By Suleiman Umaru and Lateef Adegbite
The planned hunger and hardship protest by aggrieved Nigerians in the upcoming month of August, 2024, appears to have divided the country on tribal and ethnic lines.
The eight years of former President Muhammadu Buhari Buhari’s Administration had thrown the country into economic mess that may not have been noticeable because of the heavy external borrowing to block the loopholes like payment of fuel subsidy to marketers on fuel importation from Europe and the North American country of the United States into the country.
Indeed, the hunger and hardship prevailing in the country during the Buharis Administration was sad to have been worse over the last one year that President Tinubu A had mounted the saddle with the Administration’s ongoing economic reforms.
The incumbent Nigerian President may have played into the hands of Nigerians as he speedily act out a script that had been prepared by then Buhari’s administration :removal of fuel subsidy an d unification of the country’ official and parallel, popular, black market foreign exchange rates market to show that he was a bold and courageous Leader.
The former Katsina state born Nigerian President had planned to remove the subsidy on petrol, which had been in operation over the last 50 years and float the naira at the country’s forex market but that was how far he could go.
He may have been foot dragging in going ahead with the removal of the fuel subsidy or float the naira at the forex market because of the fear of throwing the country into crisis because of hunger and hardship. He was said to have resorted to external borrowing to cover up loopholes to the neglect of the country’s economic challenges.
He was said to have regularly approached the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, IMF, Paris club, London Club and other multilateral financial Institutions including the Asian country of China for loans to run the government.
In spite of the damage that was said to have been done to the economy by the then Buhari’s Administration, Vice President Kashim Shettima, who would want Nigerians to be patient with the Nigeria President who is ‘’committed to the Nigerian Project ‘’ describing it as an ‘’intercalation project’’.
Muhammadu Sanusi, a former governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and now reinstated as the Emir of Kano, by Abba Kabir YUsuf,of the ruling New Nigerian People’s Party, NNPP, government, had repeatedly said that ‘’ it would be unfair for people to criticize Tinubu, for the country’s economic woes’’, stating that the immediate past Administration of Buhari should be blamed for its badly managed economic policies.
Aware of the implications of the planned hunger and hardship protest, Rabiu Kwankwaso, a former governor of Kano state, had part whoicipated at the last Federal 25, 2023, Presidential elections as the Candidate of the NNPP, had said that the planned hunger and hardship protest was not necessary.
Putting on the garb of a politician, the former Kano state governor was said to have called on the Nigerian Youths who are no longer finding funny with the country’s economic situation precipitated by alleged bad governance’’ to employ the power of the ballot box to resolve the economic hardship in the country’’ instead of embarking on protest that may through the nation into further crisis. The next general election in Nigeria that would usher in a new government would be in 2027.
Senator Kwankwanso, who could not hide his feelings would want Nigerians’’ to be good followers by giving all the necessary support to the Tinubu’s Administration to succeed’’ He was emphatic that Nigerians have opportunity to elect a new Leader through the ballot box I 2027,who can bring ‘’the required change in the economy’’.
However, he fears that the protest if allowed to hold with the Federal Government taking the necessary steps to stop it will lead ‘’to loss of lives, destruction of property and widespread chaos’’. Take for instance, at Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Josephine Adeh, a Superintendent of Police and the Command spokesperson, had said a total of 4200 officers have been deployed to curb any form of violence that might arise during the protest. The situation is the same in Ibadan, PortHarcout, Benincity, Kaduna, Kano and other major cities in the country.
He was said to have appealed to the security agencies, particular, led Nigerian police, NPF, under the close watch of Kayode Egbetokun, who should heave a sigh of relief that the National Assembly had passed the executive bill presented to it by the President to give approval for him to spend his four year-term in office in spite of the fact that he would attain the mandatory 60 years of age, retirement next September.
When it obvious that the sponsors of the protest are demined to go ahead with it , Bayo Onanuga, Special Advise to President Tinubu, on Communications and Strategy, had accused Peter Obi, a former governor of Anambra state and his supporters of ‘’ plotting to unseat Tinubu’’ under the guise of hunger and hardship protest, which he had denied.
Describing it as a ploy by he Presidency to heat up the polity, Yunusa Tanko, spokesperson of the former Labour Party flag bearer in the last 2023, Presidential election Media office had said that ‘’the unsubstantiated allegations of planned hunger and hardship protests leveled against Obi, the former Anambra state governor was a ploy ‘‘to arrest him and stop his propagation of good governance, which the Presidency had found injurious to their lavish lifestyle’’.
