There you have it. The “hunger protest” that took off in most parts of the country on Wednesday has predictably led to burning, looting and killing. In one instance, demonstrators tried to overrun a government house. A man was seen vandalising traffic lights to — wait for this — “end bad governance”. Unfortunately, at least a dozen deaths have been reported. The police are now saying if they are overwhelmed, the military will have to come in. Anybody who is familiar with the history of military involvement in civil conflicts will not be excited by such prospects. I am already fidgeting because it never ends well. But this begs the question: don’t the people have a right to protest?

Sure, they do. As I argued in my previous article, it is a democratic right. It is constitutionally guaranteed. But, as I also warned, political hijack is inevitable. It is quite predictable. Nigeria is so polarised at the moment that virtually anything is prone to political hijack. There are people still smarting from the 2023 general election, there are people hurting over the pattern of political appointments, and there are people angered by the Nigerian condition. So, when those hit by economic hardship take to the streets, it offers an unlimited opportunity for all kinds of interests to align and stoke the fire of unrest. We are stuck between genuine activism and crass opportunism.

Public protests involving Kano and Lagos, Nigeria’s most populated states, will always be challenging because of their sizeable colonies of street urchins. So far, Lagos has been peaceful but nobody can guarantee that for long. It takes just one group of area boys to kickstart mayhem. Kano ruffians went gaga from day one, as if they had been waiting for the protest all along. They invaded the government house. They vandalised the newly built Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) industrial park, looting desktop computers. They also looted shops and warehouses in several parts of the state. During a similar protest in January 2012, the government house was also attacked.

Indeed, ironies never end. Just before President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was inaugurated in May 2023, I read an article in a foreign magazine questioning his ability to carry out the “much-needed” economic reforms because of a possible public backlash. Most voters did not choose him (he got only 37 percent), the author reasoned, and even that margin was controversial as the outcome was facing a legal challenge by his two major opponents. In order to warm himself into the hearts of Nigerians, Tinubu would find it near impossible to remove the petrol subsidy and liberalise the FX markets because of the ripple effects and backlash, the author argued. Well, Tinubu surprised them.

The removal of petrol subsidy led to a spike in transportation costs, but things were still somehow manageable. While petrol price tripled, transport costs did not. The upward adjustments of fares on most routes were less than 100 percent. Prices of goods were still within reasonable range. The real trouble started with the massive shift in the exchange rate — rising from N750/$ to nearly N2,000/$ at a point in the open market. For an import-dependent country, the impact was felt intensely everywhere: food, medicines, transportation, everything. Local foodstuffs are transported by diesel-powered trucks. The price of diesel, which is imported, doubled as a result of the naira crisis.

When it rains, it pours. Farming in the north was hampered by various factors: too much rain, which affected productivity; the recoloration of the naira, which had denied farmers access to cash to run their farms; and increased insecurity, which kept farmers away from their businesses. Tomatoes, so precious to the taste and integrity of many dishes and soups, were infected by a virus, thereby hampering harvest. Between June 2023 and June 2024, tomato prices soared by 320 percent. A kilo of local rice went from N608 to N1,702. Life-saving garri jumped from N403/kilo to N1,135. Food inflation was 40.87 percent in June 2024. These are National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data.

This cost of living crisis is the worst in nearly 40 years. That it took Nigerians one year to hit the streets is something of a miracle. Maybe we do not have the culture of protesting against economic hardship. Maybe we are more driven by political and religious emotions — the things that divide us — than economic problems, which do not discriminate on the basis of ethnicity, religion, region or party and should unite us. Even the #EndSARS protests of 2020, originally intended to protest police brutality before it was extended to #EndBuhari and #EndNigeria, were more of a southern thing. It was when the looting started that it became a nationwide event, with rioters helping themselves.

As I often tell people in my circle, you can start a public protest peacefully but you cannot determine what happens thereafter. As an undergraduate of the University of Lagos during military rule, I witnessed these things. Although I was not an activist, I participated in demonstrations. I once saw how things got out of hand. While we were singing solidarity songs on our way from Akoka to Yaba, some ruffians suddenly joined in, uninvited, and started harassing and extorting motorists and shop owners. In those days, it wouldn’t take long for police to start firing teargas and bullets. They would blame protesters for “lynching pickpockets” — despite glaring bullet wounds on the dead bodies.

When this hunger protest was announced, I had only one fear: deaths. So far, fatalities have been limited to the north — where food is cheaper but non-food poverty rates are higher. In Borno state, insurgents reportedly infiltrated the crowd and killed four protesters with an explosive. Two people were reportedly killed in Niger state, where the protest started days earlier, while the federal capital territory (FCT), Jigawa and Kaduna states also recorded fatalities. Many deaths resulted from protests turning violent. From media reports, it would appear police have been using mostly teargas on protesters who operated outside the court-approved venues. We will discuss this another day.

Has the protest been successful? I would think it is too early to say. There are two dimensions to the protest, from what I can see. There is the dimension that is focused on the rising cost of living, which many have dubbed “hunger protest” and which can be partially addressed in the short run with emergency measures. The other dimension is on the need to end bad governance, which is a bit tricky and not going to be achieved quickly. I have also read a number of demands: that petrol price should be reduced to N200/litre, that the increase in electricity tariffs should be reversed, that education and healthcare should be free, and that legislators should only serve part-time.

One thing, though, is that the way government officials tried to stop the protest showed that they were finally coming to the realisation that there was fire on the mountain. They tried to put out the fire to avoid a conflagration. Tinubu held emergency meetings with leaders from various sectors and segments of the society. All the court injunctions sought and secured were pointers to the fact that they knew something could snap. As I argued previously, millions of Nigerians would not need any invitation to go on the streets. The conditions were ripe enough for a protest to grow organically. Tinubu’s efforts probably diluted the intensity of the protest but at least he finally got the memo.

The president can, in fairness, argue that the economy was going into a coma when he came on board and he needed to do these surgical operations to save it. I think many people will not counter that. My misgiving, which I have expressed again and again, is the way and manner the reform has been implemented as if Nigerians are not human beings. My anger is the obvious disconnect between the government and the people on the message of sacrifice. There is yet no evidence that this government is living the message of sacrifice. When you look at the budgetary priorities and the lifestyles of public officers, you can only conclude that Nigerians are being taken for granted.

