African Governments Are Failing to Address Concerns Presented by Protesters

The situation in Nigeria

On the morning of Saturday, August 3, dozens of people were clustered at Ojota bus stop in Lagos, Nigeria’s economic capital. Many carried placards and chanted slogans protesting the expensive cost of living and the endemic bad leadership that is widely believed to be the cause of the country’s economic woes. For what was supposed to be the third day of 10 days of nationwide protests, it felt more like a light picketing event than a loud demonstration.

In comparison to reports that protests turned violent in several northern states, including news of looting and police using live rounds, hot water trucks and teargas to disperse protesters, what happened in Lagos — as in many southern cities where the protests were largely short lived — was far more sedate. It wasn’t for lack of force. At Ojota, one of two locations sanctioned for protests by the state government, there were dozens of armed police officers in well-pressed uniforms and riot gear.

The policing of protests in Nigeria in recent times has been heightened since the #EndSARS protests in October 2020, which ended when soldiers shot at and killed dozens of unarmed, peaceful protesters at the Lekki tollgate in Lagos. In the several demonstrations that have taken place since, including walks held in memory of those killed, citizens have been arrested and jailed for carrying out their constitutional rights to protest.

Inspired by Kenya

This response fits into the ongoing wider African context of governments suppressing the freedoms of peaceful protesters, and even outrightly attacking unarmed civilians. The just-ended protests in Nigeria was partly inspired by the weeks of protests in Kenya, where thousands of citizens demonstrated against a proposed finance bill that would further worsen the already high cost of living. Throughout those demonstrations, police officers attacked protesters, reportedly killing dozens and injuring many more.

While the violence was heartbreaking, it was also maddening that all of it could have been avoided. For weeks, citizens railed against the proposed finance bill, expressing their disapproval online and calling their parliament representatives to vote against the bill. Regardless of this civil unacceptance, the Kenyan government pressed on with the bill and even passed it on the first day citizens came out to protest.

During the protests, police deployed harmful methods to break up huge clusters of protesters, including shooting live rounds and firing teargas. Days later, President William Ruto announced that the bill would be withdrawn, after loss of lives and injuries had already been incurred. Before its withdrawal, Ruto delivered a ruthless-toned speech that basically accused protesters of insurrection, when these citizens were simply asking that a democratically elected government listens to them.

Protests continued and, this time around, there were demonstrations demanding for financial modesty from a government whose officials are paid huge salaries with little accountability to show. In sum, the Kenyan protests were meant to impress the dire importance of good leadership on Ruto and members of his administration. While the president announced budget cuts and dissolved his cabinet, his new team comprised more than a handful of the sacked ministers, albeit in new portfolios, and he made a deal with members of the same opposition party he was a part of when he was vice president.

In a newsletter post for An Africanist Persepective correlating the Kenyan protests to African governments’ unwillingness to carry out economic reforms, economist Ken Opalo said little tangible progress was made from the demonstrations.

“Ruto could have viewed widespread protests against his administration as an opportunity to modernize economic management in Kenya,” Opalo writes. “Instead, he let the crisis go to waste and entered into an elite pact with opposition politicians that is guaranteed to double down on the same bad habits that occasioned the current fiscal crisis. Consequently, Kenya is staring at a prolonged period of mediocre growth and lackluster job creation as it struggles with the high cost debt servicing and the specter of a sovereign default.”

Like Kenya, like Nigeria

Adjusted for nuances, the same sentiments can easily be applied to the protests in Nigeria. Before they even began, the President Bola Tinubu-led administration made it a widespread agenda to plead against and generally disparage the need for protests. Government officials and religious and traditional leaders denounced the protests, and pro-government demonstrations took place in several states days before the “End Bad Governance” protests began.

On the morning of the fourth day, President Tinubu delivered a speech calling for an end to the protests. In what was panned by many as a tone-deaf address, Tinubu fixated on the news of looting in parts of the north as a way of invalidating the agitations of citizens and also politicizing the protests. He also said the government was working hard, pointing to achievements like the new minimum wage, increased internally generated revenue, and a N590 billion ($371 million) disbursement to state governments, which has since been disputed by Oyo State’s Governor Seyi Makinde.

