By Sunny Ikhioya
The August 1 proposed protest by aggrieved Nigerians against the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will not be different from past protests in Nigeria. It will come and go like these other protests we have witnessed. The poor masses will bear the brunt, and no lessons will be learned by our leaders and politicians. After all, things will return to square one as usual. It is in our DNA. Nothing moves us in this country. Let us just hope that, one day, this attitude will not bring the whole roof crumbling down on all of us. The country is sinking, and people do not seem to realise this. The die-hards will ask us to look at it from the prism of the half full glass. Well, we are hoping that it will be so.
No self-respecting patriotic Nigerian will be happy with the reality on ground. That is why our diasporans are totally outraged. Everyone is mad, except those of them at the corridors of power, having everything at their disposal, from our common patrimony, and sharing the national cake at their whims. Tinubunomics has really brought suffering and tears to the Nigerian masses; it is clear for everyone to see: basic salary cannot purchase a full bag of rice and we have not added rent, school fees and other basic needs of the ordinary man.
Even at a time we are under the yoke of the type of suffering we have never witnessed before, some people are calling us out to protest against government. Are they morally and justifiably right to do this? I believe they do. Does the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria allow them to go on such protest? Legal experts say that the Constitution covers them to go ahead with the proposed protests. Will this protest succeed? I do not think so. Why? Because the tribal and religious bigots, agents of disinformation and propaganda have been let loose to confuse the poor masses. The opposition parties have been infiltrated, and civil society groups are neither here nor there. Many traditional rulers have been coaxed and coerced to sacrifice their conscience. The masters of organised protests are the ones in power now, and they know how to attack the jugular.
When the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and the Trade Union Congress, TUC, are not involved in a protest movement against the government, how do you think the protest will work? The Churches and Mosques are calling on President Tinubu to do what is right to alleviate the sufferings of the poor masses, but they are not bold enough to call for a people’s protest. So, who will lead this protest? Some are saying that it is not important to lead, but that is where the failure begins. If the organisers are faceless, as the agents of government are propagating, who will lead in the negotiations when the time comes for that? Or, do we want a situation of “everyman for himself and the devil takes the hindmost”? That is the picture that the proposed protest is showing, and that is why it will fail. Let us be clear about this: it will not work because the people are not properly educated on it or carried along. We are seeing a lot of it on social media, and many of those pressing the buttons there will not be on the ground, at the battle front, to walk their talk.
When the people are ready for a revolt, the leadership will know; it would not come with notices of ultimatum and all that, it will be felt by all, no matter your tribe, race or religion. It will be spontaneous, and God will save the leadership that will be in government at such times. For now, the Nigerian will remain like the frog that is put in a boiling pot of water, adjusting to the heat as the water gets hotter. Nigerians are yet to attain the limits of their sufferings. The elasticity still has space, so we will wait. Those in government know this situation, and that is why they are confidently following the path that they have chosen.
I am also taken by the words of Professor PLO Lumumba, respected Kenyan constitutional lawyer, who while responding to questions on the Kenya protests, said: “Mass action is an instrument that was used defectively by Martin Luther King during the civil rights movement. Luther King said: Any responsible leadership that wants to engage in mass action must satisfy four tests: number one, they must demonstrate that they have a grievance and that they do not want to use mass action to cause confusion and for the purpose of revenge. Secondly, they must demonstrate that they have exhausted all methods of engaging government, including negotiations and petitions. Thirdly, having found all those methods and doors to be closed, they intend to ensure that they do not cause injustice to others. And, fourthly, they must demonstrate that they have a clear programme of salvaging the society without causing injustice to others.”
This is a man who has been critical of the leadership in Africa and lambasted their greed, looting, and selfishness. A man who has been pro-people. For him to come out with this after assessing the protests in Kenya speaks profoundly of how we do things wrongly in Africa. Even to organise a protest with clarity and focus is totally lacking in our methodology. Some of us do not even know what we are protesting about, whether it is against hunger and want or if it is for regime change. But, we know that we cannot do anything about changing the government in power now, except as enshrined in our Constitution. That is: to wait for the next elections and vote out the people we have found wanting in the execution of their duties, including President Bola Tinubu, senators and House of Assembly members, who have chosen to be “O yes” members, while the people are suffering.
That is the option that we have for now and what we should do unless we want another round of needless suffering for the poor man whose burden has increased through the harsh policies of government. The opposition parties, labour and civil society groups must be alive to their responsibilities by calling the attention of governments to the areas that they have erred. We must be careful with the manner we go about protesting, and I quote Lumumba again: “A single mistake and misstep and the country can burn. It will take generations to bring this country together again. What is bigger? The country or my interest?”
A poser for all of us to chew and ponder on. Tinubu was a champion of protests, same thing for those that he has gathered around himself now; it is a big lesson: what goes around, comes around. If we choose to take to the streets, we must consider the four test requirements as espoused by Martin Luther King. We must have genuine grievances and must have channelled these grievances to the government. We must do so without disruptions to other peoples activities and also within the ambit of our laws.
We are not all united in this case. We are a fractious country, and our leaders have mastered the art of keeping it so. Therefore, this protest will not yield the desired result.
*Ikhioya wrote via: http://www.southsouthecho.com