There is one message I want our politicians, from top to bottom, to take away from the protest: that Nigerian lives matter. Our politicians seem to have learnt nothing from the End SARS mayhem which exposed their greed and endangered their safety. When ordinary Nigerians cannot afford garri but their leaders can rinse their mouths with champagne and be uttering gibberish to add insult to the injury, then you know they do not care about the anger of the people. They need to change their ways. I insist Nigerians are not a difficult people to please. All the leaders need to do is show that they care — in word and in action. If this protest can achieve that, I would count it as a huge success.

AND FOUR OTHER THINGS…

RIP ONYEKA ONWENU

Onyeka Onwenu died suddenly on Tuesday night after performing at the 80th birthday party of Dr Stella Okoli, founder of Emzor Pharmaceuticals. What a tragedy. The legendary singer, whose song ‘One Love’ is an all-time favourite of mine, was full of life throughout her performance but collapsed shortly after after apparently suffering a heart attack. Efforts to revive her failed. She lived a full and fulfilled life as a singer, actor, broadcaster and gender activist. In the 1980s, Onwenu, the late Christy Essien-Igbokwe, Stella Monye and Funmi Davies deftly put Nigerian female singers on the front row with hits after hits. My sincere condolences to Onwenu’s sons and other loved ones. Painful.

MERCHANTS OF MALICE

Ethnic hate is not a strange thing in Nigeria. Social media platforms are readily available to amplify the hate speech. Cowards from different ethnic groups are constantly stoking the fire — particularly on the platform formerly known as Twitter. Recently, a handle, @LagosPedia, launched a hashtag, #IgboMustGo, to mobilise for the hounding of Igbos out of Lagos state and the entire south-west. It said a protest would hold from August 20 to 30 and asked Yorubas in the south-east to return home. I wouldn’t take this nonsense too seriously because I don’t see that happening, but I am worried at the increasing boldness of these preachers of hate and their enablers and supporters. Disgusting.

OUT OF FAVOUR

We have done it again. Favour Ofili, national women’s 100m champion, was — inexplicably — not registered for the sprint event at the 2024 Olympics. Initially, Ofili blamed the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) and the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) for the unbelievable oversight. The AFN has since proved that it submitted Ofili’s name to the NOC. Mr John Enoh, minister of sports development, has promised “thorough sanctions” for those responsible for the embarrassment. I will not be surprised if it is one tiny clerical officer somewhere that will be sacrificed. In Nigeria, those who should take responsibility for failings never do and the beat goes on thereafter. Disastrous.

NO COMMENT

You can take your pick of the bizarre images from the cost of living protest across the federation. Is it the man who stole traffic lights? Where will he use them? As the saying goes, if you steal a king’s kakaki (trumpet), where are you going to blow it? Or is it the pro-government protester who hilariously started complaining about the price of garri after presumably pocketing the protest allowance of N5,000? His colleague had to quickly push him away in another “off your mic” moment. The trophy still goes to the woman with an empty pot, who was complaining about how the cost of living had pushed her to hunger. Under the pot, she was holding a sachet of alcohol. Wonderful.

Adele, the Grammy-winning British singer, has opened up about her battles with her gender and sexuality.

The ‘Set Fire To The Rain’ hitmaker singer shared her thoughts on her sexuality while addressing fans who attended her sold-out concert in Munich, Germany.

While on stage after her performance, Adele who is known to be straight and was formerly married to Simon Konecki, said she often feels like a “gay man trapped in a straight woman’s body”.

“I often think I am a gay man trapped in a straight woman’s body,” she said.

Her comment sparked a wave of mixed reactions on social media with many fans questioning if she was trying to openly admit to being gay.

Others argued that they were not shocked because the singer is known to be an avid supporter of the LGBTQ community.

Adele is considered one of the greatest British singers of all time. She is the best-selling female artiste of the 21st century in the UK.

She has earned a plethora of nominations and awards for her craft which include 16 Grammys, 12 Brit Awards, an Oscars, a Primetime Emmy, and even a Gold Globe.

The 36-year-old has also put four studio albums ’19′(2008), ’21′(2011), ’25′(2015) and ’30′(2021).

[TheCable]

The nationwide ‘hunger protest’, also known as the #EndBadGovernance protest, has officially begun and is sweeping the country, causing deaths and damage in its wake. And there’s the worry that the worst might yet come. Due to the ethnic profiling that a president’s spokesperson brought into it, which targeted Igbos and their businesses, the Southeast states had to abstain. By starting the Igbo-Must-Go (Ndigbo must leave Lagos and South West) campaign, some X users are also echoing the threat and ethnic profiling against Ndigbo in Nigeria, similar to what happened in Rwanda that resulted in ethnic cleansing.

An analysis of the protest thus far reveals a deficiency in preparation and synchronisation on the part of the protesters as well as the government, especially the police. It is happening as though the protest organisers are just calling on Nigerians to protest without any real preparation or coordination, and the government and police would prefer to put an end to the protest than welcome it and use it to their advantage.

Even scarier is the fact that General Chris Musa, the chief of defence, had threatened that the military would step in if the situation got out of control or got worse and the police couldn’t handle it. It is still heartbreaking to think back on what the army did at Lekki Tollgate at the EndSars protest in October 2020. Numerous protesters lost their lives in what many referred to as the Lekki massacre.

A recurrence of that dark past would not be desired by any patriotic Nigerian. Therefore, under no circumstances should the protesters or the police allow the protest to get so out of control that the military feels justified in getting involved. Soldiers are not trained for riot control or civic upheaval. The soldiers shoot to kill and don’t use rubber bullets, unlike the police.

Furthermore, the Lekki Tollgate was the only location where soldiers were killed during EndSars in 2020. As of right now, 31 states (excluding the five Southeast states) are experiencing simultaneous protests; this means that there are at least 31 flashpoints around the nation where protesters and the military may engage in confrontations with a high risk of fatalities.