Tinubu did not address complaints about the drastically increased pump price of petrol since he removed fuel subsidies a year ago, nor did he speak on reports that the government is now paying more than it ever has in petrol subsidy. He also did not directly comment on the grievances about raised electricity prices and the skyrocketing cost of living. He totally ignored concerns about the exorbitant cost of governance in Nigeria, with government officials being paid huge salaries, as well as incredibly expensive projects many consider vanity endeavors, like the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project, building a new vice president’s residence, and alleged purchase of a new presidential aircraft.

The Tinubu-led administration’s response to the distress of Nigerians is a reflection of how African governments would rather fight to dismiss their citizens’ concerns, rather than work to wholesomely address them. Or as Opalo put it in the case of Kenya, it “vividly illustrates African elites’ unreadiness to honestly confront the challenges facing the region.”

Uganda follows suit

In Uganda, a week before the Nigerian protests commenced, dozens of citizens were remanded to jail for protesting against corruption by government officials. A few days into the protests, the East African country’s long-term leader, Yoweri Museveni, went on a long tirade on national TV where he said those calling for and planning to join the protests were “playing with fire.”

A day before the protests, there was heavy security presence across the capital city Kampala, and the headquarters of the opposition party, led by former presidential candidate, Bobi Wine, was surrounded by security forces. During the planned march to parliament to demand the resignation of Speaker Anita Among, who’s been widely accused of corruption, protesters were indiscriminately arrested by police officers in riot gear.

Is there an “African Spring” coming?

Looking to place a broader significance on this succession of protests, some observers wonder if this period could lead to a Sub-Saharan “African Spring.” It’s a reference to the Arab Spring protests where several regimes were toppled due to a wave of protests across the region. While those demonstrations can rightly be deemed as revolutions, current realities cast a shadow on the overall legacy.

In Tunisia, where the protests kicked off after street vendor Mohamed Bouazizilit himself on fire due to constant harassment by local police, current President Kais Saeid has established himself as the country’s de-facto ruler. In 2021, two years after being elected into office, Saeid froze parliament and started ruling by decree. Heading into elections in October, he’s been accused of blocking his strongest opponents from contesting, several of whom have been sentenced to prison on charges they say are politically motivated.

It seems Saeid may be following in the steps of previous authoritarian leaders that were protested against during the Arab Spring. In fact, Saeid, who has justified his autocratic moves by inciting populist messages, isn’t the only leader to capitalize on the goodwill of civic desires to eventually become repressive.

Nigeria’s current president was one of the leaders of the Occupy Nigeria protests in 2012 when former President Goodluck Jonathan wanted to remove fuel subsidies; Kenya’s Ruto ran against the establishment even though he was the serving vice president at the time; and Museveni came into power as a freedom fighter but has used every means possible to remain Uganda’s president for nearly forty years.

That these leaders are not just unable to actively work towards bettering the lives of its citizens, but also actively suppressing civil rights, makes the efficacy of protests in Africa questionable — and the thoughts of a Sub-Saharan “African Spring” incredibly tenuous.

Is Senegal a success story?

The only recent protest in Africa that lends itself optimism are the demonstrations that ensued in Senegal after former President Macky Sallattempted to postpone the country’s elections, in what citizens saw as a ploy to cling onto power. After the planned postponement was reversed, Senegalese voted for opposition politician Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who eventually became the youngest elected president in the country’s history.

Even that outcome will take some time to be justified, as Faye and Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko (a former opposition leader and Faye’s mentor) are just in the beginning stages of figuring out how to meet the high expectations behind them.

But they are already being accused of stifling the media. On Tuesday, most national newspapers in Senegal refused to publish, in protest against what they say is an increased suppression of media freedom. The Council of Press Distributors and Publishers allege that the fairly new government is freezing bank accounts of media companies based on allegations of tax evasion, which they say is unsubstantiated. But the BBC reports that government officials say they are trying to fight embezzlement in the media industry.

Tuesday’s protest comes after many in the press criticized Sonko for stating that the government wouldn’t tolerate “falsehood” from journalists. Under Sall, press freedoms took a hit, especially as citizens became more unsatisfied with the former president's administration. It would be a shame if Faye's government continued in that line, which would no doubt extend to civil freedoms and the rights to protest, if it ever comes to that.

Regardless, the comparative success of this year’s protest in Senegal is just an outlier within the current context of African leaders numbing themselves to the agitations of their citizens.