranted checks and searches, make arrests and detain without warrants or trials, and extort young male Nigerians for driving exotic vehicles and using laptops and iPhones.
The movement, however, resurgence in October 2020 following further revelations of the unit’s abuses, leading to mass demonstrations across major cities in Nigeria and widespread outrage on social media platforms.
The protest was predominantly led by young Nigerians and expanded to include demands for good governance and accountability amidst unprecedented hardship in the country.
On October 11, 2020, the Nigerian Police Force announced the dissolution of the SARS unit with immediate effect. This move was widely perceived as a triumph for the demonstrators.
2. Occupy Nigeria protest (2012)
Occupy Nigeria was a socio-political protest movement that began on Monday, January 2, 2012, in response to the Federal Government’s removal of the fuel subsidy by President Goodluck Jonathan on January 1, 2012.
The movement was marked by civil disobedience, civil resistance, strikes, demonstrations, and online activism, with social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook playing a significant role.
3. June 12 (1993) protest
On June 12 1993, Nigeria had its presidential elections held in Nigeria on 12 June 1993, the maiden since the 1983 military coup which collapsed the nation’s Second Republic.
The elections were the result of a transitional process towards civilian rule, initiated by military leader Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida. Although the National Electoral Commission did not officially declare the outcome, it was speculated that Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola of the Social Democratic Party won against Bashir Tofa of the National Republican Convention.
However, Babangida annulled the elections, citing electoral irregularities, and no winner was officially declared. This annulment triggered protests and political turmoil, leading to Babangida’s resignation, the establishment of a weak interim civilian government, and eventually the continuation of military rule with Sani Abacha taking power in a bloodless coup later that year.
4. Ali Must Go (1978)
Ali Must Go protests also known as the 1978 students’ crisis took place across the country in 1978 and said to be one of the most violent student riots in the nation. Some students lost their lives to this.
During the military regime of Olusegun Obasanjo, the secretary of the Nigerian University Commission, Jibril Aminu, disclosed that due to the high cost of living in the country, students would begin to pay extra fees.
The protests emerged following a 50 kobo increase in student fees. The agitations raised the political crisis of the 1975–1979 Mohammed/Obasanjo military administration and have been described as one of the most violent student agitations in Nigeria.
The students at that time also agitated that tertiary education was suffering because there were very few federal government-owned universities and no private or state-owned universities.
After a week of nationwide protests by the students, the Federal Military Government shut down all universities and ordered the students to vacate their various campuses and there was no reversal in the tuition increase.
5. Anti-SAP riots (1989)
The 1989 Anti-SAP protests was another staged by Nigerians between May and June 1989.
SAP meaning Structural Adjustment Program was introduced by the International Monetary Fund as a government policy in 1986 as a means of stopping the effects of falling oil prices and fostering the development of local industries.
However, in 1988, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation disclosed an increase in the cost of petroleum products which resulted in a concomitant increase in food prices and transportation costs.
In November 1988, the National Association of Nigerian Students listed 10 demands from the government and issued a six-week ultimatum.
The demands included the abolition of SAP, examination fees, increased education funding, and removal of security agents patrolling universities. Others include free healthcare for the elderly, women and all Nigerians up to the age of 18, the reopening of universities and the provision of free education up to the secondary level.
At the expiration of the ultimatum, the students, resolved to protest.
6. Abeokuta women revolt (1947)
In 1947, Abeokuta Women’s Union led the Egba women’s tax riot against the imposition of tax by the Nigerian colonial government which they described as unfair. The protest was championed by Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti.
One of their agitations was that they should not be mandated to pay taxes differently from their male counterpart.
Their demands led to an end of the taxes and four women occupied local council seats and their call for women’s rights in Nigeria continued.
7. Aba women riot (1929)
The Aba women’s riot of 1929 is one of the historic protests in the country. The protest was championed by women in the provinces of Calabar and Owerri in southeastern Nigeria during the British colonial era. It was the first major revolt by women in West Africa.
They protested against the tax policy imposed by British colonial administrators in southeastern Nigeria.
The protest led by the women resulted in the British colonial administrators backing off in their plans to impose a tax on the market women and to curb the power of the warrant chiefs.
In 1930 the colonial government abolished the system of warrant chieftains and appointed women to the Native Court system.
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