“Any man’s death diminishes me because I am involved in mankind; therefore, never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee,” wrote poet and philosopher John Donne in one of his poems. John Donne wrote on the subject of human connectedness, and one may rephrase it thus: “The death of one Nigerian diminishes all of us because we are all fellow Nigerians.”

An alarming number of Nigerians are losing their lives for avoidable reasons; they are being killed by terrorists, bandits, police mishaps, kidnappers, and a host of other preventable causes. In such cases, the blood being wasted is pleading with God for retribution. Without necessarily getting too theological, some of the country’s suffering stems from acts of savagery and widespread bloodshed, as well as, of course, the apparent greed and wickedness of leaders and some citizens who profit off the suffering of fellow Nigerians. You may observe this in the food items that some Nigerians export to their neighbouring countries to make a kill rather than selling them to other Nigerians for a lower price. That is capitalism devoid of a human face for you.

President Bola Tinubu, a remarkable protester himself, with the governors’ collaboration, is the one who has the best chance of addressing the protest and stemming the confrontation and its obvious severe repercussions. The only state governors who have so far addressed the protesters are Godwin Obaseki of Edo State, Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, and Simi Fubara of Rivers State. Also, the protesters have been addressed by only the Commissioners of Police for Edo and Lagos State. The macabre dance appears to be entertaining the rest.

Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra state has also launched the ‘Farm to Feed Campaign’ to return Ndi Anambra to the farms as the state’s response to the hunger protest ongoing in the country. Governor Chukwuma Soludo wants Ndi Anambra to grow what they eat and eat what they grow in 12 months.

The president knows that protest is an essential ingredient of democracy and democratic governance and therefore shouldn’t stifle the ongoing one. To present his side of the story, the president needs to speak with the protesters as well as all Nigerians without further delay.

Although President Tinubu came into office and met a battered economy, things have only gotten worse since he came. There are very few indications that things will improve if the key policies are not revised.

It is tenable to argue that policies have gestation periods and that the Tinubu government’s programs will take some time to take effect and produce the intended outcomes. However, while acknowledging that policies take time to implement, we also need to remember that some poorly implemented good policies can only lead to catastrophe if progress is too far in error.

The withdrawal of fuel subsidies and the floating of the naira are two crucial economic policies that have released headwinds that have crushed the economy, driven inflation to an all-time high, imposed stagflation, and unleashed unparalleled hunger in the nation. These policies alone are the reason why things have become worse. The withdrawal of fuel subsidies without proper planning was terrible enough, but what is seriously harming the economy more than fuel subsidy removal is the simultaneous inconceivable tragedy of floating the naira.

Nigerians are not seeing the evidence that these policies are rising up the J curve after the initial depression, even though they have been in place for only a year and a half. Thus, it is necessary to revisit the two policies and include them among the concessions the president has to make to the protesters and Nigerians.

Also, President Tinubu has to interact with the youth by hosting X/Twitter space, much like President William Ruto of Kenya did after a comparable tax protest in his nation. The president has to take this chance to share with the young Nigerians what he met upon the assumption of office and the work he is doing. The majority of Nigerians are unaware that the previous government sold the country’s future crude oil for loans and cash, leaving Nigeria insolvent.

This means that even if the country exports roughly 1.5 million barrels per day, the amount of crude that is available to the government for foreign exchange earnings may not be up to 500 thousand barrels per day. The payment of debt and commitments to IOCs that have joint venture agreements with the NNPCL takes about 70% of export earnings.

Therefore, Mr. President, it would be better to take this opportunity and identify with the Nigerian people than to continue the deafening silence. There is a need to provide some real concessions, which need to include drastic cuts in the cost of governance and the extravagance of government officials.

Nigerians who are protesting will reciprocate if the President takes these vital actions.

Dr Law Mefor, an Abuja-based forensic and social psychologist, is a fellow of The Abuja School of Social and Political Thought. He can be contacted via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; Twitter: @Drlawsonmefor.

There is this anecdote in Igboland of M̀gbekē and her cutlass. By the way, M̀gbekē is a synonym for an unrefined and unsophisticated girl. Each time M̀gbekē’s farmer colleagues visited her in the farm, they saw haphazardly tilled land and a female farmer lazily fondling her farm implement. Whenever Mgbeke was asked the reason for her snailish work, she complained of an old and ineffectual cutlass. Knowing M̀gbekē as the female version of Nnoka, Okonkwo’s lazy father in Things Fall Apart, it was difficult to believe the implement was the culprit. The villagers thereafter concluded that it was either M̀gbekē’s cutlass was defective, M̀gbekē herself was lazy or the problem was with both of them.

The #EndBadGovernance protest which commenced last Thursday revealed several cracks in our Nigerianness. One major crack it revealed is our propensity for betrayal of a general struggle; the betrayal of Nigerians by Nigerians. Such betrayal is however not new in Nigeria or to Nigerians. It is not even native to us. That theme was dealt with by East African leading novelist and Kenyan author, academic, Ngugi Wa Thiong’o in his 1976 play. In The Trial of Dedan Kimathi, Ngugi narrates the trials faced by Kimathi, regarded as Kenya’s foremost anti-colonialist national hero. Kimathi’s resistance to colonialism led to his capture by British police officer, Ian Henderson. Kimathi was sold out by disgruntled fellow Kenyan Mau Mau fighters who revealed where he holed up. Once captured, his abductors put pressure on him to disclose his allies in the struggle. While awaiting trial, the colonial authorities sent three persons to persuade Kimathi to abandon the struggle. One was Shaw Henderson, the judge in his trial.

Like the biblical Satan who took Jesus to the pinnacle of a mountain and persuaded him to renounce his messianism, Henderson told Kimathi he would be released if he pleaded for his life. Kimathi refused the offer. Then a delegation of bankers came. Why was he disrupting the Kenyan economy which flourished under colonial rule? The third delegation comprised a priest, businessman and a politician. They each asked for Kimathi’s surrender. Momentarily, Kimathi was swayed but later obstinately refused. Henderson meets him again but this time, tortured him to disclose the identities of his co-revolutionists. Kimathi refused. Outside of the Ngugi play, in reality, this famed leader of the Mau Mau war of October 1956 was eventually sentenced to death by the colonial authorities. He was hanged on February 18, 1957 at the Kamiti Maximum Security Prison. Britain rewarded Henderson with a George Medal, while Henderson in turn documented his experience in a book he entitled Man Hunt in Kenya.

