Protests, discontent mar Nigeria’s 64th Independence Day celebrations
02 October 2024 |
5:50 am
Nigeria might have scored an inglorious first yesterday with what appeared to have been its most un-welcomed Independence Day. As the country marked the 64th anniversary of its existence, citizens took to the streets across several states to protest worsened economic hardship.
• Sowore, others call for a ‘new independence’, end to hardship
• Police disperse protesters in Port Harcourt
• Abuja residents wedged between celebration, security lockdown
• Kudos, knocks trail President’s anniversary speech
• Tinubu’s refusal to address protesters’ plight anti-democratic, says CUPP
Nigeria might have scored an inglorious first yesterday with what appeared to have been its most un-welcomed Independence Day. As the country marked the 64th anniversary of its existence, citizens took to the streets across several states to protest worsened economic hardship.
Perhaps weary and discouraged, many who didn’t join the demonstrations simply went about their everyday activities, caring little about the day’s significance.
In Lagos, demonstrators gathered under the Ikeja Bridge and in Ojota in an action dubbed #FearlessOctober1. The protest sought to draw attention to the country’s economic woes and demand immediate action from the government.
Organised by several civil society groups, the protest continued despite a heavy security presence, with demonstrators marching and chanting slogans while affirming their right to peaceful assembly.
The protest was the second of its kind nationwide in barely three months. The demonstrators’ key demands included a reduction in fuel prices, relief from the high cost of living, reduced government spending, electoral and human capital reforms, and better efforts to address insecurity.
Human rights activist and convener of the #RevolutionNow Movement, Omoyele Sowore, demanded the immediate and unconditional release of all detained protesters arrested during the #EndBadGovernance protests in August and #EndSARS protesters detained since 2020.
Sowore, a former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), also demanded the immediate and unconditional release of the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.
He said the protests were a struggle by the citizens for a new independence, stressing that the country’s leaders had not only failed Nigerians but had deliberately made life miserable for the people.
“We have called on Nigerians to exercise real independence because the independence granted to Nigerians in 1960 has become a burden to Nigerian citizens. Part of the problem in 1960 is that we got flag independence; we did not get real independence, so we were transferred from white colonialists to internal colonialism.
“We have asked Nigerians to commence a series of actions to get real independence and that starts today. We are very clear that this country needs a revolution. Nothing but a revolution can liberate Nigerians from the shackles of these people,” Sowore said.
Also, youths in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, took to the streets. The protesters gathered at various points across the city and expressed their frustration with Nigeria’s stagnant growth since Independence, lamenting that the hopes and promises of a better nation have yet to materialise.
Chanting slogans and carrying placards, they called for greater accountability from leaders and an end to what they described as oppressive governance, urging swift and tangible reforms to address the growing challenges faced by ordinary Nigerians.
One of the protesters, Adebayo Oladimeji, said: “We are out here today because 64 years after gaining independence, we are still struggling with basic needs like electricity, roads, and education. The government has failed us, and we will no longer remain silent. We demand accountability, and we want leaders who will prioritise the welfare of the people, not just their pockets.”
Another protester, Rachael Ayodele, emphasised the urgency for change: “Bad governance has crippled our future. We are protesting today not just for ourselves but for the generations to come. How long will we keep celebrating Independence without true freedom from poverty and oppression? We need leaders who will listen to the cries of the people and bring about real change.”
In Ondo State, youths also took to the streets of Akure, the state capital, to protest the current hardship. Under the banner of #RevolutionNow, they gathered at the busy Cathedral intersection and expressed their discontent with the President Bola Tinubu-led administration.
One of the protest leaders, Kunle Ajayi, known as ‘Wiseman’, demanded immediate action to address the high cost of staple foods and bring down inflation.
He highlighted growing frustration over the nationwide petrol price hike and accused the government of being insensitive to the plight of Nigerians. Ajayi noted that the government’s “anti-people policies” deepened the economic crisis, leaving Nigerians unable to cope.
