Nigeria’s Fight to #EndBadGovernance

With a population of over 200 million people, Nigeria is the most populous Black nation in the world. When oil was discovered in Bayelsa State in the Niger Delta in 1956, it became the mainstay of the economy. Nigeria joined the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in 1971 and became one of Africa’s biggest oil producers. Yet despite Nigeria’s dependency on oil revenues and the oil boom that began in the 1970s, management of the oil sector has been embroiled in massive corruption and environmental destruction within communities in the Niger Delta, leading to loss of lives, livelihoods, and homes.

The deterioration of the oil industry’s infrastructure over the years led to the collapse of the four major refineries in Nigeria and dependence on crude oil exports in exchange for refined petroleum products from the oil cartels. To resuscitate the refineries, the successive governments of Goodluck Jonathan (2010–2015) and Muhammadu Buhari (2015–2023) expended huge amounts of resources without much progress. After the hotly contested February 2023 elections, Bola Ahmed Tinubu was sworn in as president of Nigeria on Monday, 29 May at Eagle Square in Abuja. In his inaugural speech, he surprised Nigerians by announcing the end of the government’s petroleum subsidies: 

We commend the decision of the outgoing administration in phasing out the petrol subsidy regime, which has increasingly favoured the rich more than the poor. Subsidy can no longer justify its ever-increasing cost in the wake of drying resources. We shall instead re-channel the funds into better investments in public infrastructure, education, health care, and jobs that will materially improve the lives of millions.

In the months after his inauguration, the Tinubu government took other economic decisions/measures that had drastic consequences on the living conditions of Nigerians. These include floating the national currency, which made the naira lose more than half of its value, as well as an almost 300-percent increase in the price of electricity. As the situation grew worse, popular unrest began to snowball, culminating in the protests earlier this month.

Economic Crisis and Popular Protest

With the end of the fuel subsidy on 29 May 2023, in June of that year, inflation rose to 22.8 percent. By May 2024, it had increased to 34 percent and 34.2 percent by June, as reported by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). With rising inflation, basic food items became too expensive for many Nigerians to afford. Insecurity has forced thousands of rural communities in the North Central region into internally displaced camps away from their farms, increasing the food security crisis. The war against the insurgency in the North East, which has displaced millions, is still ongoing.

The unemployment rate increased to 5 percent in the third quarter of 2023, up from 4.2 percent in the previous quarter, according to the NBS, yet these figures are disputed by labour unions as not reflective of the realities on ground. Chris Onyeka, the Assistant General Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress, noted that the NBS statistics underestimate unemployment rates in Nigeria as the number of unemployed people increases on a daily basis.                                                                                                                       

Tommy Okon, Deputy President of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, stated, “it is important to know how the NBS produces data on Nigeria where there is a dearth of data. For instance, manufacturing companies are grappling to remain operational and thus not employing. … Governments should stop generating data that do not reflect the realities of Nigeria. …Covering up the reality is not strategic”. Peter Adeyemi, the General Secretary of Nigeria’s Non-Academic Staff Union, said he depends on the NBS for data, but highly doubts the recent unemployment figures publicized by the NBS.

The minimum wage had been a subject of dispute between the federal and state governments, the private sector, and labour unions until the recent agreement to set it at 70,000 naira (roughly 43 US dollars as of mid-August 2024) per month. Although this new minimum wage represents a 135-percent increase over the previous minimum of 30,000, the reality is that it is not enough to buy a 50-kilogram bag of rice, which currently costs 90,000 naira (roughly 57 dollars).

Reacting to the harsh living conditions facing citizens across Nigeria, the #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protest, also known as the “hunger protest”, commenced on 1 August, with participants vowing to protest nationwide for ten days. Protesters — mostly young people aggrieved by the hardships and rising cost of living — mobilized online and offline. Other organizers include the Take It Back Movement, the Youth Rights Campaign, We the People, Social Action, and other civil society organizations.

In a press statement, Social Action noted that it was resolute in its support and solidarity with the Nigerian people at the community level and its support for civil rights councils. These councils uphold the right of Nigerians to protest, citing more than 25 years of pervasive corruption among a selfish political elite that has cling to power through fraudulent means and looted state resources for personal enrichment. The result of this systemic corruption has been a vicious cycle of poverty, insecurity, unemployment, and decay in healthcare and education.