In the June 12 1993 struggle, our own Dedan Kimathi was betrayed severally. MKO Abiola suffered serial betrayals from the people he trusted. Fellow politicians, his Yoruba kinsmen, labour union activists and leading democracy activists betrayed Abiola for a mess of pottage. Leading politicians paid nocturnal visits to Ibrahim Babangida in his Aso Rock fortress, pretending they were taking a nap when their vehicle was to be identified at the Villa gate. Labour leaders allegedly collected money from the military regime to kill protests against the June 12 election annulment. Till date, the role played by those who inherited Abiola’s presidency in the betrayal is still being studied. If you read Chief Segun Osoba’s autobiography, Battlelines – Adventures In Journalism And Politics, you will learn how NUPENG’s Frank Ovie Kokori was lured into detention by a trusted ally in the struggle. He was finally betrayed in death by those who are today’s inheritors of his struggle to liberate Nigeria from autocracy. The Abdulsalami Abubakar government eventually adopted the Kimathi model. It allowed an American government delegation to visit Abiola in the prison, ostensibly to persuade him to relinquish the struggle. The rest, as they say, is history.

In Alex La Guma’s In the fog of the Seasons’ end novel, like the sabotages received by the EndBadGovernance protest, its protagonists, Beukes and Elias Tekwane, undercover protestors of apartheid, distributed handbills to announce a forthcoming strike action aimed at upsetting Apartheid South Africa. An intensely well-crafted plot, La Guma weaves the plot to unravel what went into underground anti-apartheid movements and how protesters were confronted by sabotage from fellow workers who worked as agents of government. If they were found out, Beukes and Elias faced threat of imprisonment and torture hanging over their heads. Every leaflet they distributed, every phone call they made, every outspoken word they uttered to someone about the strike got them closer to being captured. They were eventually captured by the South African police who tortured them to death in their cells.

The Nigerian #EndBadGovernance protest mirrors similar trope, though in a different manner. It synchronizes with Kenya and Uganda, becoming poster children of the need to reset the brains of misgoverning African leaders. The arrogance of William Ruto who initially labeled the anti-tax agitation in Kenya treason was confronted by Gen Z protesters whose existential misery fired their zeal. The protest not only reportedly claimed over 50 casualties, it reset the politics of Kenya. That country may never be the same again. Ruto was forced to fire most of his cabinet members amid thousands of youths marching on the streets of Nairobi since mid-June. Police deployed teargas canisters, water cannons and live bullets to chase away the protesters, yet they remained adamant. The youth eventually forced Ruto to take sweeping decisions like sacking his entire cabinet. So, when a similar protest, the #EndBadGovernance, erupted in Nigeria last Thursday, President Bola Tinubu must have known what was in the offing.

One of the first groups to dissociate itself from the protest was the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Lagos State chapter. It was followed by a group which claimed it was representing the national leadership of the National Association of University Students, (NAUS) the National Associations of Polytechnic Students (NAPS) and the National Association of Nigerian Colleges of Education Students (NANCES). It also distanced self from the planned protest. Some members of the organized labour also pulled back. On the D-Day, government’s old tactics of mercantile purchase of the consciences of protest organizers surfaced. Protesters against the protest confessed that they were given miserable N5000 by proteges of government figures.

Tinubu apparently dusted up the ancient, military-bestowed tactic of setting up monarchical and religious elites against protesters. During the June 12 crisis, apparently scared Generals Babangida and Sani Abacha ferried monarchs into Aso Rock. The aim of the two despots was to use the monarchs to subvert the people’s will. Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, came out of one of such Villa meetings to appeal to Nigerians to forget June 12. When asked by reporters what Babangida said on the annulment of the election, his “I think he was making sense” caused huge furore. It was interpreted to mean that Kabiyesi had sold out. Olubuse never recovered from this tar-brush.

Tinubu apparently didn’t realize that the IBB, Abacha model of nipping protests in the bud before they begin is an outdated and glacier-frozen style. The social media has redrawn the space, graph, contour and mode of protest agitations. Today, unlike in the past when, once you had the Paschal Bafyaus of NLC or NUPENG leaders in your pocket as locus of betrayer of a just cause, protests were doomed, today, protest is amorphous, occurs with the speed of lightning and is spontaneous. It is leader-less. You can no longer consign news to NTA, Daily Times or paid newspapermen as it was done in the past. Information travels at the speed of light on social media. In any case, who respects voices of traditional rulers any longer? Isn’t it the same voices of weed smokers; the known notorious land-grabbers and fraudsters now merely garbed in flowing apparels?

In all these push-backs, whether now or before, allegations of the presidency purchasing interventions of hitherto respected voices loomed large. So, following that ancient mould, apparently informed by security reports that the anger of Gen Z youths was boiling over, Tinubu also ferried monarchs and clergy elites on an emergency pilgrimage to Aso Rock. Emir of Zazzau, Ahmed Bamalli, Ooni of Ife, Enitan Ogunwusi, Dein of Agbor, Benjamin Keagborekuzi and other natural rulers, as well as notable clerics, spoke thereafter with the press. They appealed to the organizers of the protest to give the president more time to fix Nigeria. What time? A cleric in a viral video even alleged that Tinubu thumped his chest and told clerics he bought his presidency. To these pleas, the Gen Z seemed to have invoked Sango’s wrath to descend on the Bata drum and its noisy accoutrements (Sàngó pa bàtá, pa jonwon jonwon etí è). The youths then marched on the streets of Nigeria in blazing anger.

