Protesters during #EndBadGovernance’
The Hunger Protests codenamed ‘#EndBadGovernance’ have come and gone, but the ripples effects left behind are still swirling around the polity one month after, with enormous costs to the economy, the perception of government in people’s imagination, and even more gripping is the spectre of totalitarianism seen through renewed official assault on freedoms of Nigerians as a backlash of the protests.
On the last day of the 10 days protest, which was Saturday, the projected last day of the 10- day protests from 1st-10th August , the office of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights in Ikeja was ransacked by the police. This came in the wake of the outcry over similar ransacking of the Nigeria Labour Congress’s headquarters in Abuja. In both cases the police have given reasons. Only yesterday, the Nigerian Labour Congress President, Comrade Ajaero honoured the police invite over issues relating to the protest, an invitation widely seen as witch hunting. The Ikeja incident may have been in connection with the planned One Million March protest allegedly planned by the organisers of Hunger Protests to force the authorities to release protesters arrested by the police in the wake of the protests. The backlash has been enormous on the economy already rendered comatose by a welter of policies widely considered ill-conceived and poorly executed leading to widespread poverty, hunger and hopelessness in the land.
The protests have impinged negatively upon the capital market . In the first four days of the protests, the bourse reportedly witnessed about N236 billion loss, indicating subdued investors participation and a lack of significant market movement. During the protest, to be specific, the third day of the protests, the All-Share Index (ASI) lost 414.46 points, representing a loss of 0.42 per cent to close at 97,359.76 points. Also, market capitalisation declined by N236 billion to close at N55.278 trillion.
The protests inflicted a heavy toll on the nation, with lives lost, property destroyed, and economic activities disrupted As nationwide action spearheaded mainly by the youth fizzled out, many Nigerians, especially in the north, will for a long time to come have horrifying memories, scars and huge financial losses. Owing to the profound angst driving the hardship protests, the action continued in many parts of the country, Oyo, Rivers and parts of northern Nigeria, even after President Bola Tinubu called for an end to the demonstrations that witnessed pockets of crackdown from security forces, who reportedly shot at the protesters in various states in the northern part of the country.
The organisers of the protests wanted a peaceful demonstration of anger against government’s policies that led to hunger and mass poverty, but in some parts, it quickly degenerated into orgy of killings. In the first day of the protests, about 17 persons were reportedly killed in Abuja, Kano, Niger, Borno, Kaduna and Jigawa, with several others sustaining varying degrees of injury. Many analysts though condemned the violence and killings, they agreed that the protests were legitimate as an expression of anger and discontent over the nation’s worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation and against the corruption and alleged bad governance that have stifled its development.
Professor Adeagbo Moritiwon, a political scientist told NATIONAL WAVES that ” the protests were even late in coming, that itself is a testament to the resilience, tolerance and patience of suffering Nigerians. The government has inflicted unprecedented suffering and social insecurity on the people through its economic policies. The way the police managed it was bad, there was no need for excessive force. Our law enforcement is reactionary and brutal.” This view was shared by Professor Kenneth Olumuyiwa, a political economist who warned against ” the emerging spectre of totalitarianism coming from a government whose head has a long history of progressivism, and protests, what an irony. This is indeed an age of downfall, the downfall of values, and the unmasking of pseudo progressives who had prior to now deceived us into believing they were on the side of the people, constitutionalism, rule of law and justice. Evolving events have unveiled them as fake, they are pretenders, history will be hard on them.”
Reports have it that in Suleja, a commercial town in Niger State, close to the nation’s capital, six people were reportedly killed when the protesters allegedly attempted to invade a police station. Four people allegedly died on the spot while others who sustained gunshot wounds were rushed to the Gwagwalada General Hospital, while two of the wounded died on the way to the hospital. Human Rights community has expressed anger over the excessive use of force.The country’s security forces have been accused of using excessive force in the nationwide protests and even though Muyiwa Adejobi, the Nigeria Police Force spokesman, admitted instances of killings during the protests, he claimed none were carried out by the police. In a dramatic twist that put a lie to the police narrative, the Nigerian Army, through its spokesman, Major-General Onyema Nwachukwu, owned up on that one of its soldiers actually killed a teenager Ismail Muhammad in Zaria, Kaduna State, thus admitting that security agencies deployed to monitor the activities of the #EndBadGovernance protesters across the country used live bullets on protesters.
The army admission to the killings immediately contradicted the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun’s claim that none of the nation’s security agencies applied excessive force, including the use of live bullets on the protesters. Amnesty International condemned the use of deadly action against the protesters, accusing the security operative of killing at least 21 protesters during a week of rallies against economic hardship. The global body stated, “Our findings, so far, show that security personnel at the locations where lives were lost deliberately used tactics designed to kill while dealing with gatherings of people protesting hunger and deep poverty.” In a statement, Nobel Laureate Professor Wole Soyinka also slammed the government for the use of live bullets against unarmed protesters. “Live bullets as state response to civic protest – that becomes the core issue. Even tear gas remains questionable in most circumstances, certainly an abuse in situations of clearly peaceful protest. Hunger marches constitute a universal S.O.S, not peculiar to the Nigerian nation,” Soyinka wrote.
