The date was October 1, 2024, and Nigerians were taking part in a commemoration of their country’s Independence Day.
That momentous occasion, however, turned out not to be the only thing that was occupying the minds of the people on that particular day.
Nigerians were also waiting with bated breath to see whether an earlier announced nationwide protest, themed #FearlessInOctober, goes as planned.
The October protest was supposed to be the sequel to the #EndBadGovernance protests which shook the entire fabric of the country from August 1 to 10, but the Police had something to say about that.
The protest was peaceful in some states, such as Lagos and Ondo, but the Police came down heavily on protesters in a handful of states in the country where it was held.
There were reports that some protesters in Rivers and Kano States, including Abuja – the Federal Capital Territory, were teargassed and boxed into a corner as Nigeria marked its 64th independence anniversary.
For this reason, some Nigerians were disappointed that the October 1 protest did not gather enough momentum, while many more were relieved that the protests were contained and protesters sheathed their swords.
Analysts say the protest was a flop and understandably so. The majority of Nigerians boycotted it. And except for those states where members of Civil Society Organizations and human rights activists braved the odds to venture onto the streets, the protests would have ended up an outright failure.
And unlike the #EndBadGovernance protests, which were used by Nigerians to air their grievances about the hardship, poverty and bad governance in the country, the October 1 protests did not pack a hefty punch that could be equated with the August protests.
“Some of these protests have been used to make nonsense of even democratically elected governments. Protests have been used in the past to also overthrow democratic governments. We have seen it happen before in many countries”
The general consensus among commentators and observers alike is that the roles the government played and the measures they used to cast the August protests in bad light, contributed in no small way to the widespread apathy among Nigerians towards it.
Indeed, the government’s approach, which are said to be both decent and crude – depending on who was at the receiving end, were brought to bear prior, during and after the August protests, and likely contributed to the low turnout of protesters on October 1.
It will be recalled that one of the first strategies used by the government to dissuade those bent on protesting in August was the decision by Tinubu to reach out to influential traditional rulers in the country who, in turn, compelled their subjects to stand down.
First-class monarchs, such as the Ooni of Ife, Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi; the Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare II; the Dein of Agbor, Benjamin Keagborekuzi; the Emir of Zazzau, Ahmed Banalli, then stepped in to appease the youth and used moral suasion to convince them.
In Lagos State, the dreaded Oro Festival was invoked, specifically in the Ikorodu area of the state, to give would-be protesters the jitters and discourage them from hitting the streets in the bustling metropolis.
The Tinubu-led Federal Government also began to implement what supporters described as well thought out policies, such as the student loans scheme, and this, to some extent, pleased many Nigerians.
And not only this, the government also began to distribute foodstuffs like rice and beans. Moreover, they also paid stipends to unemployed graduates.
Tinubu himself even urged the organisers of the August protests and the protesters, when demonstrations turned violent, to suspend further hostilities as he was willing to dialogue with them.
He said, “As President of this country, I must ensure public order. In line with my constitutional oath to protect the lives and property of every citizen, our government will not stand idly by and allow a few with a clear political agenda to tear this nation apart.
“Under the circumstances, I hereby enjoin protesters and the organisers to suspend any further protest and create room for dialogue, which I have always acceded to at the slightest opportunity.”
Security agencies were also at their menacing best. Their men were deployed throughout the country and did not allow the August protests to fully blossom into lawlessness in many states in Nigeria
The Police, who lost several men during the protests, also arrested a sizable number of protesters. In fact, the National Human Rights Commission disclosed that those arrested across the country in relation to the August protest were 1,200, while some media reports put the number at almost 2500.
Even though some of the protesters have been released, many who were granted bail have not been able to perfect their bail conditions and are still battling for their lives and freedom.
Last month, a Federal High Court in Abuja granted bail to 10 protesters accused of alleged treason over their participation in the August protests.
At the hearing, the High Court judge, Emeka Nwite, granted each of the defendants bail in the sum of N10 million with one surety who must have property worth the bail sum in Abuja.
This particular approach adopted by the government to allegedly silence protesters is what Amnesty international Nigeria, through its Director, Isa Sanusi, called “repressive.”
Sanusi said, “The Nigerian authorities must end their repressive approach to peaceful protests and listen to critics, as the country faces its worst economic crisis in three decades.”
A political and socio-economic analyst, Ifeoma Ogbonna, told The Point, “My heart goes out to those who are still remanded in custody in various Nigerian prisons following the #EndBadGovernance protests in the country.
“I am sure members of their families are going through a lot. I am also sure that some of the detainees don’t have family members and may rot in the prisons. This is the country we find ourselves in.
“I read a report by a civil society group about the plight of #EndBadGovernance protesters that are still languishing in prisons. It is shocking that the vast majority of the over 2,000 protesters that were arrested cannot meet their bail condition. It is disturbing and scary.
“With this unfortunate scenario playing out in the minds of Nigerians who escaped arrests during the protests, many will not come back again to protest against bad governance in the country.
“And I don’t blame Nigerians who decided not to join these protests again. This is because when they are arrested for participating in a protest, the world forgets them. Everyone continues with his or her life and those arrested are left to carry their cross themselves.
“And sadly, too, most of the time, those who mobilized them bail only themselves. They cannot do much for other Nigerians in detention because they are stretched financially.”
Reacting to the argument whether the government reined in protesters or not, a public affairs analyst, Alex Nwadike, said, “I won’t blame any government that tries to control or limit protests in a country.
“Some of these protests have been used to make nonsense of even democratically elected governments. Protests have been used in the past to also overthrow democratic governments. We have seen it happen before in many countries.
“Assuming you also looked critically at this situation, you would realise that the government takes some of these drastic measures it uses to suppress protests, especially violent protests, because it fears for the safety of peace loving citizens.
“Thugs and miscreants usually take over these protests and use that opportunity to vandalise and wreck people’s businesses. No responsible Government would sit idly by while people’s means of livelihood were taken away.
“But even with all that said, the government must also be compassionate. The President is like a father. And if his children have offended him, he can forgive them.
“Let the government drop the treason charges against the protesters.
Treason carries a possible death penalty and that is too harsh. Let them release everyone who was arrested for participating in the #EndBadGovernance protests.”