“As you can see, Nigerians are angry and hungry due to the poor economic policies of Tinubu’s government,” he said. “Imagine the price of fuel! The high cost of food means ordinary people can no longer afford to eat properly. Do they want to kill us? Why isn’t this government listening to the people?”
He said: “There’s hunger in the land. Inflation is rampant because of poor and unfavourable economic policies. We demand an end to this suffering. They should immediately reinstate fuel subsidies and reduce electricity tariffs.
“This government continues to squander our resources and line their own pockets. We’ve had enough. They should let the common man breathe.”Another activist, Sola Adubiaro, added that the economic hardship severely impacted the plans of many self-reliant young Nigerians and entrepreneurs.
He warned that if the situation is not addressed, the country could face soaring unemployment, which would drive young people to crime. Despite the protest, business premises stayed open as residents went about their daily routines.
A combined team of armed police officers and Department of State Services Service personnel monitored the protest. In Osogbo, the Osun State capital, very few protesters gathered at the Old Garage area, with some organisers lamenting the low turnout of youths.
Many residents shunned the protest and went about their daily business. Checks by The Guardian revealed that the number of security personnel outnumbered the protesters.
When our correspondent approached one of the protest leaders, he requested anonymity and said, “The truth is that some of us have been bought off.” Another organiser suggested that President Tinubu’s anniversary speech, in which he mentioned an upcoming youth conference, might have caused some people to rethink their participation.
“Some of our youths decided not to show up after hearing about the conference. They felt that participating in the protest might disqualify them from being selected.”
Nevertheless, the protest, organised by the Coalition for Concerned Nigerians, started around 10:00 a.m. The protesters said their action was a response to the government’s failure to address the country’s economic hardship.
They gathered at Nelson Mandela Freedom Park in Osogbo and later marched to the Oke Fia area of the state capital. They were accompanied by security personnel from several agencies to prevent any breakdown of law and order.
Adetunji Ajala, the coordinator of the groups that made up the protest, said the Tinubu administration has brought nothing but suffering to the citizens.
“It is so sad that those in power have no sympathy for the masses. They squander our collective resources and introduce policies that make life unbearable for ordinary people.
“Enough is enough. Our demands during the EndBadGovernance protest have not been met, and we will continue to protest as long as they are unwilling to do what the people want.”
THE coordinator of the Coalition of Concerned Nigeria Citizens (CCNC), Adetunji Ajala, said yesterday that the growing hardship, poverty, and frustration faced by the majority of the citizenry were responsible for the people’s anger against President Tinubu’s government and its economic policies.
Ajala made this disclosure while reviewing the conduct of the Independence Day ‘EndBadGovernance’ protest in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, during a chat with journalists.
He said: “The essence of this protest is simply to tell the government that we are not happy with its policies.” He explained that contrary to the expectation that Tinubu’s policies would address the myriad socio-economic problems confronting the people, many Nigerians have been ravaged by poverty and other societal problems.
Ajala said, “We were able to achieve our objective peacefully because there was no looting, no burning of tyres, and no attack on anyone or any personality.
“And we were able to exercise our right as citizens of this country, and the people that participated in the protest were of good conduct, and the security agencies were professional and civil.
“The Coalition, as the major recognised body for this protest, is ending ours (protest) today because it’s a one-day event.” Earlier in the day, the protesters stormed major streets in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, saying the only solution to Nigeria’s current challenges lies in the reversal of harsh economic policies implemented by the Federal Government.
The protesters marched through prominent neighbourhoods and converged on the popular Nelson Mandela Freedom Park in Osogbo around 9:45 a.m. They demanded that Tinubu urgently reverse the removal of petrol subsidies to reduce the high cost of living and address soaring prices of foodstuffs and other essential commodities.
Our correspondent, who monitored the protest, sighted a combined team of security agencies escorting the protesters along the routes to maintain law and order.
Police patrol vehicles were also stationed in strategic locations to prevent hoodlums from hijacking the protest. Clashes erupted in Port Harcourt as police officers, allegedly accompanied by political thugs, dispersed protesters who had gathered for the demonstration.
