A war foretold cannot kill a cripple, goes a popular saying. Reeling from the 2020 End Sars protests that rocked the Nigerian nation, with casualties and destructions across the length and breadth of the country, Once again, Nigerian youths decided to put to test their resolve to test their power to effect what they tagged “an end to bad governance.”
The first 10 days of August 2024 were the chosen days to walk the streets, make the noise, and raise awareness through a peaceful protest or so we thought the plan was.
Fast forward to days into the protest, can what was witnessed be said to be peaceful?
THE HOLES:
For a supposed national protest, some regions in the country abstained from joining the protest. No South East state joined the protest or took to the streets in any form to organize a walk to challenge the powers that be.
Court orders were secured in some states to restrict protest venues to designated locations and this was largely enforced by the security agents.
Lagos was a prime example as protesters were not allowed to gather and proceed from the Court approved Gani Fawehinmi Freedom Park in Ojota. If there were lessons to learn from the End Sars protest, Lagos definitely learned from the experience. Curtailing protest and restricting its procession ensured a controlled activism by protesters thus making their actions a mere gathering of chanters.
Faceless leadership. Accountability becomes impossible if there is no coordinated voice and personalities to drive engagement in a protest because, in the end, the aim of a protest is to not create awareness but to dialogue with the powers that be. If there are no personalities to dialogue with, how then will engagement be established and a common ground reached in a crisis revolution? It is however understandable why young Nigerians will avoid placing a face to the protest. Once beaten twice shy they say.
End Sars leaders will tell you the tales of how it is not a bright idea. There are a lot of messages in the whole saga while it lasted. Lives were lost, some avoidably. Property destroyed, vandalized or merely torched. Time, which is in essence in everything, was wasted and gained: wasted for producers and gained by the protesters. Man-hours of work were sacrificed and billions of naira were lost.
THE QUESTION
The question is why should the government allow this to happen? Good governance would have prevented protest as citizens would hardly protest in favor of good governance. I wish to see, in modern Nigeria, an immediate local government chairman, an ex-governor, or an ex-president who can take a leisurely or peaceful walk on a street in his domain without looking suspiciously over his shoulders.
There are lots of takeaways from the protest by the government, the organizers, the common protesters, and even those who sat on the fence. Analysis and opinions would vary from person to person such that one opinion cannot be exhaustive. Economic reforms in Nigeria have become a ritual as every government engages in one economic reform or another and it is best to look at these.
THE TAKEAWAYS
What is important now is for the government to note that its economic policies have not been working, reflective of the continuously worsening living conditions of the citizens. The policies favor the leaders as they are growing in wealth, living in affluence, and oblivious to the precarious conditions of the poor. The cumulative negative effects and frustration resulted in the just-concluded protest.
The economic policies of subsidy and palliatives have not achieved desirable goals because of some contradictions. Every country extends one form of subsidy or another. If it does not exist in reality, it won’t be in the dictionary. The subsidy on petrol is desirable but its removal is more desirous because it has been grossly abused by the oil mafia, who are still around making sure that the product does not flow, even after the price has tripled. They are still trying to make sure that the local production does not succeed and there are indications that the government knows but cannot dislodge them. That is part of the structural blocs that make nonsense of economic policies of the market economy.
Whoever advised the government to pursue palliatives for consumption before production did not think through it. Production was at its lowest ebb and the government was doling out money to consumers to purchase what was not available. It is being reversed partially now but the consumption bribery is still going on. If, as it is being done now, a large number of small businesses were given subsidized loans to improve their businesses and the results started showing, then consumers started getting palliatives to purchase the outputs, the hunger protest might not have happened.
On the social policy front, the government would have seen the role of illiteracy in the prosecution of the protest. Many kids who should forcefully be in school in the North were seen on the streets protesting because they were out of school.
The takeaway for the organizers can be linked to the implications of the long period of the nature of this kind of protest. For instance, three days in a month for the next six months in the first instance could be more effective and result-oriented than ten days at a stretch. It could become embarrassing for the government to allow six months of protests. Hopefully, some lessons learnt for future reference.
The National Assembly is yet to approve any national plan for price control. There is an outstanding long-term national development plan launched by former President Muhammadu Buhari but now left behind by President Bola Tinubu. But if the President wants to make a difference as he said, he must reassess or reevaluate the current economic policies. For example, the entire economy cannot be left in the hands of market forces. There is always the need for intervention in African economies with lots of structural problems, particularly the issue of corruption that has eaten deep into the fabric of society. Corruption corrupts and destroys every policy and action. It has taken us to where we are now and unless it is tackled politically and legally, the country will not grow.
Price control has lots of disadvantages but also has advantages. A general price control can destroy the workings of economic factors to achieve desirable outputs but guided price control can solve lots of problems. For instance, controlling the price of fuel in an economy that is virtually dependent on oil products for production can indirectly moderate the prices of various inputs and outcomes of production including transportation, energy costs, secondary operating costs and service costs. These invariably bring down the prices of final goods purchased by consumers. When petroleum products are produced in excess locally, the final liberalization of the prices in the sector is gradually achieved.
WHAT IS NEXT?
Action they say speaks louder than voice. After the president’s speech of hope, what is next is the implementation of plans. Every government always has its policies that are sold to the citizens with the hope of a better life but the reality is, that not much is translated and less impact is felt. GDP can increase, foreign reserves can rise, financial market index can indicate a positive trajectory but if the average man cannot afford a bag of rice or can no longer afford to drink Garri all these amount to nothing.
Cost of living is too high for the common man to bear. Transportation, electricity, food items, housing etc are all no longer within the reach of the average man. What gives? Our leaders have to understand we have a ticking bomb in our hands. The sooner things begin to change, the better for a working and peaceful Nigeria.
The government may have largely gotten away with the national protests of August 2024 and the relative calm of its nature compared to the dimension national protests took in countries like Bangladesh and Kenya. The signs are there that if push comes to shove, Nigeria and indeed Nigerians may be heading toward that road. Taming the beast and feeding it whilst it is calm is an advice not to be ignored. The sooner things get back to good, the better it is for Nigeria and the fragile peace that is gradually fading away.