There is no gain saying the fact that ever since, the angry Nigerian Youths gave signal of going to embark on the hunger and hardship protest, Ysuf Magaji Bichi, led Department of State Services, DSS, which has been working underground over the last couple of months by deploying both material and human resources across the nooks and crannies of country had said the sponsors of the protest had been identifies and would be known to public soon.
While Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN and Human Rights Activist, had notified the security agencies of the planned hunger and hardship protest in August , 2024, he was aid to have requested the IGP and DSS, boss, to provide adequate protection to the protesters to avoid molestation during procession by the non-governmental body: Take Back Movement and its members including patriotic Nigerians and other Groups.
Edward Buba, an Army Major General and Director of Defence Operations, was said to have warned that ‘’the military would not allow anarchy to befall Nigeria’’. Given an insider information, he had said that the organisers of the planned August, 2024, protest intention is ‘’to replicate the recent protest -turn-anarchy demonstration in the East African country of Kenya.
The message was clear that the military would take the last orders from President Tinubu, who is their Commander –In –Chief, to ensure that there is peace is the country.The Army Chief disclosed that the military had uncovered plots by some unscrupulous elements to hijack the protest and turn it into a violent one by attacking innocent Nigerians and their business.
, The Organisers of the planned hunger and hardship protest were said to have released a list of 15 demands which must be met by the Tinubu’s Administration to sheath their sword. The demands include: to scrap the 1999, imposed Constitution to the country by national referendum, as well as put the national minimum wage N250,000.00 monthly.
Recall that The former Lagos state governor had agreed to peg the country’s minimum wage at the N250,000, Monthly on one condition to increae fuel price. Give and take, the Organised Labour Ledership had rejected the proposed fuel price increase which may make nonsense of the new minimum wage as it quickly jumped on the N70,000.00 initially proposed by the President which the National Assembly had passed and signed into Law by the President. TheN250,000.00 minimum national minimum wage demand by the organisers of the nationwide may have been dead on arrival.
They were said to have also asked the Nigerian government to hardship invest more funds on education to give Nigerian students loans to pursue their education without break because of the hardship in the country. They were said to have also urged the government to implement Free Education Programme across the country to ensure more children enroll in schools.
They we Moreso, they were said to have made some impossible demands like the releae of Nnadi Kanu, the acclaimed Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, who is currently in the custody of the DSS. The IPOB, Leader according to legal experts may not be released on political ground by the President because the case is still in Court. Buhari, a former Nigerian President had sounded loud and clear that it is only the Court that can release and IPOB Leader and not the government.
The Organisers of the planned August protest, were said to have further sed would the government ‘’to reinstate a corruption-free subsidy regime to reduce hunger, hardship and multi-dimensional poverty across the country. This is in addition to restructuring Nigeria to accommodate the country’s diversity, resource control, and decentralization to facilitate regional development.
But Chidi Odinkalu, former Chairman of National Human Rights Commission would want the organizer of the planned August protest to forget about restructuring Nigeria under Tinubu, insisting that theformer Lagos state governor can’t champion the devolution of powers to the Federating units because it will threaten the powers enjoyed by the Federal Authorities. There were said to be other demand that were said to have been made by the organisers of planned hunger and hardship protest.
Despite moves being made by the security and intelligence agencies to stop the protest by tightening up security in the 36 states of the Federation and the FCT, the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja, Lagos, the nation’s Commerial neve centre and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, FCT, appears to have become a home for the governors, who were said to have handed over power to their Deputies in their respective states in the guise going on vacation, Federal Lawmakers and some other top raking government officials both at the Federal and state levels who are in a hurry to leave the country to avoid being caught up in the protest.
The Nigerian President, on his part , had said that the sponsors of the planned August 2024, nationwide protest ‘’do not love the Nigeria as they have alternative Passports to leave the country at given opportunity and could hold meetings virtually across the world’’
The Presiden may have shocked Nigerians when he remarked recently that he is not under manipulation by any interest group, within the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC, or outside the party, in implementing the ongoing economic reforms iniated by his government.
He has reason. This is because his Campaign to become the President of Nigeria, the most populous country in the African Continent was’’ self –sponsored, without strings or indebtedness to any individual or institution’’. I have no cabal and no sponsors, he had said.
He noted that even at some point that the then Buhari’s Administration had come out with some monetary policies that ensured that he banks were locked to frustrate him from withdrawing money to fund his Campaigns w but he was still able to weather the storm, to become the President of Nigeria today.
An aggrieved President Tinubu, had said that the planned August, 2024, ‘’protests is fueled by anger and hate and could degenerate to violence and set the country backward’’. His major worry was that’’ the organisers of the planned hunger and hardship protest hold meetings in artificial settings and sponsor anger across the country’’;.