The protesters initially assembled at Pleasure Park along the Port Harcourt-Aba Expressway but were swiftly chased away by police. Despite attempts to regroup in Rumuola, the authorities again scattered the protesters.
This action followed a stern warning issued by the Rivers State Police Commissioner, Olatunji Disu, against protesters blocking roads and harassing citizens.
The police enforced stringent security measures in key areas of Port Harcourt to prevent further gatherings. Disu had previously assured the public of adequate security during the Independence Day celebrations, deploying personnel across strategic locations.
A statement released by the Police Public Relations Officer, Grace Iringe-Koko, reiterated the police’s awareness of the planned protests and urged residents to avoid any actions that could disrupt peace and order.
Nigeria’s capital city marked Independence Day with starkly contrasting celebrations and an unprecedented security lockdown in the Central Business District (CBD).
While citizens in many areas embraced the national holiday with parades and displays of patriotism, the heart of the city was transformed into a virtual fortress.
Over 200 military and police vehicles, including armoured tanks and personnel carriers, were deployed to the CBD, with an estimated 1,000 security personnel guarding sensitive government locations.
Eagle Square, the traditional focal point for Independence Day celebrations, was heavily secured, as were the National Secretariat and the National Assembly, effectively creating a “ring of steel” around the CBD.
This heavy security presence, while intended to prevent potential protests, created an atmosphere of intimidation. Journalists were reportedly warned against taking pictures, and major thoroughfares were closed to commercial vehicles, further amplifying the sense of lockdown.
The CBD, typically a hub of activity, was eerily quiet, resembling a ghost town. This contrasted sharply with the relative normalcy of other parts of Abuja, such as Wuye, Wuse, Maitama, and Garki, where residents went about their daily lives with little disruption. Businesses operated as usual, markets remained crowded, and traffic flowed freely.
Despite the calm in these areas, the heavy-handed security measures in the CBD overshadowed the celebrations. Police enforced a strict exclusion zone, turning away vehicles and pedestrians from key roads. Even journalists with official identification were reportedly denied access.
The authorities’ actions successfully deterred any form of protest but sparked debate about the balance between security and freedom of expression on a day meant to celebrate national unity.
Pro-government supporters, however, voiced their approval of the security measures. While the lockdown impacted businesses in the CBD, street vendors selling national flags capitalised on the patriotic fervour elsewhere.
Also, the FCT police command dismissed allegations of police brutality at Utako Market, stating that officers intervened to prevent looting, further highlighting the underlying tension.
MEANWHILE, mixed reactions trailed President Tinubu’s nationwide broadcast on the anniversary. While some Nigerians commended him for acknowledging the hardships faced by the population, others dismissed his speech as “uninspiring and lacking in substance.”
His promise to organise a National Youth Conference also attracted divergent reactions, with many questioning the outcome of previous conferences in Nigeria.
In his broadcast, Tinubu described the upcoming conference as a platform to address the diverse challenges facing Nigeria’s youth, who comprise over 60 per cent of the population.
The President promised that the event would focus on key issues such as education, employment, innovation, security, and social justice. He stressed that young people would be involved in shaping the agenda through dialogue with policymakers.
The President also took the opportunity to appeal to Nigerians for patience and assure them that he is committed to fostering inclusive development for the country.
He said, “As I address you today, I am deeply aware of the struggles many of you face in these challenging times. Our administration knows that many of you struggle with rising living costs and the search for meaningful employment. I want to assure you that your voices are heard.
“As your President, I assure you that we are committed to finding sustainable solutions to alleviate the suffering of our citizens. Once again, I plead for your patience as the reforms we are implementing show positive signs, and we are beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel.”
However, the Conference of United Political Parties (CUPP) criticised Tinubu’s refusal to address the demands of protesters who have demanded good governance.
