The #EndBadGovernance protests in Nigeria were scheduled to take place between August 1 -10, 2024, tagged “10 Days of Rage”, a seemingly apocalyptic projection of the immediate future of Nigeria constructed in the fashion of The People vs. The State but as it has turned out, it may be correct on August 6, today, to say that we are now more or less at the end of the protests. For now, that is what it looks like.  And what has made the difference is the fact that on Day 4 of the protests the President of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu decided to address the nation and speak to the people directly. Since the beginning of the imbroglio, concerned Nigerians had been calling on the President to talk to them. Instead, he sent spokespersons, and outrightly condescending Ministers to talk to the people. 

Nigerians voted for Tinubu, not the variously privileged persons who now have access to the microphone because of Tinubu. Section 5 of the 1999 Constitution grants the President the right to delegate authority, but funnily enough, the same Constitution is studiously silent about what the same all-powerful President can do about his other room affairs! His job is strictly to rule Nigeria under the Constitution and the oath of office he took. Whatever happens, he is the man that will be held responsible.  From August 1, Nigerians took to the streets, as they had promised that they would, against bad governance. Within two days, over seventeen persons had been killed across the country, the police admits that there were only seven casualties.  They also insist that their men did not kill anyone. So, who did? Should anyone die at all.? In Kano, Niger, Nasarawa, Borno and Yobe, there was so much violence the state governments had to declare a curfew. Properties were destroyed. Nobody could go to work. Foreign missions in Nigeria have advised their citizens to get ready for evacuation in case the Nigerian situation got out of hand. 

The entire country has been at a standstill. It took the President a whole three days for him to be persuaded to speak to Nigerians and tell Nigerians that their President had finally heard them. Tinubu had to speak for 21 minutes in 38 paragraphs, a pre-recorded, teleprompter-assisted speech before Nigerians felt that their President had finally heard them. My take is that the President could and should have spoken earlier. He offered the Nigerian people too little too late. Presidential communication should be driven by empathy, but that empathy should come at the right time. Take the United Kingdom, where there is at the moment, race-based riots, religion-based protests in about 19 cities, triggered by misinformation and disinformation over the knife-killing of three innocent persons, Bebe King, 6. Elsie Stancombe, 7, Alice Aguilar, 9,  in Southport, Merseyside, North West England. It was initially claimed via social media that the killer was a Muslim immigrant. This triggered far-right, nationalistic sentiments: “Britain for the British” and a prompt attack on immigrants. The British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer did not wait for matters to get out of hand before speaking. Two days ago, as the riots spread from Southport, to Liverpool and Rotherdam, the British PM quickly addressed the nation, threatening to deal with “far-right thugs”. Yesterday, he summoned an emergency meeting of the Cobra Committee.  He was seen to be taking charge. 

President Tinubu also reportedly met with traditional rulers and other important people of Nigeria, and through surrogates appealed to the youths of Nigeria to be calm, but he was technically talking to the wrong people. The youths refused to listen. On August 1, they went on to the streets to protest. What we must note here is that the Nigerian President is too much of a monarch. He holds court -one of the things we have to correct in the 1999 Constitution. When the people who elected him in a constitutional democracy demand accountability, he sends emissaries to address the people. If he must meet anybody, he holds court with traditional rulers and religious leaders who end up collecting sitting allowances and flight tickets that could have been better used to serve the people. The ordinary people, the main focus of the democratic process are the last group to be noticed. And this is precisely the pattern that has played out this time around. On Sunday, at 7 am, the monarch of Nigeria’s Presidential Villa, finally deemed it necessary to address the people directly.   It turned out to be a big favour! On Sunday morning, the protesters at Ojota Freedom Park in Lagos, who had been toing and froing around the Ikeja axis since August 1, had a tete-a-tete with the police and they resolved that since the President had spoken, they would suspend their protest till October. They agreed to hold a meeting yesterday at 11 am, to deliberate on the President’s speech. Thus, in Lagos, the President’s speech had taken the sting, perhaps temporarily, out of the protests. In Kano and a few other places, protesters continued their agitation on Sunday, but the momentum had become generally subdued. On Monday, banks and business places that had remained shut the previous Thursday and Friday, sputtered to life. Nigeria gradually regained normalcy. To that extent, the President’s national broadcast made a difference. The very symbolism of it, doused tension in the country. Should the President have spoken about two days earlier? Yes. Did he leave his personal intervention a bit late? Yes. 

