When protest broke out in Minna, capital of Niger State, in February 2024 over increasingly stifling economic conditions, the Nigerian police arrested 25 people, including Aisha Jibrin, who initiated the women and youth-led protest. In its statement, the police referred to the protesters as ‘miscreants’, claiming to have used minimum force to disperse the protesters who eventually turned violent. It is incomprehensible, in the first place, to ask why protesters should be forcefully dispersed when demonstrating peacefully. The national leadership of the ruling APC attempted to manipulate the narrative by claiming that the protests were sponsored by members of the opposition party. A statement by the party’s spokesperson, Felix Morka, read, ‘In its arrant desperation to portray the APC-led administration as under-performing, opposition parties have resorted to instigating unsuspecting young people to protests in the streets of some major cities.’
In what appears as an attempt to make Nigerians certain that his administration wasn’t mincing words about its disdainful view of Nigerians, President Tinubu, while launching the Lagos Red Line train project decided to throw jabs at organized labour, following the latest protests by the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC).
‘If you want to participate in the electoral process,’ the President said, ‘wait till 2027’. Employing the same rhetoric as his party’s spokesperson: the protests are not genuine; they are sponsored by opposition candidates and parties. The president seemed more concerned about the fact that the labour unions had engaged in four rounds of industrial action within the first nine months (now eleven) of his administration rather than the fact that living conditions have worsened since he took power. It did not look better when the NLC president, Joe Ajaero, alleged on the same day that the union’s nationwide protest was abruptly suspended due to intimidation and threats from the government.
Meanwhile, a group of Tinubu supporters staged a counter-demonstration in Abuja the previous day, at the same time the NLC had its demonstrations across the country. According to news reports, inscriptions on their placards included ‘With Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Nigeria would be great again’, ‘Subsidy cabals are sponsoring protests against the government’, and more. Is that truly a protest? Solidarity marches are the best descriptions, and they mock genuine protesters when the media reinforces the false narrative of protest.
Less than a year in office, Tinubu’s administration has made clear that it prioritizes charlatans who ‘protest’ in its support over people challenging the government through public demonstrations within the ambits of the law. Is this how to lead a government?⎈