CUPP maintained that the speech fell short of expectations, particularly in addressing the plight of peaceful protesters and prisoners of conscience. National Secretary, Chief Peter Ameh, argued that by not acknowledging the protesters’ struggles, the President missed an opportunity to uphold the fundamental principles of democracy, which recognise dissent and protest as essential components of a healthy democracy.
CUPP said: “In his Democracy Day speech, President Tinubu emphasised the importance of economic democracy, stating that ‘the realisation of our economic democracy’ is essential. However, actions speak louder than words. The government must take concrete steps to support farmers, invest in agricultural infrastructure, and promote economic diversification,” it noted.
“The President’s speech also highlighted the sacrifices of past heroes who fought for democracy. Yet, by not addressing the current struggles of peaceful protesters, he failed to honour their legacy.
“As Nigeria celebrates another year of independence, it is crucial that we reflect on our democratic values and principles. We must hold our leaders accountable for their actions and demand that they prioritise the well-being of all Nigerians.”
In his response, Adewole Adebayo, the presidential candidate for the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the previous general election, expressed disappointment with the President’s speech, describing it as “uninspiring and inappropriate”.
Adebayo, however, urged Nigerians not to lose faith in democracy, stressing the importance of collective action to tackle socio-economic challenges. While advocating for the enforcement of Chapter 2 of the Constitution to ensure that the government prioritises the welfare of all citizens, he noted the significance of socio-economic justice, accessible education, healthcare, housing, and security.
He pointed out that “Sixty-four years after gaining independence, Nigeria is still struggling to meet basic needs such as accessible education, healthcare, housing, and security. Enforcing Chapter 2 will guarantee that our governance prioritises the welfare and well-being of all citizens, promoting socio-economic justice and equality.”
He added: “By implementing Chapter 2, we can create a Nigeria where justice, equality, and prosperity prevail. The future of Nigeria depends on our collective commitment to fair and equitable governance.”
A policy analyst and Professor of Critical Discourse Analysis at Rivers State University, Fred Amadi, said that the tone of President Tinubu’s anniversary message is reassuring, though hampered by formulaic expressions.
According to Amadi, “It would have been applauded, for instance, if the hackneyed phrase ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ in the second paragraph was couched in a more elaborate variant such as ‘our reforms have grown our foreign reserves from a meagre X billion dollars when we assumed office to the present Y billion dollars’.
“The section of the speech on the effort to gain food security is laudable. So is the section on the youth conference. Though the omission of an assurance that the outcome of such a conference will not suffer the fate of previous conferences casts an ominous shadow on the promise.”
REACTING, to the President’s promise of a youth confab, the Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC-Nigeria) welcomed the decision cautiously. The Executive Director of YEAC-Nigeria, Fyneface Dumnamene Fyneface, said most Nigerians are looking forward to the confab, adding: “If it is genuinely intended and backed by the political will to implement its outcome, even if it requires constitutional amendments, it is a welcome development.”
Fyneface, a policy and public affairs analyst, urged the President to decentralise the gathering, starting at the state and regional levels nationwide, before holding a national gathering in Abuja, FCT.
He said: “The conference should start at the state levels simultaneously within a week and conclude with the recommendations taken to the regional levels in the six geopolitical zones in the country for deeper deliberations and fine-tuning.
“The recommendations from each state in the zone would then proceed to the national level with delegates from the 36 states gathering in Abuja, FCT for final harmonisation, publication and presentation to the National Assembly for enactment into an Act of Parliament and integration into the Constitution for implementation.”
Also speaking on the proposed conference, the founder of Youth Care Initiative for Development (YCID) Ibadan, Pastor Tokunbo Gboyega, said: “What kind of 30-day conference is that? You expect the youths to sit down for 30 days without a future? Is it to buy the youths? I don’t understand what the president is doing.”
For his part, the immediate past Secretary-General of the Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE), Dr Kunle Olajide, said: “What Nigerian youths need now is food. They need security, mass employment and peace.”