What exactly did he say? Not much, and yet it made small difference. The big lesson is that the Nigerian President and his handlers must never assume that it is beneath him to talk to the same people who elected him into office. He is not a Supreme Leader. He represents the people. Power belongs to the people, not the President. Tinubu is just so, so lucky to have escaped the humiliation that President William Ruto has suffered in Kenya, and the fate that has just befallen Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in Bangladesh, following weeks of deadly protests in that South Asian country. Ms. Hasina has fled Dhaka. The people ignored a national curfew and stormed her palace from where she ruled for about two decades. She is now practically on the run. President Tinubu must indeed learn from the luck that he enjoys. Across the world, there is currently a wave of people’s anger, be it in Venezuela, Kenya, or Bangladesh, with the people taking ownership of the democratic process, and seeking every possible means to punish their leaders. With all their angst, Nigerians are still very manageable people, and we must do everything to keep their resentment of authority figures in check.

I may have submitted that the President’s speech has had the effect of dousing tensions, but I do not think that the speech was fit for purpose. The protesters just wanted the President to say something. He said something. It didn’t matter what he said, and many were satisfied. But when you look at the speech itself, what did the President say? One, he regretted the killings that took place, expressed his condolences to the families of the deceased, and invited the protesters for dialogue while insisting on peace. Two, he made it clear that promoters of violence and ethnic bigotry igniting the crisis, will not be spared for violating the laws of the land. Three, he outlined his administration’s programmes in the last one year as proof-positive of his commitment to Nigerian youths: the Skill Up Artisans Programme (SUPA); the Nigerian Youth Academy (NIYA), Youth Talent Export Programme (NATEP), students’ loans and support for Medium and Small-Scale Enterprises (MSMEs). Four, the President talked about his government’s economic reforms, and insisted that there would be no going back on the removal of fuel subsidy and the abolition of multiple foreign exchange rates, the gains of which he said have resulted in increased government revenues, debt service reduction, CNG initiatives to reduce transportation costs, support for the manufacturing sector and other benefits for the Nigerian people. Five, the President stressed his commitment to public order and the rule of law, stating that he will not tolerate actions that threaten national unity and stability.

As is to be expected, there have been reactions for and against the President’s nationwide address. He has received knocks and kudos. Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo hails the speech as great, inspiring, compassionate, firm, and conciliatory. Please, what else should Keyamo say? Other commentators have a different opinion. Professor Wole Soyinka in a piece titled “The Hunger March as Universal Mandate” faulted the President for failing to condemn “the state’s seizure of protest management, and the use of live bullets as state response to civil protest”. The people asked for bread, the state gave them bullets in return! Mr. Femi Falana, SAN; activist Deji Adeyanju, Omoyele Sowore, leader of the Take It Back Movement Nigeria have also condemned the President’s speech. Sowore, who was a Presidential candidate in the 2023 general elections describes the speech as “Beautiful Nonsense”. There seems nonetheless to be a general consensus that the speech fell short of the people’s expectations. My view is that the speech-writers spent too much time on the achievements of the administration. Nobody wants to listen to propaganda at this time. It is standard practice in the corridors of government in Nigeria to think that any time the President speaks, he should remind the people of his accomplishments. But there must be a time and place to that tradition. The speech this time around should have been shorter and better focused. If I were the person to sign off on the copy, I would have advised against all the navel-gazing, chest beating details in the speech. Certainly not the right time to do that. The protesters had 15 demands and more, not even one of their demands was referred to by the President. There is only one name for that: contempt. It is not enough for the President to say that he is listening, and that he has heard the people loud and clear. What exactly did he hear? What specific information is he processing? Did he for example hear that the people say they are hungry? Did he hear or was he told, that the people say they want the cost of governance to be reduced? They don’t want leaders living in $21m mansions, jolloffing inside expensive yachts, junketing like a yoyo inside imported SUVs while the people are wallowing in penury? Did he hear that the people want electoral reforms and a new Constitution? Or that the general menace of insecurity in the land should be addressed?  It was not evident that the President was aware of what the people are saying except the acknowledgement, in parenthesis, in paragraph 31 of his speech. 

Mr Atedo Peterside, founder of Stanbic IBTC, Dr Muda Yusuf of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprises (CPPE) and Ebun Olu-Adegboruwa, SAN have all appealed to the protesters: that their point has been made, and as Bob Marley advised, they should sheathe their swords to fight another day. A prolonged shut down of Nigeria can only damage the economy and hurt all parties concerned whereas there is no guarantee on the desired outcomes. The way forward clearly is for government to listen truly to the people, not audio promises or any of those cliches: Renewed Hope, Renewed Housing Estate, Renewed Agriculture which the people have heard so often in the last one year, every repeat of the same phrases annoys the majority. The very least that the President could have done would have been the announcement of a committee to look into the people’s demands. We all know that a government committee does not always solve any problems in Nigeria. But the gesture would have taken the pressure off the President. It would give the people the impression that something is being done and that they have been heard. If nothing happens positively for them thereafter, by October, they will hold the committee members responsible. Every President must always appoint fall guys in tough situations who will take the bullets when things go wrong. President Tinubu should learn to dodge the bullets because more will come.  There are enough willing fall guys out there, looking for what to eat!