The appeal to fear by Tinubu’s security apparatchik also failed woefully. “A “bomb” was “detonated” somewhere in Lagos.” “Foreign mercenaries were on their way into Nigeria.” To this old, frozen scaremongering tactics, the Gen Z howled, may Sango descend on Tinubu’s Bata and its useless accoutrements! If Tinubu’s inner cabinet members had been mis-informing him that the cries of hunger were politically motivated, the president must have seen for himself live videos of Nigerians expressing blistering views on his excruciating and punishing economic policies and the calamities these IMF-driven policies have brought to the people. Some even claim that Tinubu’s slavish licking of the western world’s spittle is borne out of the fact that the West has the balls of his uncomely past in its hands.

What summarizes Nigerians’ wails at protest grounds last week is Bob Marley’s iconic song, Dem belly full but we hungry. Tinubu and his cabinet members live in stupendous wealth and go on saturnalia with our wealth while Nigerians are dying in droves. The most tragic part of it is that the people in government don’t even pretend to care. Did you hear the voluble Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, say the people could keep on protesting but he and the Senate members would continue eating? It may be a Freudian slip or a flippancy for which Akpabio has earned an infamous notoriety but it seems to be the philosophy of the Tinubu government. Hungry Nigerians may go jump inside the Bunga River for all the government cares. The man who dons the moustache of Chancellor of Third Reich Nazi Germany, the despot Adolf Hitler, Nyesom Wike, also attempted to spin the weather-beaten old ad-hominem narrative of “protest sponsorship” last week. A senator was sponsoring the protest, he drooled in his usual scary guttural. The apt response he got from Nigerians was that hunger, hopelessness and death of Nigerians since Tinubu took over government were the sponsors of the protest.

And the protest held. Sadly, while official figure said 17 people were killed, suspicious police report claimed three died. From our experience during the EndSARS protest, we know who to believe. The protest also drew a graph not native to protests in time past. A hitherto supine north tipped over in its anger, crudely burning and looting. It was the same north which always hit the street in murderous baying for blood only when it feels God had been defamed. Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State, explaining this mindless pillaging of the north by Almajiris, said: “What actually caused it? Today if you look at Nigeria, 70% of those in the North are in poverty. If you look at 65% of our people in the North, they don’t even have bank accounts. In 18 million out of school children, over 14 million are in the North.” In Sokoto, protesters at the Sultan’s palace even went extremely idiotic, calling for soldiers’ return. Same north went into slumber throughout the eight years of Muhammadu Buhari’s zero governance. The southwest, on the other hand, was calm even though pummeled by hunger. South-south wailed in anger despite the annoying woto-woto from Asari Dokubo threatening would-be protesters. Dokubo had earlier confirmed that he had collected money from the presidency. Uncharacteristically, the southeast went into an unusual somnolence.

In the midst of all these, even with the loss of souls, Aso Rock has feigned deafness and dumbness. When his claim that Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar sponsored the protest was perforated, Bayo Onanuga immediately relapsed into a baffling aphasia. Nigerians told Onanuga, borrowing from Marley’s lyrics, that “a hungry mob is an angry mob.” Since August 1, Tinubu, too has maintained a concerning taciturnity, apparently, like Emperor Nero, fiddling while Nigeria got enveloped in conflagration. Some have interpreted this self-imposed deafness of Aso Rock as arrogance of power. To some others, it was a hallmark of presidential conceit for the people. Even William Ruto peeled his initial lapel of arrogance and spoke to the people of Kenya.

“We must complain. Yes plain, blunt complaints, (peaceful) ceaseless agitation, unfailing exposure of dishonesty and wrong—this is the ancient, unerring way to liberty and we must follow it.”

— W.E.B. Du Bois

“War is what happens when language fails.”

— Margaret Atwood

“Nothing in the world is harder than speaking the truth and nothing easier than flattery.”

— Fyodor Dostoevsky

From the outset, let me be clear: I abhor violence and reject war in all its forms. Yet, I staunchly believe in protest and dissent as cornerstones of a democratic society. I have lived this truth, endured detentions and deprivations for it, and will continue to advocate for freedom and a free spirit until my last breath.

Since turning 18, I have participated in countless protests, always peacefully, never resorting to violence. I have marched alongside notable Nigerians such as the indefatigable lawyer Chief Gani Fawehinmi and the eloquent and urbane advocate for democracy and good governance, Mr. Alao Bashorun. Elders like Chief Anthony Enahoro, Wole Soyinka, Baba Omojola, and Dr. Frederick Faseun have shared the streets of Lagos with my generation, standing firm against injustice, often facing tear gas and state violence.

At that time, the current president and some of his closest associates have been vocal in encouraging us to protest against hardship, injustice, and poor governance. As allies, we have mobilized young men and women to decry rigged elections and the perceived theft of national resources.

The Yoruba people, to whom I proudly belong, have historically led the charge against colonialism, local oppression, military brutality, and corruption. In times past, if other ethnic groups hesitated to speak out, the Yoruba would courageously stand up, voice their dissent, and face the consequences. This legacy, inherited from the leaders of the first republic—who boldly opposed colonial masters and their local collaborators—must not be forgotten. It is why figures like Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti were seen as threats by colonial authorities and faced various indignities. It is why Wole Soyinka, Tai Solarin, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, Femi Falana, and others were imprisoned and why leaders like Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Gen Alani Akinrinade, and Dr. Amos Akingba went into exile to continue their agitation against the Sani Abacha regime.

What has changed? Yes, we now have a civilian government. But does this mean that the issues we protested against have vanished, and we now live in an ideal society? Absolutely not. Even under this so-called democracy, our leaders, now in power, have sometimes called for protests against policies during the presidencies of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and Dr. Goodluck Jonathan. Some have even sheltered Niger Delta agitators after they protested by attacking oil pipelines.

Now, I pose this question to my Yoruba brothers, many of whom shared the struggle with me: What has changed? Is it because we now have a Yoruba president that dissent must cease, and those who oppose the current order must be labeled as dangerous troublemakers and foreign invaders?

We often profess to be Christians and Muslims. Yet, some are now resorting to traditional rites and mystical practices such as Oro and Agemo to prevent peaceful gatherings in places like Yaba and Tinubu Square. We are deploying hate against fellow Nigerians while those we serve hoard wealth in banks owned by the Igbos we so hate and award lucrative contracts to those we are told to despise. All because they do not want their fellow Yorubas to know their secret heists.