The Executive Director of the Young and Woman Initiative, Ambassador Agbeja Adebobola, said: “It depends on the goals of this initiative, or whether it is just another distraction. It could be a platform for youth voices, to foster new ideas, and help address issues that directly affect young people, like education, employment and social development. If the right young people from diverse backgrounds are brought together to ensure transparent discussion and implementation, it’s a good way forward, but anything short of this, it’s just another jamboree and window dressing.”
However, Professor Oyesoji Aremu of Human Development Studies, University of Ibadan (UI), said: “The President spoke very well and was empathetic towards Nigerians. This, I must say, is salutary on his part. One takeaway from the address is the proposition to have a youth confab. This is another demonstration of the fact that a series of protests by the youth are getting the attention of the government.
“I am, however, sceptical about the proposed confab as there might be methodological flaws in its constitution. Besides, the challenges confronting the country are not peculiar to the youth alone. Instead, what the country needs is a large convocation of different groups of people. Even with this, resolutions from such a national gathering are not always put into effect. Nigeria must get it right, as in the next six years, the country will be 70.”
The Southwest Coordinator of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), John Alao, and the national president of the Yoruba Youth Socio-Cultural Association (YYSA), Hammed Olalekan, lauded the move.
Alao said: “It’s a good one and a welcome development. Yes, the conference will proffer solutions to many of our problems as a nation. A nation’s future is dependent on the quality of youth it produces. Their dynamism, energy, creativity and potential are the fundamentals for a formidable nation. They are, in fact, the backbone, core strength and hope of tomorrow. The youths are the greatest asset any country can ever boast of. They hold the key to a nation’s future; driving societal changes, economic growth, and technological advancement.”
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) criticised the proposed conference as a wasteful and ineffective exercise designed to deflect attention from the government’s failures, dismissing the promise as “hollow”.
The group argued that similar initiatives in the past, including various national conferences, failed to produce tangible results or lasting change.
“History has shown that such conferences are nothing but wasted efforts, absorbing vast amounts of public funds without delivering real solutions. This youth conference will be no different,” the group emphasised.
HURIWA, in a statement by its national coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, condemned the conference as a superficial attempt to engage with the youth while ignoring the pressing issues confronting Nigeria’s young population.
The former Chairman of the Kaduna State chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Joseph Hayab, said that the President’s speech gave Nigerians a lot of hope, except that he hoped it would not end up like the previous Independence Day broadcasts they have been accustomed to.
Hayab said the fact that Mr President confirmed that over 300 leaders of the Boko Haram sect have been eliminated in the last one and a half years is an indication that the country is dealing with a massive insecurity challenge, which requires that all hands must be on deck if it is to be addressed.
Hayab said that given the rampant insecurity despite government efforts since July last year, there is a need for more collaboration among Nigerians.
While he commended the government’s efforts on insecurity, Hayab said more still needs to be done to address the challenge.
However, Sam Agbetuyi, a prominent member of the Yoruba Unity Forum, expressed scepticism about President Tinubu’s statements and doubted that any positive outcomes could arise for Nigeria.
He urged President Tinubu to provide evidence of the administration’s claim that 300 Boko Haram leaders have been eliminated in the past year, stating, “I can’t easily believe that assertion. What we truly desire is for the regions to go their separate ways and have the opportunity to progress at their own pace.”
Tinubu’s Speech: facts and fallacies
President Bola Tinubu yesterday told Nigerians, many of whom are living by a thread, that he is aware of their struggles and that the economic reforms his administration has embarked on in the past year are meant to prevent the “peril of unimaginable consequences.”
The President admitted the reforms come with some pains, such as “rising living costs”. However, he noted that “we are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel”, a position many Nigerians have faulted, insisting that the standard of living continues to deteriorate.
Just last month, the price of PMS was raised by about N1,000, while consumers in some states pay as much as N1,200. With fuel becoming a major driver of price movement, the cost of transportation and essential commodities has continued to increase, a point some said Tinubu’s optimism failed to consider.
As typical of political leaders, the President mentioned some figures, which he assumed pointed to the government’s progress. For instance, he told Nigerians that the administration has cleared the N30 trillion ways and means facility it inherited.