Apart from the killings, the media also suffered in the course of doing their job. Femi Kuku, a cameraman with the African Independent Television cameraman, escaped death by the whiskers when security operatives reportedly opened fire on journalists covering the protest at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja during the protest.
According to Kuku’s account, the security forces were aware they were journalists yet opened fire on them. While Kuku ran for his dear life, he fell into an uncovered manhole and suffered a dislocation on his left leg. “It was my colleagues who picked me up and pushed me inside the Toyota Sienna vehicle we came with because I could not walk at that point,” he stated . “When we moved forward a bit, we stopped to check if everybody was okay, and that was when we saw them coming towards us again with their vehicles. They came down and started shooting again, so we sped off into town. “From that point, we went to the office, and I was taken to the hospital to check my leg. I had no bruises but the left leg and ankle are swollen, it’s very painful, so I leap walk now.”
In Gombe, officials at the Federal Teaching Hospital said Gombe no less than eight persons were brought in for medical attention following the demonstrations, with six still receiving treatment penultimate Saturday. “Five of the patients are in Accident and Emergency (ward) with multiple fractures, lacerations and another is in Intensive Care Unit,” an official of the hospital said. Reports indicate that the patient in ICU had two bullet wounds and was on life support. Among the patients, Mohammed Abdulrawuf, 18, who was unfortunate to have his right leg heavily bandaged, sobbed as he recounted how he was shot at by security personnel in Gombe. The teenager, who said he was even not a protester said he was hit by a bullet as security personnel chased irate youths who looted shops in Gombe. Mohammed narrated to a newspaper ( not National Waves ) how he was attacked. “I was at my uncle’s house when area boys (hoodlums) attacked people, burgled shops, and caused chaos. As I left for my house, police and soldiers started pursuing everyone, including me, despite not being part of the protest. “In the midst of the chaos, I fell into a gutter. One of them shot me in the leg. He wants to end my lifetime ambition of serving in the Nigerian Army. I don’t have a father and I’m the only one fending for my family,” he added.
The Gombe State Bureau of Public Service Reforms, Bima Lodge, Kumbiya-Kumbiya Primary Healthcare Centre, Gombe Main Market and Blue Jay Motor Park – a commercial motor company where six Sienna vehicles were destroyed – were all vandalised, among others in Gombe city. Papa Ejinma, an Igbo trader, said he lost over N10 million in the Gombe hunger protests. “What I lost is over N10m, they swept all my goods. I’m pleading with the Gombe State Government and the Federal Government to intervene.” In Katsina State, there were reports of looting just as it was massively witnessed in Kano, Jigawa, Bauchi and Zamfara. The theatre of looting was in Daura Local Government, where no less than 205 church chairs, musical instruments and other equipment worth millions of naira were reportedly stolen by hoodlums, who invaded a Living Faith Church on the first day of the nationwide protest against hardship. “They packed everything inside the church auditorium, including the digital wall clock, musical instruments, pastor’s chairs, plastic chairs and a desktop computer at the reception, as well as a scoreboard where the accountant usually kept church documents. They scattered everything,” the church pastor, David Jato, said. “The protest began around 10am and the hoodlums, many of them in Keke Napep (tricycle), just diverted to the church, destroyed the door and glasses and penetrated the church auditorium. “Three churches were their target and while they succeeded in invading the Living Faith Church and Deeper Life, they couldn’t gain access into the third, the Anglican Church.” A viral video showed policemen pinning down Hamza Waziri, a physically challenged person, on his wheelchair in front of the Bauchi State Government House. Waziri, who uses wheelchair for mobility, was said to be peacefully exercising his constitutional right to protest when he was assaulted by the police officers. Leader of the Initiative for the Liberalisation of Physically Challenged People Waziri stated that he was with other physically challenged persons in a peaceful demonstration when they were assaulted by the security personnel. “So, basically I was very peaceful. We were not more than 10, just to raise our placards which read ‘Employment should be for all’ and ‘Inclusive Society.’” Following this, Governor Bala Mohammed had condemned the federal government for not managing the protests with maturity, adding that the protests were a direct response to hunger and increasing hardship. Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the Bauchi State Governor, Mukhtar Gidado, stated that Governor Bala Mohammed had ordered a “thorough investigation into the incident involving a person with a disability and security personnel at the Government House.” Gidado stated, “Governor Bala Mohammed has made it clear that the welfare and rights of all citizens, especially vulnerable groups, remain his top priority. He directed a thorough investigation to ascertain the facts surrounding the incident and ensure that justice is served.”