There have always been those who misuse protests for their gain, and there always will be. This is why we have law enforcement, who should be trained and equipped to manage such situations, ensuring public safety and protecting property.

Using money and fear to suppress dissent, especially when it is "our turn" to wield power, will be counterproductive. We are fostering hate and alienating other ethnic groups, demonizing people who have been our neighbors, classmates, and fellow citizens. We must remember that power is fleeting; today, it is our turn, but tomorrow, it will be someone else's.

The maximum tenure for any leader is eight years unless we are now advocating for life presidencies. When it is someone else's turn, and they retaliate against "our children" who were in power, will we still be able to protest?

Life is a continuum, and future leaders may come from unexpected places. Who could have imagined Donald Trump leading America? Yet, today, he embodies rhetoric reminiscent of darker times in history. Many of my friends in America are troubled by the prospect of his return to power.

If a leader akin to Sani Abacha were to rise in Nigeria, would we, the Yoruba, still have the courage to speak out against injustice, corruption, and nepotism?

I know that after this is published, there will be backlash, as there has been in the past. But these attacks will not deter me like water off a duck's back. Some of us must have the courage to speak out, not just for today but for tomorrow. We must not pass down a legacy of complacency, ethnic baiting, or blind loyalty to future generations. This is not the heritage Awolowo and his contemporaries left to us, nor what Wole Soyinka exhorts in his writings and activism. It is not the lesson taught by Tai Solarin, Gani Fawehinmi, or the many others who inspired our generation of activists.

Leaders are not always wrong, just as agitators are not always right. However, the right to voice one's opinions must be preserved in any democracy, especially one that seeks progress. As Soyinka so powerfully reminded us, "The man dies in all who keep silent in the face of tyranny."

Babafemi Ojudu (CON), distinguished senator, veteran journalist, ex- presidential adviser and one of the last standing disciples of Chief Obafemi Awolowo breaks his silence and speaks to Nigerians

After three days of nationwide protests over bad governance in the country, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has scheduled to address the nation on Sunday.

Chief Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, announced this in a statement, on Saturday. The spokesman said the broadcast would hold at 7am.

The Protesters had requested that the President address the nation on the many demands they have laid out. 

There is so far no insight into what the broadcast will contain and it is doubtful that Tinubu chose to address the nation because the protesters said so. However it provides him the opportunity to address certain troubling issues areas in his government and it’s activities. 

One of the areas that has received condemnation Is the oil sector which is the mainstay of Nigeria’s economy. Incidentally the President superintends over the sector since he doubles as the Minister of Petroleum. 

The poor handling of the newly completed Dangote Refinery by government officials has opened a can of worms and exposed the administration to criticism. 

While he is not likely to return the subsidy regime which he abolished on his inauguration on May 29, 2023, he may use the address to make a far-reaching pronouncement on the nation’s energy policy. 

So far his promise to return the nation’s refineries to operation has not been kept.

The unwieldy size of his administration is another area that has engendered disquiet. Many people expect that he may address the need to tinker with the size of his government and cut down on personnel costs.

Tinubu nominated the highest number of Ministers in the history of Nigeria at a time the nation’s economy is at its worst.

The third area is his ineffective fiscal policy that has engendered hyperinflation and made the prices of goods, especially food, to skyrocket. With an unprecedented inflation ratio of 34.19 in June, driven by more than 40 percent food inflation, the country is reeling as people find it difficult to feed themselves.

The poverty level in May 2023, when this government came on board and before the dramatic price surge, was 38.9 percent, with an estimated 87 million Nigerians living below the poverty line. Only India presents a worse record.

The reason for the significant price jump is the macroeconomic policies of the Tinubu administration, especially the removal of petroleum and electricity subsidies and the implementation of other neo-liberal economic policies, such as the floating of the naira. 

These have led to higher costs for power and fast depreciation of the naira, both of which have aggravated the country’s economic challenges and caused widespread social discontent. 

The options open to the government, fiscally, are limited. It could either continue with the ongoing reforms and policies or go back to the pre-Tinubu years when the government was paying unwieldy petroleum subsidies and operated the dual forex exchange system..

Although the Tinubu administration has not come clean over petrol subsidies, which it pays through the backdoor, the option of reversing the policy on petroleum subsidy is not feasible, practical, or sustainable. 

The petroleum subsidies bill under President Buhari ballooned such that between June 2022 and his last day in office in May 2023, to over N3 trillion for subsidies, most of which were likely stolen through government corruption.

It appears the most important driver of inflation is the depreciation and instability of the naira, even more so than the high cost of petrol and electricity. It is one area that needs to be revisited. 

The government has tried to cushion the effects of its harsh economic policies with certain safety nets, all of which have so far proved defective. While Institutional corruption has claimed his Minister of Poverty Alleviation, Mrs. Betta Edu, he has not introduced any other effectively policy of cushioning the effects of his policies on the people.

Finally, he has rum one of the most expensive administrations, approving humongous amounts for projects that most Nigerians regard as not crucial or people focused.

Among them is the completion of the Vice President’s residence with a whopping N21 billion, the renovation of his Dodan Barracks Lagos guest house with N5billion and the purchase of new Presidential jets. 

There are so many areas that need attention. However, it is expected that he may take a cue from recent public disapproval of some policies to make amends.

Fellow Nigerians,

I address you today not because you people have been calling on me to speak to the citizens of Nigeria. I am not doing this because some of you have been making noise on the streets of Abuja, Lagos, and Kano. Such behaviors do not move me. I am the Jagaban. Nobody pushes me around. Iro! If you don’t know who I am, go and ask them in Lagos. I can rule Nigeria for eight years without holding a single press conference or speaking to Nigerians in a live broadcast. Heaven will not fall.

I make this exception today because I sent my Vice President out to calm you all down, only for him to call the people protesting idiots. Let me make something very clear. I agree with my Vice President that all of you protesting on the streets of Nigeria are idiots with nine fingers. The only respect I will give to you is that I won’t stand in front of you and count your nine fingers. Of course, it is not out of fear but simply because you are beneath me. I am the Jagaban. If you don’t know who I am, go and ask them in Lagos.