All things said, I think the President was spot on when he deplored ethnic bigotry. In the course of the protests, one imbecile with an X-twitter handle was said to have tweeted, under the handle @Lagospedia on Twitter/X that Igbos must leave Lagos within the next month effective August 20 – 30, and relocate their businesses out of Lagos and other South West states. The animal that sent out this tweet must be identified and made to face the full wrath of the law. Igbos do not pose any problem to the people of Lagos or Yorubas in general. The beauty of this country lies in the strength it draws from its diversity. We live in an interdependent country where we all rely on each other to survive, drawing strength from one another. It is strange how today’s people forget that once upon a time Mbonu Ojike, an Igbo man, from Arondizuogu in today’s Imo State was the Deputy Mayor of Lagos (1951).  In 1959, the Federal Minister of Lands and Lagos Affairs, was Muhammadu Ribadu, a Fulani man. If Igbos were to leave Lagos and the South West today, the region may suffer temporary economic setback. Who will sell vehicle spare parts? Who will sell electronics? Landlords will suffer. The banking system in the South West will crash. Many husbands will become emergency bachelors – but that may be a joke- the madness that Nigerians exhibit for ethnic reasons stops at the door of the bedroom. Igbos like Yoruba women. Yoruba men can’t take their eyes off Igbo women, and all the beautiful girls from the East and South East. Those who are beating the drums of ethnic hate should remember the civil war. “Though tongue and tribe may differ, in brotherhood we stand.” Those who violate this principle must be sanctioned. They should be told to remember Rwanda and how ethnic hate and rivalry tore apart a country. They should be reminded of the story of Hitler, whose name lives in infamy forever.  

Similarly, as part of matters arising from the protests, another set of imbeciles were said to have been going about carrying Russian flags and calling also for military intervention. That is high treason. Nigerians like to imitate even things they do not understand. Whoever is calling for military rule, or promoting Russia on this soil must be identified and guillotined, after due process. It is good that the Russian Embassy in Nigeria has disowned the protesters and that the Department of State Services has arrested the unpatriotic tailor in Kano, along with 31 others, who were mass producing Russian flags and promoting this dangerous signal. The sad story, really, is that this country is in the grips of mass psychosis at all levels. President Tinubu’s primary job, since he says it is his turn, and he is now where he wants to be is to walk the talk, and rescue Nigeria if he can.  

The Federal Government has advised Nigerian citizens planning to travel to the United Kingdom to be cautious of potential violence following the recent killing of three young girls at a concert

The statement, released in the early hours of Monday, August 5th, and signed by the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Eche Abu-Obe, noted that the ongoing protests in the United Kingdom have turned violent following the killing of three young girls at a concert.

The press release, which was posted on the official X page of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, partly read: “There is an increased risk of violence and disorder occasioned by the recent riots in the UK, stemming from the killing of three young girls at a concert. The violence has assumed dangerous proportions, as evidenced by reported attacks on law enforcement agents and damage to infrastructure.

“Demonstrations by far-right and other extra-parliamentary groups in parts of the UK in recent weeks have been large and, in some instances, unruly.

“These disturbances have only been aggravated by the unfortunate deaths of the three girls, spawning an anti-immigration narrative with particular emphasis on targeting Muslim immigrants or persons of colour.”

Recall that in on July 29, 2024, a knife attack took place at a children’s yoga and dance workshop. Three children were killed and eight other children were injured, with five of them in critical condition. Two adults at the event were also critically injured. Following the stabbing, anti-Muslim disinformation and rumours have sparked Islamophobic protests and riots across the UK, which have been described as the worst rioting in 13 years.

The Financial Times described the protests and riots as being fuelled by wider Islamophobia, concerns over crime, anti-migration sentiment, xenophobia, nationalism, and perceived biases by the police and media.

The Federal High Court in Lagos has ruled that the sale of Nigeria Air Ltd to Ethiopian Airlines is null and void.

Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa, who presided over the case, directed that the Federal Government’s plan to establish a national carrier, Nigeria Air, should not proceed.

This decision came as the court granted most of the requests made by the plaintiffs, which include the Registered Trustees of the Airline Operators of Nigeria, AON, and five other entities.

