Protest: Head or tail, we may all end up losers

By Tunde Rahman

All hell has been let loose, and the centre can no longer hold in Kenya over the tax revolt that has been ravaging that East-African country since June. In the wake of the crisis, a part of the parliament building was razed down by arsonists. Some public buildings were touched while several companies and shops were destroyed and looted. Sensing their relative success in forcing the government to cancel the $2.7billion in tax hikes, the mainly Gen-Z protesters are now calling for President William Ruto’s resignation.
The young people have succeeded in throwing Kenya into turmoil, and no one in that country can now sleep with their two eyes closed. The number of casualties has been on the rise in the ongoing protests. More than 50 people have been reported killed since June, according to Kenya’s National Commission on Human Rights.

The Kenyan violence and destruction are reminiscent of the October 2020 EndSARS protest in Nigeria. During that EndSARS protest, several police stations were burnt with some police officers beheaded. The gory video of cannibals eating flesh from the bodies of slain police officers is still chilling. There was a jailbreak, and hardened criminals were let free in Lagos, Benin, and Abuja prisons. Critical infrastructure owned by the Lagos State Government was destroyed. Notable television station, TVC, was razed down.

It is difficult to forget how a large number of luxury buses meant to power public transportation in Lagos were burnt and left to ruins. A friend recounted to me how a distraught Governor Babajide Sanwo-olu was going through the ruins of the burnt buses at Oyingbo and tears began to cascade from his eyes over the multi-million dollar investment destroyed.

Such was the level of the destruction, the carnage, the investment gone in flames, the trauma and the uncertainty engendered by the protest. Those insisting on replicating the EndSARS protest in the country or reproducing the Kenyan moment in Nigeria do not mean well for the country and the people.
It may be argued that but protesters have a right to register their displeasure about the state of the nation, particularly with the excruciating cost of living, even in spite of government’s laudable economic policies and cushioning efforts, and this may be correct. However, the planned protest does not augur well for the country and our people. This is so for a number of reasons.
Firstly, given what transpired during that 2020 protest, there is no guarantee that any protest at this time would not turn violent or hijacked by hoodlums and other dodgy characters to foist their nefarious agenda on the country. This protest, which by most accounts is politically motivated, can only result in violence, arson and looting, as is characteristic of similar demonstrations in Nigeria and most parts of Africa. The Kenyan episode is also a case in point.
In the past, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, as he then was, and other activists had deployed the instrumentality of non-violent protest or agitation to advance the democratic cause that led to the rebirth of democracy in the land, and to correct some imbalances in the operation of Nigeria’s federalism, particularly during the regime of President Obasanjo.

Secondly, the sponsors and promoters of this protest, christened #EndBadGovernance protest, remain yet unknown. They are faceless and yet unidentified persons. I glimpsed an online interview with SaharaReporters’s publisher, Omoyele Sowore, identifying and calling for the demonstration. Meanwhile, he and his family are in their safe harbour in New Jersey. That was the same way detained Nnamdi Kanu was giving orders from abroad, naming individuals and their properties to be destroyed in Lagos during the EndSARS’ protest.

Thirdly, it’s being established that constructive dialogue is the key to resolving issues and thrashing any misgiving or disagreement, which is bound to occur in any society. When there is a conflict between governments and groups arising from policy issues and other matters, dialogue is always the best way to resolve such disputes. In spite of the remonstrations of Organised Labour over the National Minimum Wage, eventually they still resorted to negotiations with the government during which the matter was resolved amicably and a new national minimum wage, which is over 100% of the old one, was agreed upon with even an icing on the cake as President Tinubu committed to every 3-year review, instead of workers having to wait for 5 years before wages are adjusted.

More importantly, the hashtag #EndbadGovernance being promoted by the unknown protesters is dubious and remains contentious. End to bad governance? This condensation reminds one of the rhetoric of still-disgruntled opponents of President Tinubu, who lost the 2023 presidential election at the polls and in court, and now want to unseat him and come to power through the back doors.
This is unacceptable. The nation’s electoral laws stipulate how elections are won and lost and the electoral circles as well. They will do well to wait for the next election in 2027.
End to bad governance? Where is the bad governance, one may ask? Yes, these are challenging times. Current economic challenges are not peculiar to Nigeria alone. Almost all the countries around the world, including the most developed ones, are in turmoil. Nigeria is no exception. President Tinubu is applying the right medication to an ailing economy he inherited. This bears restating: the economic policies the government has embarked upon, which have been widely commended, have their gestation periods. And, though some pains may have come during the interregnum, these would be temporary. Some compensatory and cushioning initiatives are also being embarked upon. The point is that the distribution of the palliatives to the people needs to be intensified and pursued vigorously. In this respect, states and Local governments must do better as partners with the federal government to ensure effective distribution of these palliatives.

In the meantime, there is cheering news about the economy. The country has exited the ways and means trap, which had been a cog in the wheel before and there is now growing confidence in the nation’s economy. According to the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, debt service cost has declined from 97% to 68% and government has also surpassed non-oil revenue by 30%. What this means is that government will now have more money to fund social services and infrastructural projects that will improve the quality of life of Nigerians. The economy is growing, and sooner than later, some of the challenges of today will be overcome.
Therefore, this is not the time for a violent protest. The protest does not bode well. It poses an existential threat to Nigeria and its democracy. It will not augur well for anyone. We may all be losers in the end.

In summing up this article, I cannot but paraphrase that insightful columnist, Mr. Idowu Akinlotan, in his July 21, 2024 Palladium column, because he made this point more succinctly than I would do. I quote: “In sum, everybody may end up a loser, including opposition politicians galled by the outcome of the last presidential election, politicians who promote ethnic and religious exceptionalism, ethnic groups which resent the winner of the poll, youths who would likely become cannon fodder should the crisis blow out of proportion, and the country itself whose tenuous unity and untenable political structure have triggered tectonic shifts in the body politic. Nothing is certain, and this is no scaremongering.”

-Rahman is a Senior Presidential Aide