Out of the goodness of my heart, I took a break from enjoying Amala and Ewedu as my brilliant brother, Senator Akpabio, is doing to come and speak to you. Let nobody complain if I say anything you do not like. The last time I spoke live to the nation, I said, “Oil subsidy is gone.” Fourteen months later, we are still dealing with the consequences of that sentence. Still, you all are crying for me to speak. Alright, here is the speech as written for me by Bayo Onanuga. I did not add or remove anything from this speech. I am a doer and not a talker. I am the Jagaban. If you don’t know who I am, go and ask them in Lagos.

Just as my Vice President said, you all protesting out there, wasting your sweat and lives, are idiots. If you were not idiots, you should praise us for raising the minimum wage from 30,000 Naira to 70,000 Naira. That is over 100% increase. I am an American-trained accountant. I know my arithmetic. Where in the world have you seen such an astronomical increase before? Stop converting it to dollars to see the difference in value between May 29, 2023, and today. You no dey chop dollars for Nigeria. What is important is that it takes care of the increase in the price of 50kg of rice from 40k in 2023 to 100k today. It leaves 10k for your family to go to the movies and have a good time. I deserve a thank you. Instead, what I am getting is this lousy protest. Don’t get me angry, people. I am the Jagaban. If you don’t know who I am, go and ask them in Lagos.

What have I not done for you people? I found N30 billion in these hard times to establish a student loan scheme for about 2 million students in Nigerian universities. I had to get some of the money by cutting off some essentials needed for the office of the First Lady and in the home of my Vice President Kashim Shettima. Because of you, we only spent N25 billion on his house, using an inferior Italian jacuzzi instead of the originals. Is that fair? And some of you wondered why we didn’t let journalists into the VP’s house, the people’s house, during the opening ceremony. He ended up with a VP townhouse with a town hall different from Abu Dhabi – Kuala Lumpur.

For those of you gossiping that I do not deserve a new plane, I have news for you. I bought it already. All talks in the National Assembly are just to fulfill all righteousness. And there is nothing that any of you can do about it. I didn’t check the price before I bought it. I am not used to such a poverty-induced lifestyle. I cannot come and die because you people begged me to rule you and save you from the government of illiterates and poorly educated fools. That I am letting the poor breathe does not mean I should let them go mad in the marketplace. Am I making myself clear?

It will take ten years after my eight-year tenure before the benefits of my incredible vision for Nigeria become clear. If you doubt me, go to Lagos and ask them. There has been no governor in Lagos since I left who had any need to think to succeed. They just follow my template and become successful. Those who tried to step out of line got the Ambode treatment. So, the benefit of what I am doing today in Nigeria will become apparent when David Umahi becomes Nigeria’s president after eight years of Shetimma. I am the Jagaban, and I can tell you for free, “You can’t eat a good banana without its peels.”

Why am I even wasting my time talking to you all as if I give a hoot about people who are an ungrateful bunch? I gave you local government autonomy. It is the greatest gift since fried akara. Do you know that you can now hold your local government chairman responsible for Fulani herdsmen who destroyed your farms and for your husband who cannot perform in the oza room? No more pointing accusing fingers at me, the Jagaban. My job as president is back to what the framers of our fantastic 1999 constitution designed it to be – attending conferences abroad and helping negotiate new loans for Nigeria until we meet the debt-to-loan ratio that is respectable for a country of 200 million people. Again, I am the Jagaban, and I can tell you for free, “I study them and strategically execute them; my detractors discuss my success and failure because they have nothing to execute.”

I cannot end this speech without expressing my heartfelt condolences to those who lost their lives during the unnecessary protest. They are now fathers “of a mother of a child when the child is childless.” I hope they will learn to stay home when they reincarnate, just like the Igbo people did. I love my Igbo people. If you think I bribed the Igbo people by signing the South East Development Commission into law, you just wait and see what next I will do for them. I am about to release their illustrious son, Nnamdi Kanu, to reward them for being good boys and girls while the rest of you dance naked on the streets. As someone who once said, I did not believe in one Nigeria, I can tell you that “creation is always more difficult than destruction; greed is easier than greatness.” I am the Jagaban. If you do not know me, go and ask them in Lagos.

Before I go, let me tell you, ignoramus, what bad governance means. Bad governance means going after Yahaya Bello for N80 billion allegations against him when I know he will work hard for my reelection, which is just about two years away. I heard some of you complain that corrupt people are ministers in my government. Again, that shows how politically naive you all are. You sometimes need a seasoned thief to do the job of catching a thief. For those who say that my economic team is second-rated Lagos boys who lack international gravitas, I say, shurrup. Why is it difficult for blockheads to understand how the world works? I am the Jagaban, and I can tell you for free, “If you want me to do something for you, line up in an orderly manner. Then I can share my peanuts.” Didn’t you see Dangote as he lined up in an orderly manner? He got what he wanted – crude oil in Naira. Reno Omokri, Daniel Bwala, Femi Fani Kayode are all lining up orderly. They will soon get their peanuts.

Alright! This speech is already too long. You all can now go to sleep. Cuddle your mothers if you are scared or hide under her bed. If you are hungry, follow my wife’s example and take a hoe to a farm and till the ground. You can make your own eba or garri or beans or dodo. I don’t want to hear again that you are hungry. I went to Chicago, where I planted. That is why I am eating now. “You cannot reap when you did not sow. You can’t eat corn when it’s maize you planted.” Sogbo? But if you want to remain a church rat, be ready to eat poisoned Holy Communion, for that is all that your senseless protest is. You have to sweat if you must lay a golden egg. Again, I am the Jagaban, and I can tell you for free, “We inherited speaking in tongues from the Bible, but our diversity is a promise for prosperity.”

May God bless all those who understand how hard I work daily to transform Nigeria into the miracle I performed in Lagos, which I singlehandedly turned into the 5th largest economy in Africa. May God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria!

Senator Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR

President

Federal Republic of Nigeria.