State and Civil Society Respond

While acknowledging that Nigerians have the right to protest, President Tinubu’s government spent time and resources in the weeks and days prior to the start of the 1 August protest mobilizing governors, traditional institutions, and influential figures to dissuade citizens from joining. Governors across the political divide held town hall meetings in their states to preach against it, part of a huge push against the action by government officials who feared that the protests could take on the dimensions of the recent similar protests in Kenya against President Ruto and his government. Tinubu’s government also voiced concerns that criminal elements could take over the protests to inflict mayhem and confusion. The State Security Service (SSS) speculated that the hunger protests were planned to subvert the administration of President Tinubu and thrust the nation into disarray.

The position of top office holders and law enforcement agencies concerning the protests across Nigeria soon became a subject of discussion within civil society. Some Nigerians called out Senate President Godswill Akpabio for his insensitivity to the suffering of Nigerians after he taunted the protesters by saying that “those who want to protest can protest, but we will be here eating”. Amnesty International Nigeria admonished the senate president for his remarks, which it said were inconsiderate and rash, adding that mocking people advocating for good governance is unsatisfactory. After all, the reality for a large number of Nigerians is extreme hunger and poverty as a result of economic inequality and a lack of accountability in governance.

President Tinubu’s speech revealed he was not aware of the reality of Nigerian citizens and was slow to respond to their calls for urgent action to alleviate the suffering of the masses.

Youth groups, civil society organizations, human rights advocates, and leading opposition leaders expressed support for the protest. Aisha Yesufu, a leading human rights activist, stated that the peaceful protest was a welcome development to cast a spotlight on the rising poverty Nigerians are suffering. She noted that if Nigeria could hold elections in the midst of violence, then peaceful protests were possible, if only the government would allow citizens express their constitutional rights. Omoyele Sowore, another human rights advocate, convener of #RevolutionNow, and a leading member of the #EndSARS movement in 2020, accused the government of planning to turn the planned peaceful protest into a violent protest in a bid to subvert the will of Nigerians.

Peter Obi, the Labour Party presidential candidate during the 2023 elections, also supported the #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protest. His stance was criticized by a special adviser to the president, who accused protesters of being Mr. Obi’s supporters and plotting to take over the government after their failure at the polls. In response, Mr. Obi demanded an apology and threatened to sue the presidential media adviser for defamation of character. Atiku Abubakar, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate in 2023, admonished the All Progressive Congress (APC) leadership for attempting to subvert Nigerians’ right to protest against the economic hardship caused by the removal of fuel subsidy.

The Protests Begin

In a press statement, the Nigerian Police gave an account of the first two days of the protest, disputing a publicized report by Amnesty International that 13 people had lost their lives. The police also denied Amnesty International’s claim that “security personnel deliberately employed tactics designed to kill while managing gatherings and used firearms as a tactical tool for protest management”.

In their report, the police confirmed that in “the first two days … four individuals lost their lives and 34 were severely injured in a terrorist attack by suspected Boko Haram/ISWAP elements who infiltrated the crowd of protesters and detonated an Improvised Explosive Device (IED)” in Borno State. The police statement also reported another incident in which a car ran into protesters, killing two civilians, likewise in Borno State. There was also a reported death of one person in Kebbi State, where a local vigilante shot into a crowd that attempted to loot a supermarket. The police claimed that a total of seven deaths were recorded during the protest.

However, unofficial and independent accounts of the causalities exceeded even the figures given by Amnesty International. Reports by G4S, an independent security firm, alleged that the death toll on day one of the protest was 21, with 175 injured. Over 1,154 arrests were made across the country. Curfews were declared in the North East states of Yobe and Borno, as well as Kano State, the “centre of commerce” in the North West zone. Cases of violence were reported in 17 states: Abuja, Adamawa, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Cross River, Gombe, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Lagos, Osun, Niger, Rivers, Zamfara, Borno, and Yobe. However, peaceful protest was also recorded in Plateau, Taraba, Delta, Edo, Benue, and Nassarawa.

The Nigeria Union of Journalists issued a statement on 3 August condemning the intimidation and harassment of journalists.

Tinubu Takes a Stand

In a broadcast on the nationwide protest, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu stated that he was saddened by the killing of citizens in Borno, Jigawa, Kano, Kaduna and other states, as well as the destruction of property. In his 38-point speech, he gave an overview of the policies and achievements of his administration.

He upheld his decision to end fuel subsidies and reform the foreign exchange system, which he noted had curbed decades of maladministration. He stated that his administration was committed to building 100,000 houses in three years to boost the housing sector under its city renewal and estate development project. He added that his administration had major ongoing infrastructural projects, such as the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and the Sokoto-Badagry Coastal Highway. He also highlighted an increase in oil production to 1.61 million barrels per day and an increased interest in the sector among investors. He concluded by urging the security agencies to continue to maintain law and order and the protesters to stop the protests and allow room for dialogue.