At the twilight of President Buhari Tinubu’s administration, the National Assembly hurriedly passed a request for the securitisation of the outstanding N22.7 trillion ways and means facility. The President had lamented that the cost of servicing the debt, which attracted an interest equivalent to the prevailing monetary policy rate plus 300 basis points, would be unbearable; hence, it needed to be converted to bonds.
On May 4, 2023, the Debt Management Office disclosed in a notice published on its website that the amount was successfully securitised and a 40-year bond in its equivalent issued to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) at an interest rate of nine per cent. The Federal Government, thus, was handed a three-year moratorium while the repayment of the sum spread across 37 years.
With the disclosure, the principal and interest payment is spread until 2063. The DMO revealed that the Ways and Means advances would henceforth be included in the public debt. In the second quarter of last year, when the total debt stock was quoted at over N87.3 trillion, the DMO explained that the debt ballooned because the N22.71 trillion ways and means facility was included in the debt stock.
The securitisation does not reduce the debt owed by the Federal Government but only moves it from the book of the apex bank to DMO for management, an action experts said would increase the transparency of the ways and means management.
Whereas the cost of servicing the debt would stand at 30.25 per cent, the government currently pays nine per cent, according to the terms of the securitisation, which the DMO said has nothing to do with fresh borrowing.
Reports said the government took a fresh N4.05 trillion in CBN overdraft in addition to the restructured sum between January and September 2023. The restructuring request was made to the National Assembly alongside the 2023 budget proposal.
Other reports said the pending figure had ballooned to N30 trillion at the end of the administration of Buhari. At another forum, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun commenced an investigation to ascertain the actual indebtedness to the CBN through the ways and means window.
About four months ago, during an interview with Channels, Edun claimed the Federal Government had settled N7.3 trillion out of the amount owed the CBN. The Guardian checks on the Government Integrated Financial and Management Information System (GIFMIS) show that provision for the CBN overdraft stopped in the second half of last year, which coincides with the period Tinubu took over the affairs of the states fully.
Yesterday, the President also claimed that it has attracted over $30 billion in foreign investment in the last year. Where there are lots of commitments from different foreign interests, the officially documented foreign investment figure may be far less than what the President claimed.
For the whole of 2023 (recall the President assumed office almost mid-year), Nigeria attracted $3.9 billion in foreign investment, a far cry from its height ($23.99 billion) in 2019 and $1.4 billion less $5.3 billion recorded in 2022. In the first quarter of this year, it surged reasonably (to $3.4 billion). However, the growth was not enough to raise the figure to match the figure with the President’s claim. The country would need to have exceeded the cumulative growth of foreign investment seen from last year till the first quarter of this year in the second and third quarters to achieve the $30 billion Tinubu claimed the government has pooled in the past year.
According to the President, the administration has cleared a $7 billion outstanding foreign exchange backlog. Indeed, the CBN has cleared much of the backlog. But the correlation with the President’s claim stops at that. That the apex back cleared $7 billion contradicts the CBN’s position, which states that $2.4 billion out of the outstanding sum is invalid.
The CBN governor, Yemi Cardoso, disclosed that the outcome of an audit carried out by Deloitte shows that $2.4 billion is invalid. In March, the Acting Director of Corporate Communications of the CBN, Hakama Sidi-Ali, said the bank had paid the last tranche of the valid outstanding, which was $1.5 billion, bringing the total settled FX backlog to $4.6 billion, which is $2.4 billion less than the President’s claim.
The CBN data does not show the exact value of the external reserve on May 29, 2023, when the President took the reins of office. However, on May 30, a day after the handover ceremony, the total external reserve was $35.094 billion. The liquid component was $34.41 billion, while the non-liquid sum was slightly above $780 million. On May 26, the last reported date before the President assumed leadership, the composite external reserve was $35.15 billion. Both figures are over six per cent above Tinubu’s acclaimed $33 billion inherited foreign reserves.
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