Justice Lewis-Allagoa affirmed that all requested reliefs were approved except for the demand for N2bn in damages. The plaintiffs sought these damages for the losses they claimed to have suffered due to their exclusion from the process and the alleged wrongful actions related to the bidding and selection processes for the Nigeria Air initiative.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit, comprising the Registered Trustees of the Airline Operators, Azman Air Services Limited, Air Peace Limited, Max Air Limited, United Nigeria Airlines Company Limited, and Topbrass Aviation Limited, took legal action against Nigeria Air Limited, Ethiopian Airlines, former Minister of Aviation Senator Hadi Sirika, and the Attorney-General of the Federation.

In their filings, the plaintiffs sought a court order to nullify the entire bidding and selection procedures for the Nigeria Air project. They also called for the cancellation of the approval and selection of Ethiopian Airlines by former Minister Hadi Sirika and former Attorney General of the Federation Abubakar Malami.

The Catholic Bishops of Owerri Ecclesiastical Province, weekend, expressed concern that the Federal Government’s reforms have not brought the renewed hope promised, while inflation, hunger and anger keep growing.

This was part of the communiqué they issued weekend, at the end of their two-day meeting, held at Sacred Heart Pastoral/Retreat Centre, Orlu, signed by the Chairman and Secretary, Most Rev. Lucius Ugorji and Most Rev. Augustine Echema, respectively.

The Bishops said: “Our nation, Nigeria, continues to face many social and economic challenges that are bringing untold hardship to our people.

“The reforms that were introduced at the inception of the current administration have not brought the renewed hope promised. Instead, inflation continues to skyrocket and hunger and anger continue to grow.

“Despite calls by the government for the people to sacrifice and bear patiently the hard times, there seems to be no corresponding example of prudent spending on the part of the leaders at all levels of government.

“It is not as if we want to join the bandwagon preaching doom and gloom for the nation, but the truth remains that for the last couple of years, we, as a nation, have missed the chance to build a strong nation, to elect leaders who have the capacity and the will to meet the needs of the people, to build a nation where the national interest overrides every tribal, political and religious division.

“We do not deny that progress has been made in particular sectors of national life; progress for which we all rejoice, yet many areas of work remain and the palpable fear is that there might be no redeeming future if things continue to go the way they are going at the moment.”

On the ongoing national hunger protest, the Catholic Bishops opined that the youths are right to be outraged by the worsening state of our nation.

 “As long as many people are suffering from multi-dimensional poverty in the land; as long as there are people without the renewed hope that comes with opportunities for a decent livelihood; as long as the peoples’ income can no longer afford their  genuine needs; as long as their votes cannot be guaranteed to effect a change in the behaviour of our leaders; Nigeria will continue to remain a restive nation.

“While peaceful protests are genuine democratic tools for expressing grievances, we believe that protests alone cannot resolve our current national problems. Moreover, a prolonged protest with a total close down of the country, even if peacefully sustained, might cripple our already fragile economy.”

While saying it has become imperative that Nigerians, as citizens of the same nation, undertake some soul-searching in the face of the intractable nature of our national difficulties, the Bishops also reasoned that “good governance and socio-economic stability will continue to elude us, if we collectively do not decide to strengthen our political institutions, if we do not improve transparency, efficiency, and accountability in all our public institutions.”

Continuing, the clerics said: “It will be naive for us to imagine that leadership alone can resolve all the issues that bedevil our country.

“The failure of leadership reflects equally the failure of followership. It is obvious then that both leadership and followership in Nigeria have responsibilities to fulfill, to move our nation forward.  

“We need proper leadership in the various sectors and cadres of our country, be it business, politics, public service, security agencies, and other essential services. All of these different sectors  must come together as part of the same wheel of progress.

“Unfortunately, what has continued to elude us is visionary leadership. Ever since our independence, one regime after another, has started and abandoned its agenda, shown a  lack of continuity, and promoted  mediocrity and ineptitude in governance.

“The result is that today, the majority of our  citizens no longer have faith in our leaders. We call on our current political leaders and elite to rise and inspire the nation, as well as earn the trust of the populace, with policies and programmes that will improve the standard of living, economic growth, stability, and a general rise in the standard of governance and governance structure.”

Referring to the recent judgment of the Supreme Court, on local government autonomy, the Bishops appealed to the state governments to speedily organize free, fair, and transparent local government elections.

“We hope that a functional local government authority will bring development closer to the people, and allow a more grassroots participation in the democratic process,” the Bishops reasoned.

