Nigerian protesters shut down Africa’s largest city, protest standoff with government

On Monday, Lagos was the largest in a series of protests in the West African country of 206 million people, leading to a significant rise in temperatures between protesters and the government.

The Nigerian army was deployed at a planned protest site at some intersection of the capital, Abuja, just days after police issued an executive order banning demonstrations in the city by local authorities. Over the weekend, Defense Minister Bashir Magashi warned protesters against breaches of national security and Information Minister La Mohammed said the government would “not tie its hands and plunge the country into chaos.”

Protesters in Lagos have accused the government of cracking down on the invaders, saying the government would create an excuse to sabotage, a charge the government denies.

“I know they will try to bring in troops to intimidate us,” said Gbenga Abioye, a student taking part in a Lagos protest at Mubella Mohammed Airport, where young people chanted the national anthem through a tinny speaker. . “We are not going to fight. But we will be on the streets. “

Between the growing rhetoric of President Muhammadu Buhari and the opposition movement, there is a growing possibility of a growing protest movement against alleged government corruption, economic mismanagement and more widespread protests against nepotism.

The slump in oil prices and the impact of the coronavirus epidemic have accelerated the Nigerian economy, which has failed to keep pace with rapid population growth, sparking protests in the wake of deep economic woes. Nige More than 55% of Nigerians are incompetent or unemployed and youth unemployment is also high, according to official figures. More than 0% of Nigerians work in the informal sector, meaning that large cities are locked down by the government to slow the spread of the new coronavirus, requiring millions of people to survive.

Mr Buhari, a former general who briefly ruled Nigeria as head of military affairs in Nigeria in the 1980s, has deployed troops against other protests, including the year 2018, before returning as civilian president elected in 2015, where government forces 45 were killed. Shia Muslims march in support of a jailed cleric. He urged the protesters to give the government time to address their concerns.

The current protests began with a demand to ban the infamous police unit, the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, or SARS, which has long been accused of extortion, torture and murder of a judge. The massive peaceful protest, organized under the handtag #IndsARS, won the support of celebrities and business leaders from around the world, including rapper Kanye West and Twitter’s chief executive officer Jack Dorsey, who urged people to support the opposition by donating bitcoin.

U.S. And Europe’s Nigerian Diaspora communities have taken part in street protests in solidarity with the movement seeking to remove the country’s traditional sectarian and economic divisions.

“This protest is different because Nigerians are speaking with one voice for the first time and the government can find nothing to divide us,” said famous actor Chalas Inoji, who is wrapped in the popular flag of Nigeria. “Enders are the main issues of bad governance, abuse and institutional high-endurance all these years. We are calling for a complete overhaul of our political system. ”

The Nigerian government has agreed to disband the police unit and establish a new select police force, the Swat, whose officers will be trained by the International Committee of the Red Cross. But tensions are rising on the streets across the country, with protesters vowing not to withdraw until promises are fulfilled and the government releases those arrested in recent protests.

In Edo State, authorities imposed a curfew after hundreds of prisoners escaped from prisons in a melee of protests. Elsewhere, groups of men armed with clubs and bats attacked groups of opponents at strategic intersections.

Protests are being held in Nigeria by the euro, an average country of 18 years old and one of the fastest growing populations in the world, which could become the third largest country by 2050, surpassing the US. These demonstrations fit the emerging global approach of youth-led calls for change from Hong Kong to Sudan and Chile.

Amaka Anku, an analyst at Eurasia Group, a risk adviser, said Nigeria’s youth-led protests could “begin to redefine the political landscape.”

“The current pay generation of Nigerian youth has paid very little attention to politics to date.… Now that young protesters are becoming more conscious of their political power, the reality is likely to change.”

Within the protest movement, a fracture is emerging between those who want to focus on police brutality and those who want a more fundamental change.

“Even the biggest strength of the protest has become its biggest responsibility, which is the complete absence of central leadership,” said David Hyunuddin, who criticized the government for going ahead with the protests. “Military intervention is very likely now.”

The protest was no longer about police brutality and had become political, a senior Nigerian security official said. “This is a platform that people are hijacking in opposition to the government. It is well funded. “

There were indications that Mr Buhari’s allies were tightening their grip on opponents. The governors of Nigeria’s Muslim-majority North have rejected the complete disbandment of the SARS, stressing that it is playing a key role in fighting the Boko Haram insurgency and that it should be reformed rather than ousted.

The Nigerian military said over the weekend that it would launch a two-month national exercise – Operation Crocodile Sweet – for the first time the annual exercise, specifically focused on the oil-producing Delta region, would be nationwide.

As Monday night fell, thousands of protesters gathered at the bridge toll gate, putting lights on their cellphones as musicians sang protest songs by booming speakers. A huge digital advertising banner was lit on the bridge with the slogan “Soro Soke” or “Speak Loader”.

Lagos protesters have vowed to continue the citywide shutdown for three days. “The protests are taking place in phases and we are not ready to leave the streets anytime soon,” said Nacherian. Are-year-old actor Uche Nnadi said. “We’re fed up with bad leadership.”

Write to Park J. Parkinson at [email protected]