Looming protest: Prevention is better than preparedness

In response to social media agent-provocateurs urging Nigerians to join their planned protests against poor governance, various activists, civil society organisations and individuals are reportedly mobilising. It is perhaps pertinent to remind prospective protestors of the essence of democracy. It’s essentially a system to facilitate the peaceful transfer of power after a specified time period. […]

In response to social media agent-provocateurs urging Nigerians to join their planned protests against poor governance, various activists, civil society organisations and individuals are reportedly mobilising. It is perhaps pertinent to remind prospective protestors of the essence of democracy. It’s essentially a system to facilitate the peaceful transfer of power after a specified time period. Democracy’s strength is that it subjugates the coercive power of the mob, while its weakness is that while it determines the government you get, it doesn’t guarantee that you get the one you want! There must be winners and losers.

Section 40 of the Nigerian Constitution which guarantees the right to peaceful protest assumes that protests will take place under recognised leadership and will be related to specific policies or events. It is unfortunate that social media agent-provocateurs are irresponsibly calling for an illegal “total unyielding, relentless revolt with mass disobedience”.

The constitution clearly spells out the manner in which government can be legally changed and mass disobedience is not one of them. Security agents must find out who these agent-provocateurs are, and ensure that they face the legal penalty for incitement.

The president’s spokespersons must accept part of the blame for the discontent. They should be reprimanded for ceaselessly making unbefitting pronouncements against political opponents, youths and ethnic groups, despite the fact that the planned protests are not restricted by ethnicity, religion or region. They are misleading their boss into thinking that the widespread disaffection is the work of political opponents which of course is not true.

No politician has control over mass protests by Nigerian youths who are mainly influenced by social media and internet posts, not political jobbers. Opposition political parties are merely jumping on the bandwagon after this administration’s economic policies and insensitivity towards mass suffering served to deepen poverty and increase discontent.

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) must also accept its share of the blame. The planned protests concern demands for better governance and an end to inappropriate knee-jerk responses to issues. Admittedly, poor governance didn’t start in 2023; it’s ingrained in Nigerian democracy. Wanton profligacy, monumental corruption, inefficient policing, judicial rascality and breaches of constitutional restraints have been the norm since 1999. The real problem for the current administration is that its policies have not brought about perceivable or tangible improvements in living conditions, and the plight of ordinary citizens is undeniably worsening daily. Growing poverty invites anarchy because he who is down fears no fall!

Perhaps the biggest failure of political appointees in this administration is their woeful failure to properly articulate any defining ideology or populist agenda for our president. It’s surprising and somewhat disappointing that President Tinubu has not got rid of the majority of them or even reshuffled his cabinet in response to their poor performance.

While blame can be apportioned to both the Presidency and FEC, in truth, the main failure of Nigeria has been the failure of the National Assembly (NASS) to carry out its duties honourably and patriotically. Filled with “honourable members” of doubtful pedigree, suspect academic qualifications, and dubious character, the NASS members who are responsible for ensuring good governance are mostly bereft of vision and motivated mainly by sharing money.

Conscious of the increasing contempt in which they are regarded, the House of Representatives members resolved to cut their salaries by 50 per cent for six months. Considering that less than 10 per cent of their monthly income is from salary, and the 50 per cent they retain is over 10 times the minimum wage, this is an aptly described an “insult to the collective sensibilities and intelligence of Nigerians!’’ If they genuinely desire to make positive impact and change, then they should reduce their allowances, desist from budget padding, and also dispense with constituency projects.

Those concerned Nigerians urging dialogue are unable to satisfactorily answer the question “dialogue with whom, for what and why?” Wiser heads in this administration must know that trying to discourage youths from protests by issuing threats is not the most advisable course of action. Youths are already irked by the fact that while security agencies cannot organise to stop insurgents, kidnappers or robbers from operating freely, they are always ready, willing and able to brutalise unarmed youths!

Be that as it may, security agencies must be committed to not allowing mob rule if protests turn violent or involve destruction of property. The truth is that as long as our nation continues to be devoid of social justice, equity and opportunity, whoever is in charge will likely face street protests manipulated by agent-provocateurs to deteriorate into violence and anarchy.

With a new insufficient minimum wage in place for the next three years, urgent steps must be taken to stem inflation and prevent future calls for protests due to economic mismanagement. It is imperative that government takes proactive steps to address the issues fueling discontent.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has confirmed that well over half the population lives in multi-dimensional poverty. Nigeria leads the world in out-of-school children, government schools and universities are decrepit, underfunded, and underfunded and there is massive unemployment of youths with no marketable job skills.

The government would be well advised to relieve discontent by using part of their borrowed money to create employment opportunities and adjust petroleum, electricity and foodstuff prices downwards. As prevention is better than cure, so is preempting a breakdown of law and order is better than preparing to use force to subdue it.