The National Commission for Persons with Disabilities demanded justice following the assault. “The actions of the police officers involved are a clear violation of the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (prohibition) Act of 2018 and the fundamental human rights enshrined in our constitution,” executive secretary, NCPWD, James Lalu, said. “This reprehensible act, captured in a video currently circulating on social media, shows Mr. Waziri being brutally battered while exercising his constitutional right to peaceful protest in front of the Bauchi State Government House. Meanwhile, pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, has called on the Federal Government to investigate the killings of some protesters in some parts of the country. The body stated this in a communiqué issued at the end of its meeting held at the residence of its leader, Pa Ayo Adebanjo, at Ogbo Ijebu, Ogun State on Thursday. The communiqué, signed by Adebanjo and the National Publicity Secretary of the organisation, Justice Faloye, read in part, “The Federal Government should investigate deliberate violation of rights, particularly the circumstances of the killing of those who died in the protests and bring to book those – including security agents – proven to be culpable in these regard.” Also on Thursday, Kaduna State Governor, Senator Uba Sani, pledged to ensure justice for Ismail Muhammad, the 16-year-old who was killed by a soldier during a protest in Samaru, Zaria. Sani stated on X.com, “Today (Thursday), I dispatched a high-powered delegation made up of top government officials and heads of security agencies to condole with the family of the teenager, Ismail Muhammad, who was killed when troops of the Nigerian Army mobilised to disperse a mob in Samaru area of Sabon Gari LGA during the last protest. “The team was led by the Overseeing Commissioner for Internal Security, Samuel Aruwan. While the team was with the family, I spoke on the phone with the father of the deceased, Muhammad Hussaini, and expressed our deepest condolences. “I told him that we are deeply pained by the unfortunate incident and will leave no stone unturned to ensure that justice is served. A full and thorough investigation will be conducted and the culprit will be brought to book. “I will stay in close contact with the family of the deceased in these trying times.”
Kano witnessed severe economic losses as a result of the protests. Many public and private facilities, including the Nigerian Communications Commission, Kano State High Court and a number of vehicles parked within the court’s premises were vandalised and looted, as well as the Kano State Printing Press among several others. One of the most popular supermarkets in Kano metropolis Barakat Stores lost over N5bn to hoodlums during the anti-hunger protest in Kano. The General Manager of the supermarket, Alhaji Muhammad Sani, made this known recently. According to him, hoodlums in large numbers invaded the company’s warehouse located along State Road, near Government House, vandalised and looted the warehouse, including three containers of items that were imported from China and Turkey. “Just a few days into the protest we imported two containers of items we deal in from China and a container of King’s Oil (vegetable oil) from Turkey and we have not even paid for them,” he said. The General Manager, who lamented the colossal loss, called on the government for assistance. “We have already lost our investment to the hoodlums, but any assistance from the government will be appreciated.”
Another victim and proprietor of She-She Supermarket located along Hadeja Road, Ammar Khalil, stated that he lost over N30m to the hoodlums.
Dr. Olufemi Omoyele, a public affairs commentator and university don told this medium that ” the federal and state governments should have been proactive. They should have identified the leaders of the protests for a roundtable discussions with a view to a roadmap on how to address their demands. Now the economy that was under asphyxiation before is now gasping for breath.” According to reports, the economy has suffered a loss of over ₦500 billion in just one day. This unprecedented loss in recent history is caused by 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 warned that the nationwide protests could inflict an estimated daily loss of N400 billion to the already fragile economy. “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. Among earlier demands of reversal of economic policies that have caused hunger, the protesters called for 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. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s initial silence on the matter has been a point of contention. Many Nigerians had frowned at his initial silence and when he finally addressed the nation his speech did not address the demands of the protesters, a stance widely condemned by many Nigerians including Wole Soyinka. It was a rambling speech that itemized his alleged economic achievements, claims that have given rise to rebuttals and further controversy. For example, in his speech, Tinubu claimed that he had earlier released 570 billions to states to cushion the effects of hunger, but last Saturday, Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde refuted Tinubu’s claim, saying it was not true, and that no governor received such money. Makinde explained that the only money governors received was World Bank Covid -19 assistance. Supporting Makinde was Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State who said no hardship fund came from federal government. According to him, the only money they got was Covid-19 fund from the World Bank. It would seem the protests have achieved nothing, no concessions to protesters. Immediately after the protests prices of essential commodities increased, even the promised purchase of a bag of rice at N40, 000 is put on hold according to a circular from the government. Two weeks apart removal of import tax on foods, some importers claimed the Nigeria Customs still collected the tax as at last week. The security operatives have reportedly detained some leaders of the protests, even after freezing their accounts.
Worried by the growing social chaos on the heels of the protests, The Patriots, a collection of influential elder Statesmen from different parts of the country led by former Commonwealth secretary general, Emeka Anyaoku visited Tinubu demanding a convocation of referendum, review of electoral system and the constitution and dialogue with protesters among others. It’s not yet Uhuru from hunger as Tinubu has not shown desire to address the demands of the protesters and the hunger in the land.