…Governor appeals for calm in statewide broadcast

Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Biodun Oyebanji, has vowed to ensure protection of lives and property of citizens of the state in the wake of the planned nationwide protests over current economic situation in the country.

Governor Oyebanji said Nigeria and its people cannot afford “another massive destruction of our economic base” as witnessed during the #EndSARS protest that led to the destruction of many private and government infrastructures.

Addressing the people of Ekiti State in a statewide broadcast on Wednesday morning, the Governor expressed concern that the planned protest has the potential to degenerate into violence and reverse his administration’s steady progress to shared prosperity.

Governor Oyebanji, in the address which was broadcast across all radio and television stations in the state, clarified that while his administration is not averse to free expression of opinions and displeasures over socioeconomic issues, it strongly believes that it should be after due consideration of the overall security implication of such a protest.

Acknowledging the constitutional rights to freedom of expression and the right to air views freely, Governor Oyebanji argued that “a protest should be conducted under a peaceful atmosphere without recourse to any violent disturbances to other citizen who also enjoy inalienable right to unhindered movement and life.”

The Governor pointed out that he has the primary duty to ensure the security and wellbeing of the people at all times as the Chief Security Officer of the state noting that security agencies will be on high alert and will not allow anybody to destroy Ekiti’s good image as a peaceful and progressive State.

He appealed to the residents of the state not to fall into the agenda of individuals “who might just be interested in wreaking havoc while pretending to be fighting for the interest of the ordinary people.”

While contending that protest, violence and destruction of lives and property can be counterproductive, the Governor said “a lot of fifth columnists are trying desperately to weaponize the current economic crisis for their own destructive agenda.”

Recalling the havoc wreaked in Ekiti during the #EndSARS protest of 2020, Governor Oyebanji disclosed that some public buildings, infrastructures and assets are still in ruins nearly four years after they were savagely vandalized by protesters with government struggling to repair or replace them.

According to him, “nothing much will change by blocking roads and prevent distribution of goods and services, instead, it will aggravate poverty and sorrow and will also worsen the situation as it did in 2020 when we had to slip into deeper economic recession as a result of the combined effect of COVID 19 pandemic and the #EndSARS wanton destruction of economic infrastructure across the country.”

“Multimillion naira businesses were completely ruined and the owners destroyed forever. Till today, the Ekiti State Emergency Management Agency’s store room and other government institutions remain in ruins because of the arson and looting that were visited on the State by retrogressive elements masquerading as protesters.

“Many of our silos which serve as national strategic reservoirs for food and seedlings were burnt, looted and vandalized. Government is still struggling with replacing or repairing these infrastructures, even in the face of scarce resources,” the Governor said.

The Governor appealed to parents, guardians, traditional rulers and religious leaders to appeal to the youths not to submit themselves to those he referred to as “evil merchants who want to use them to cause violence in our state as protests can easily be hijacked by hoodlums.”

He stressed “that no matter how peaceful a protest might seem at the beginning, no one can predict its eventual dynamics and its ending.”

The Governor also used the opportunity of the broadcast to assure the people o the state that efforts are on to ameliorate the current challenges relating to food price inflation and high cost of transportation while also ensuring that the provision of welfare packages to workers, retirees and other citizens.

He added: “It is for this reason that we have undertaken different palliative measures across the State to many of the eligible people based on different criteria for each batch.

“Indeed, we are not in anyway deluded that food handouts will be the magic bullet to end the food related inflation, more and abundant production of foodstuff is the golden bullet to fight food poverty and government has put in place various measures to ramp up food production in the State through the Ministry Agriculture and Food Security and the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

“It is in the realization of this, that we are investing in an unprecedented level, in agriculture. We are supporting our farmers to increase their capacity in production through clearing and ploughing of land in thousands of hectares.

“The second phase of the land clearing is about being concluded. We are not only clearing and ploughing for our farmers, we are also providing them free and subsidized seedlings, fertilizers and other farm implements.”

Naija News reports that the grand wedding ceremony took place on Friday at the National Mosque in Abuja and was followed by a luxurious reception.

The couple shared moments from their special day on a dedicated Instagram page, #Sash24, giving a glimpse into the joyous occasion.

The caption reads, “Together in faith and love from this day forward, Insha’Allah.”

Emir Sanusi Speaks As Protesters Return To Kano Streets

Meanwhile, Muhammadu Sanusi II has urged residents of the state engaging in the #EndBadGovernace protest to avoid being used by agents of destruction in the Northern region and Nigeria at large.

Naija News reports that Sanusi made the plea following the return of protesters to the streets of Kano despite the curfew imposed to check widespread violence.

Some protesters reportedly regrouped in Tudun Wada of Nassarawa Local Government Area of Kano on Friday afternoon, after Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf relaxed the curfew to enable the Muslim faithful to observe Jumaat.

Many protesters wielded placards while others sang and clapped as they marched on the streets.

Speaking at a press conference held at his Gidan Rumfa palace on Friday evening, Sanusi expressed concern over how public and private properties were looted and vandalised owing to the protest that was billed to be a peaceful demonstration against hunger and hardship in the country.

[NaijaNews]

The Oyo State governor, Engr. Seyi Makinde has commended youths and parents for ensuring peaceful demonstration across the state in the ongoing agitation to address hunger and hardship in the country.

The Governor’s appreciation was contained in a statement on Saturday in Ibadan by the state’s Commissioner for Information, Prince Dotun Oyelade following the sustenance of the peaceful protest which entered the third day since it began on Thursday, 1st of August.

The statement recalled that Governor Makinde was among the first set of leaders to publicly embrace the constitutionality of the #EndHungerProtest with an admonition that the protest must be peaceful to achieve the desired result.

The Oyo State’s helmsman further appealed to Nigerians to be law abiding and ensure that their agitation did not result to rancour and incitement throughout the period.

The Governor praised people of the state, especially the youths, for keeping their end of the bargain as they expect the federal government to make life better for all and sundry.

He equally called on Nigerians in states where various degrees of violence were recorded during the protest, to allow peace to reign in their quest for good governance.

[Leadership]