By Adekunle Adekoya
For some time now, the detention and arraignment of under-age protesters by the Police dominated conversations at home and abroad.
In August, a nationwide protest against the harsh economic policies preferred by the federal administration led by President Bola Tinubu began, tagged #EndBadGovernance. Largely driven by social media conversations, organisers sought to mobilise the populace to register their displeasure with the way things have turned and are still turning for them. So, August 1-10 was billed as protest days. Before the day, government machinery went into overdrive, with massive resources committed to ensuring that the protests did not hold.
Government was successful in that regard to the
extent that the protests did not gain the traction envisaged by organisers.
During the protests, however, some participating youths brandished the flags of
some foreign countries, which was seen by the Police as an act of insurrection.
Many protesters were arrested in some Northern states, and those caught with
flags of other countries as well as the tailor that allegedly made them were
hauled in and transferred to Abuja, because, according to a senior police
officer, their actions constituted threats to national security.
Since August, these arrested
people have been in detention, until their recent arraignment. A number of
issues have been raised about this. One is that the present administration is
criminalising dissent. Taken together with the raid on Nigeria Labour Congress,
NLC, offices in Abuja, arrest of NLC president Joe Ajaero on his way to London,
and numerous cases of harassment and hounding of journalists, it is becoming a
crime to hold contrary views in Nigeria. This is even more baffling since
President Tinubu achieved credibility and recognition as a major dissenter
during and after the years of military rule.
As a major opposition figure,
one recalls the roles he played in 2012 when former president, Dr. Goodluck
Jonathan, tried to remove subsidy on petrol. As a result of his strident
opposition to the policy intent, Jonathan backed down and subsidy remained till
2023 when Tinubu himself summarily removed it and plunged all of us into the
misery we are all trying to get out of now. So, why should dissent become
intolerable now? Makes no sense to me, unless it’s no longer the Tinubu we used
to know. Or he has been taken hostage, as Nigerians often do to their leaders.
If criminalising dissent is not
shameful enough, shouldn’t the Police high command know better than to arraign
minors? There are many lawyers in the Police Force. Assuming that the rank and
file that drew the charge sheet did not see anything wrong, did the upper brass
also fail to see it?
Worse: Did the Attorney-General
of the Federation and Minister of Justice also glance cursorily at the charge
sheet? Did all the law enforcement officers and lawyers in the Ministry of
Justice fail to see the looming opprobrium as minors were arraigned in court?
To finally show that government
was in disarray over the entire episode, the optics presented by the Minister
of Humanitarian Affairs distributing victuals to the detained minors was
utterly embarrassing, from where I stand.
Like a dog with its tail between
its legs after losing a fight, government ordered release of the detained
minors and their immediate reunion with their families. Then the circus that
governance has become here took over. State governments started falling over
themselves to “do something” for them. One state was reported to have given the
sum of N100,000 each to those from its jurisdiction, in addition to a smart
phone! Where were they when they were hounded into detention? What did they do
to see to their release, if they also did not believe that dissent is now a
crime? Jokers in high places!
In all of these, one thing is
clear: You can’t continue flogging a child and not expect a reaction, either by
crying, or some other caterwauling. If the cost of living crisis in the land
does not abate quickly, people will continue to react. In other words, there
might be more protests and more idle, hungry youths will participate.
All that talk about increased foreign direct
investment, growing GDP and other economic news being bandied by the president
and his men does not put eba in anybody’s mouth. Worse, savings are being
worded; even the rich are crying. Entire sectors of the economy are in peril,
like aviation, for instance. Multinationals are leaving in droves even as local
manufacturers are howling in agony.
I really hope the president and his men will pick
their nuggets from the prevailing state of affairs and do the needful. Three
protests, however muted, in under 18 months of this administration’s life is the
equivalent of a massive vote of no confidence. The people are actually doing
what their over-fed, multi-pampered representatives in the National Assembly
should do, but which they cannot and will not do.
*Adekoya is a commentator on public issues
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