• Says moves to suppress action unconstitutional
• I’m working hard to cushion hardship, President reassures
• Threatening peaceful protesters unlawful, Amnesty Int’l warns
• UN: Demonstrations likely to be hijacked
• Don’t destroy your country, IGP warns protesters
Former vice president and presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has thrown his weight behind the planned nationwide protests against hunger and widespread hardship in Nigeria, scheduled to begin on August 1.
In a statement yesterday, Atiku criticised the government of President Bola Tinubu for attempting to suppress the protesters, describing it as an exercise in futility.
He noted that Nigerians, including supporters of Tinubu and the ruling APC, are affected by the hunger, anger, and hopelessness caused by the government’s incompetence and cluelessness.
Atiku emphasised that the right to protest is enshrined in the Nigerian Constitution and affirmed by the courts, citing Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees the right to peaceful assembly and association. He described it as ironic that those who now seek to stifle these rights were themselves leading protests in 2012.
The former vice president called on the government to ensure a safe and secure environment for citizens to exercise their constitutionally guaranteed rights to peaceful protest. He warned that any attempt to suppress these rights is unconstitutional and a direct affront to democracy.
This came as President Tinubu pleaded with aggrieved Nigerians, especially youths, putting the final touches on a planned nationwide protest over the high cost of living to shelve the action, saying there was no need for it.
The President also assured those behind the protest that he had heard their grievances and was working seriously to address all concerns. Minister of Information and National Orientation Mohammed Idris conveyed the President’s plea while speaking with reporters after meeting President Tinubu at the State House, Abuja.
The Minister revealed that in the closed-door meeting, general issues in the country were discussed, and the President said he was working assiduously to ensure that the country’s economy is placed in a good position.
He said: “We discussed the issue of the country generally, and Mr President has asked me to inform Nigerians again that he listens to them, especially the young people who are trying to protest.
“Mr President is listening to them. He takes what they say seriously and is working assiduously to ensure that this country is good for today and the future.
“The issue of the planned protest, Mr President does not see any need for that. He’s asked them to shelve that plan, and he’s asked them to await the government’s response to all their pleas.
“He has listened to them, like I said, and a lot is happening. Only today, the National Assembly expeditiously passed the Bill on National Minimum Wage. You can see how the President is working. It was transmitted only yesterday (Monday), and today (Tuesday), it has been passed.
“A lot of other interventions that the President has put in place are also going to be looked at expeditiously in the interest of Nigerians.
“So, there’s no need to strike. The young people should listen to the President and allow him more time to see the realisation of all the goodies he has for them.” Idris further highlighted other policies put in place by the government to cushion the effect of hardship Nigerians are feeling in town. He said the federal government approved grains and rice for state governments, which had been delivered expeditiously, stressing that it was just the first step.
He said: “Highlights of other policies to cushion the effect of Nigerians’ hardship are being felt in town. For example, you saw that the federal government approved grains and rice for state governments, which was also delivered to them expeditiously. As I said, it is just the necessary first step; the government will continue in that direction, supporting them and ensuring that whatever interventions the federal government has put in place go to those that should benefit.
“The federal government is looking at strategies that every intervention would go directly to those who benefit from those interventions, not middlemen.
“You heard about the student loan board launched by the President. Mr President is very passionate about deepening that. Everyone that should go to school will have the opportunity to go to school.”
REGARDING the planned protest, Inspector General of Police Kayode Egbetokun said the action was ill-advised, urging citizens to abandon the idea. During a meeting with Commissioners of Police and AIGs in Abuja, Egbetokun noted that the country has had its fair share of violent protests with dire consequences.
The IGP said the #EndSARS protest aggravated crime rates and insecurity in several parts of the country. He said: “Before concluding this address, it is essential I address an issue of urgent national importance which appears to have gained some momentum, particularly on social media, in the past few weeks.
“Some groups of people, self-appointed crusaders and influencers, have been strategising and mobilising potential protesters to unleash terror in the land under the guise of replicating the recent Kenyan protests.
“While the force acknowledges the right to peaceful protest as enshrined in our constitution, we must ensure that these protests do not snowball into violence or disorder.
“As a nation, we have had more than our fair share of violent protests, with rather dastardly consequences. The #EndSARS protest led to one-tenth destruction of public assets, including police stations, courts, and transport infrastructure, and the loss of several lives.
“Tales of sorrow, tears, and blood followed what was supposed to be a well-intentioned exercise. Rather than lead to any positive outcome, #EndSARS merely aggravated crime rates and insecurity in several parts of the country. Indeed, we are yet to fully recover from the huge economic losses and deep-seated psychological and emotional trauma inflicted upon our people by these protests.”
He urged the citizens to scrap the proposed protest, adding that the police are responsible for protecting citizens and their properties. Egbetokun added: “We have mapped out plans to ensure that no individual or group succeeds in imposing a reign of terror and anarchy on other law-abiding Nigerians.
“I want to seize this opportunity to sound the note of serious warning to hoodlums who may want to take laws into their own hands in the name of protests. Do not worry.”
ALSO, the United Nations (UN) Department of Safety and Security warned that groups with ulterior motives might hijack the planned protests in Nigeria. In a threat and risk assessment finding dated July 19, the UN expressed concerns about the possibility of violence, citing past instances where similar protests in Nigeria escalated.
“Recall that in the February 13-16, 2023 interval, tensions generated by the paucity of new naira currency (financial crisis) reached high levels among the civilian population, which materialised in violent protests in the South-East and South-South regions of Nigeria, in the states of Akwa Ibom, Delta, Edo, Imo, Kwara, Lagos, Ondo, Ogun, Oyo, and Rivers,” the threat and risk assessment reads.
“During the civil unrest in the different states, several bank branches and ATM points were vandalised, and major roads were blocked.
“As the turnout for the ‘10 days of rage’ protest is expected to be high, large-scale disruptions to normal economic and social activities cannot be discounted.”
The threat assessment also showed that confrontations between groups supporting the government and those disagreeing with its policies cannot be ruled out from the end of July towards August 10-15.
“While acknowledging the economic hardship in the country, some organisations and leaders of ethnic groups (especially in South-South and South-East) were discouraging participation in any of the August 1-10 protests (e.g., Ọhanaeze Ndigbo, a socio-cultural organisation in Nigeria, claiming to represent the interests of all Igbo),” the UN said.
“This highlights the possibility of the events being hijacked by other interest groups/detractors, thus complicating the security landscape of different areas.”
MEANWHILE, Amnesty International cautioned the federal government against threatening Nigerians planning to protest against the current hardship and hunger in the country.
In a post on X, the organisation reacted to comments made by a presidential aide, Olusegun Dada, who warned that threatening intended peaceful protesters is unlawful.
Dada had warned: “Those who want to burn the country down under whatever guise will meet the strongest resistance of their lives, not from security agencies, but from the silent majority that gave their mandate to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for four years in the first instance. We are waiting.”
However, reacting, AI stated that Nigerians have the constitutional right to protest.
“Threatening peaceful protesters is unlawful. It is an apparent attack on freedom of assembly, which is guaranteed by international law and Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution:
“Nigerians must not be denied the constitutionally and internationally guaranteed right to peaceful protest through veiled threats of violence and false insinuations,” the post read.
