Ahead of the planned nationwide “EndBadGovernance” protest in the country, the Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, at a press briefing warned that the military won’t allow anarchy to befall Nigeria.
He stated that organizers of the planned protest intend to replicate the recent protest-turn-anarchy demonstration in the East African country Kenya. General Buba said although citizens have a right to ventilate their grievances, the military won’t condone any form of violent gatherings or protests.
He added that the military has uncovered plots by unscrupulous elements to hijack the protest and turn it into a violent one by attacking innocent Nigerians and their businesses.
“While citizens have the right to peaceful protest, they do not have the right to mobilize for anarchy and unleash terror. It is easy to see that the contemporary context of the planned protest is to shadow the outrage in Kenya which I must say is violent and remains unresolved,” he said.
“The Armed Forces on its part will not stand by and allow anarchy to befall our nation. This is because we have seen wars and have witnessed anarchy in countries with which we have operated, particularly in times of ECOMOG (Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group) and during our peacekeeping operations in various countries. He said some people fantasize about war thinking that it is like seeing movies but can’t fathom the destructions that come with war.
On the one hand, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, has alleged that the scheduled nationwide protest is sponsored by the opposition.
Wike, who stated this after an inspection of the Apo-Karshi Road project, said the current economic hardship wasn’t caused by President Bola Tinubu. He said the current administration is tackling substantial challenges inherited from its predecessors.
“Let’s tell ourselves the simple truth. If we are playing politics, let’s say we are playing politics; if we want to be sincere to ourselves, let’s be sincere to ourselves and help our country.
“The country is rotten. You know that the country is rotten, and a government has just come to see what it can do to at least move it from where we are to a certain level, and you say that miracle must be performed within one year. You are here now; we are talking about a project that was awarded 13 good years ago; what has happened? Nothing. Now a government has come to see how it can fix all these things, and we are in too much of a hurry demanding that it must be done now. It is not possible. The protest is a political protest,” he said.
The minister, who acknowledged that people were not happy due to hunger and unemployment, said that the political protesters are political jobbers who just want to be popular.
Meanwhile, news going round stated that the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) is the organizer of the planned protest. Reacting to this, the NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero said they are not part of the nationwide slated for August.
Ajaero however advised the federal government and the sub-national governments to listen to the cries of the hungry Nigerian people, and address the economic crisis.
“The truth is that the Nigeria Labour Congress cannot withdraw from a protest that it did not organise. It is only the organisers of the speculated national protest that can decide to pull out or continue with the protest. The Nigeria Labour Congress has internal trade union mechanisms especially leadership decision-making processes that its industrial actions such as protests pass through before such activities are undertaken. Yet, the fact that the Nigeria Labour Congress is not the body organizing the protest does not mean that Organized Labour is oblivious of the dire living conditions Nigerians have been subjected to by the harsh economic policies of government.
“The Nigeria Labour Congress stands in solidarity with the Nigerian people in this very trying and excruciating times,” the report said.
The protest against economic hardship, which is gaining traction on social media, has been scheduled to be held across all states of the Federation as well as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, in August. The organizers of the protest have been faceless.
Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu, governors and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) have appealed to Nigerians to shelve the planned ‘EndBadGovernance’ protest slated for next month.
This is as the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume; and the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu; met on Wednesday, with ministers over the planned protest.
The meeting which was convened behind closed doors, had all the over 40 ministers in the President’s cabinet in attendance.
Some of the Minister spotted were Nyesom Wike (FCT), Yusuf Tuggar (Foreign Affairs), Zephaniah Jisalo (Special Duties), Tahir Mamman (Education), and Abubakar Bagudu (Budget and Planning).
Others included Wale Edun (Finance), Mohammed Idris (Information), Bello Matawalle (Defence), and David Umahi (Works), amongst others.
Information Minister Idris, who briefed the media after meeting, pleaded with Nigerians to give the government more time to address the economic challenges in the country.
Idris said there was no need for the planned protest and assured youths that the government has been engaging all concerned to resolve the issues in the interest of the country.
Ahead of the planned nationwide protest addressing hardship, poverty, and high cost of living, the Minority Caucus of the House of Representatives has urged the Federal Government to engage in talks with the protesters.
Worried by the implications on the economy, the lawmakers want President Bola Tinubu’s administration to address the concerns of the protesters.
This was part of the Caucus’ resolution at the end-of-session dinner in Abuja.
Briefing journalists after the dinner in Abuja, the Chairman of the Caucus, Hon Kingsley Chinda, however, discouraged the planned protest, especially against the background of insecurity in parts of the country.
“We also appealed to the government to dialogue with the planned protesters and also look at some of the messages they are raising, the critical areas that need government intervention. Government should intervene and ensure that issues are resolved amicably,” he said.
Chinda also advised the government to adopt the carrot-and-stick method in addressing the problem of insecurity in the country.
“We acknowledge and observe the insecurity situation in the country and we call on the government to use carrot and stick by ensuring that let the result be seen. Let all the security chiefs do what is right to ensure that Nigerians are protected,” he said.
The Caucus also called on the government to create means to ensure citizens are self-reliant in a bid to tackle the economic downturn in the country.
The planned protest comes at a time when a newly released by the National Bureau of Statistics, indicated a rise in prices of Beans, Tomatoes, Irish potatoes, Garri, Yam and other food items in June 2024.
The NBS few days ago in another report, said headline inflation for June increased to 34.19 per cent relative to the May 2024 headline inflation rate which was 33.95 per cent.
Prices of food and basic commodities have gone through the roof in the last months, as Nigerians battle one of the country’s worst inflation and economic crisis sparked by the government’s twin policies of petrol subsidy removal and unification of forex windows.