In response to the broadcast, human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria Femi Falana urged President Tinubu to listen to the concerns and demands of the protesters and address them. They had requested the return of the fuel subsidy, lower electricity tariffs, and a reduction of rising insecurity in the country, which his speech failed to address.

The experience of the last 25 years of democratic governance in Nigeria has produced a paradox in which the electorate votes in the political elite in every election, but the people’s interests do not count seem to count for much in government.

In a press conference, one organizer of the #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protest, the Youth Rights Campaign, said that President Tinubu’s speech revealed he was not aware of the reality of Nigerian citizens and was slow to respond to their calls for urgent action to alleviate the suffering of the masses. Emiola Osifeso of the Take It Back Movement stated that the president’s assertion that the protests were being organized by the opposition pointed to his lack of understanding of Nigerians’ harsh living conditions. The protests, he noted, were “faceless and leaderless” because Nigerians can relate to the issues of poverty, human rights abuses, and systemic corruption that continue to hold Nigeria down.

In its statement, leading opposition party the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) noted that the president’s speech did not address the needs and concerns of Nigerians. Other commentators contended that nothing in the president’s address indicated that he had watched the happenings of the past week with pain and empathy. The feeling on the street is that the president’s broadcast did not address the issues of hunger and the high cost of living, which triggered the protest.

Nigeria at a Crossroads

Nigeria has a rich culture of protest from colonial times to its history as an independent nation. The 2012 Occupy Nigeria protest was against the removal of fuel subsidies by the Goodluck Jonathan regime, and it won: the government restored the subsidies. The 2020 #EndSARS protest was against police brutality and bad governance. It started peaceful, but turned violent after the government clampdown on unarmed protesters on 20 October 2020. This attack led to many deaths. Nevertheless, Nigerian youths retreated only to return on 1 August 2024 to uphold their right to protest against bad governance and anti-people policies that have plunged the masses into abject poverty.

The experience of the last 25 years of democratic governance in Nigeria has produced a paradox in which the electorate votes in the political elite in every election, but the people’s interests do not count seem to count for much in government, as the population grapples with the harsh realities of economic hardship, insecurity, and pervasive corruption. The quality of leadership keeps dwindling with each electoral cycle. The lack of capacity to deliver on the development aspirations of the people and the lack of empathy and recklessness displayed by the power elite are at the core of Nigeria’s governance crisis.

The past year seems to have highlighted the hydra-headed nature of Nigeria’s endemic crisis. The World Food Programme reported that malnutrition among Nigerian children has more than doubled in the last year alone. The removal of the petrol subsidy without any plan to cushion the effect has led to an increase in prices of goods and services to an unprecedented degree.

Nigeria needs leadership with vision, prudence, and tenacity to address the hydra-headed nature of the country’s crisis of development.

Similarly, floating the naira has sent it tumbling in value, causing massive damage to the economy and poverty in the country. The rise in taxes and nearly 300-percent increase in the electricity tariff has led to the closure of many businesses. Unless the current administration of President Tinubu is willing to put the brakes on these policies, which have proven to bring only hardship and misery to the populace, the root causes of the latest ten-day protest cannot be addressed.

A group of radical academics, pro-democracy activists, and human rights campaigners recently brought out a document entitled Nigeria at the Cross-Road: A Policy Direction. The 20-page document, which was signed by 12 people, proposes a series of short-, medium-, and long-term measures to address the distressing state of the economy, the insecurity that is pervasive in the country, and the corruption that has eaten into every segment of Nigeria’s national life.

The document notes that insecurity has soared to such a degree that Nigeria could be said to be at war with itself. Corruption has shot up so high that it has destabilized every single attempt at development, be it political, economic, or social, thus weakening every institution of government. Similarly, infrastructure shortage, institutional rot, and human resources shortage continue to impede development. A food security crisis looms due to insecurity and lack of political will to address the challenges, creating a vicious cycle of hunger, malnutrition among children, displacement of rural communities, and poverty.

As the document argues, Nigeria needs leadership with vision, prudence, and tenacity to address the hydra-headed nature of the country’s crisis of development and create opportunities for human capital development and gainful employment for the expanding ranks of unemployed youth, thus restoring their hope in democracy and for a more fulfilled and secure future.