They called on Nigerian citizens to make adjustments in the context of the hard times facing everybody, stressing that “adjustment will include saying no to all corrupt practices, being alive and awake to our rights and our civic responsibilities, saying no to every attempt to cow and intimidate the citizenry”.

Their words: “Here in the South East, where years of insecurity have impacted daily life and businesses, we call on our people to re-embrace that same indomitable spirit that was displayed by our people after the Nigeria-Biafra War.

“It was a spirit that refused to accept that our present challenges are beyond redemption, a spirit that recognized that the contribution of everyone is needed to build up the society from the bottom up. This will require qualities from everyone like a life of simplicity, moral probity, steadfastness, hard work, and solidarity.

“As Church, we share in the joys and hopes, griefs and anxieties of our people. As your pastors, we feel your pains and your struggles. We are deeply concerned about the fate of our jobless youths who see no hope in the Nigerian project.

“Many have been forced to leave the country for greener pastures; others are tempted to resort to crime or fetish and obnoxious ritual practices in the quest for survival.

“Our retired and elderly people are abandoned to languish without the support networks that should guarantee a dignified and happy old age. As a Church, we do not pretend to be an alternate government that has the responsibility to manage our Commonwealth.

“The Church has always intervened in the difficult moments of our national history to promote the spirit of solidarity among the people, and concern for the welfare of those at the margins of society.

“In the same spirit, we urge better-placed individuals in the society to embrace the challenge of making sure nobody is left behind to suffer in silence and to die in misery.”

Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh’s prime minister, has resigned and fled the country amid weeks of deadly anti-government protests. 

An aide told Al Jazeera that Hasina, 76, boarded a military helicopter alongside her sister and fled after crowds ignored a nationwide curfew to besiege the prime minister’s palace in Dhaka, the country’s capital, on Monday.

Images showed flames billowing from vehicles near Hasina’s home, with police unable to contain throngs of people marching towards the neighborhood.

After news of her resignation broke, thousands took to the streets of Dhaka in celebration. She was in power for a combined 20 years.

The demonstrations which began in July were triggered by students seeking an end to a quota system for government jobs. 

However, clashes with police and pro-government activists escalated. No fewer than 300 people have been reported dead since the protests began.

On Sunday, nearly 100 people were reported dead.

Doyin Okupe, a former director general of the Peter Obi/Datti Ahmed campaign council, has stated that President Bola Tinubu's nationwide broadcast on Sunday addressed the economic woes Nigerians are facing.

He advised youths to stop further protests and engage the federal government in a dialogue. He said President Tinubu has shown leadership and commitment to addressing hardship in the country.

On Sunday, while reacting to the President’s address, Okupe said President Tinubu achieved what other administrations were unable to accomplish in one year.

According to Okupe, if the fuel subsidy was not removed, the Tinubu-led administration would not function effectively.

“President Bola Tinubu’s Speech has not disappointed Nigerians in that for the first time, the President clearly stated the precarious and daunting economic situation his administration met on ground at inception.

“It also amplified the strenuous efforts made by his government to reduce the prevailing crippling and stagnating debt servicing ratio from 97% of earned revenue to 68%.

“In truth, this has been the major cause of our present economic woes and sufferings. It is now self-evident that if the fuel subsidy was not removed, it would have been impossible for the government to function and meet its obligations without continuing the profligacy of massive and sustained borrowing to fund the subsequent national budgets

“The speech highlighted, to our delight, the giant and commendable strides of achievements already accomplished by this administration within 14 months of its existence, despite the unprecedented inherited financial and social-economic calamities.

“It is also worthy to note from the speech the government’s commitment to reduce the prevailing high cost of living and also bring down the food inflation through the temporary massive importation of foods and reduction of various taxes and duties for foods, drugs and medical supplies e t c.

“I personally believe that this administration’s scorecard or performance compares very well if not better than those of many administrations before it,” he said.

The former aide on media to ex-president, Olusegun Obasanjo, advised Nigerians to hold governors and local government chairmen accountable. He noted that the President showed commitment to democratic right of citizens to protest.

“Lastly, the increased amount of funds that the policies of this administration have directly released to the states and local governments must make Nigerians to now begin to look beyond the federal government and make the sub nationalities to be more accountable for the huge sums of revenue inflow they receive from the federation account and other federal government intervention funds.

“It is pertinent that we recognize that federal government revenue is shared with 49% going to the federal government while approximately 48% goes to the states and local governments leaving some 3% for ecological funds and derivation.

“I will therefore with all humility enjoin our youths and the citizens at large to exercise patience and restraints and embrace the opportunity for dialogue which Mr President has offered,” Okupe added.