Thousands of Nigerians March in Protest Against Harsh Economic Conditions

Meanwhile, in the capital city, Abuja, teargas was also fired at peaceful protesters. Yesterday, a high court ruled that protests should be restricted to the National Stadium, which is just on the outskirts of the city’s central area. After convening at the venue, protesters defied that order and processed to the center of the city, and were met with force by the police.

Across several other states, thousands of Nigerians have taken to the streets to join the planned protests. Tagged “End Bad Governance in Nigeria,” it’s expected to run every day for the first 10 days of August.

The demonstration is partly inspired by the recent protests in Kenya, which involved “seven days of rage,” where thousands marched against a proposed finance bill and were met with deadly force. It also follows last week’s protests against corruption in Uganda, where dozens of peaceful protesters were arrested and remanded in prison.

The protests in Nigeria would have also coincided with protests against corruption and the living conditions in Ghana, but a Ghanaian high court banned the demonstrations on the grounds that the police did not have the necessary personnel for the protests.

According to reports across local press, today’s opening day demonstrations in Nigeria are taking place in commercial hub Lagos, capital city Abuja, Delta, Kano, Plateau and many other states. It’s expected that the protests’ momentum will grow as citizens who chose not to participate on the first day, partly due to the fatal, heartbreaking end to the last mass protest in the country, may decide to join in demanding better governance from Nigerian leaders.

Organized by several civil society groups, top of the demands for the protests floating across social media is the reversal of fuel price to N190/liter (11 cents/liter), which was the pump price before President Bola Tinubu came into power and scrapped fuel subsidies. They also include the reversal of an electricity tariff, increased accountability and transparency from government officials and parastatals, a drastic reduction of salaries paid to elected and appointed officials, the sale of the presidential yacht and many more demands that could lead to radical changes.

A viral X post says there are 25 listed demands. “The people are the power, meet our demands or face severe civil disobedience,” the post reads.

Before the protests, the Nigerian government has vehemently appealed to citizens to shelve the proposed demonstrations, with the information minister, Mohammed Idris, telling the press last week that the president “does not see any need for that. He’s asked them to shelve that plan. He’s asked them to await the government’s response to all their pleas.” Idris also added that the protests could be hijacked by “bad elements” to loot properties, destroy businesses and generally cause calamities.

Yesterday, in a press conference, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, rehashed the same talking points about avoiding violence and engaging in dialogue with the government. “Government is weary of the protest being hi­jacked by bandits and other crim­inals as it happened during #End­SARS,” Akume said. “Rather, the call for dialogue is preferred and we appeal that Ni­gerians should pursue the path of peace, dialogue and collaboration in addressing the challenges that collectively confront us.”

The government also met with traditional and religious leaders, many of whom condemned the planned protests. However, many Nigerians were adamant about the need for protests, even under the constant threats of violence and repression. For them, the largesse of Nigerian government officials in comparison to the skyrocketing cost of living and dwindling income of the rest of the country is grounds for prolonged agitations or, as has been adopted by some civil groups, “days of rage” — similar to the recent protests in Kenya.

Prior to the protests, and even during today’s protests, several anti-protest demonstrations were held in Lagos and Abuja, with reports that some of those that participated were promised N5,000 (just over $3). Yesterday, a reporter with News Central TV was harassed by some police officers for reporting from the Lekki Tollgate, and today, an X post by publication West Africa Weekly has gone viral after it alleged that some government officials offered N50,000 ($31) to reporters for pro-government stories.