#EndBadGovernance Protest: Govt Must Act Fast To Save The Catastrophe

Nigeria is on the verge of going through another nationwide protest after the 2020 #EndSars protest that shook the nation to its foundations. This time around the anonymous organizers of the protest have tagged it #EndBadGovernance protest.
Coming after a similar protest against a public taxation law protest lasted many days in Kenya with the attendant huge loss of lives and property, there are fears that the protest in Nigeria could come with more devastating effects.
Already people in government have begun to exhibit signs of desperation as they anticipate the protest. The National Assembly has declared a recess, which has been interpreted as a ploy by its members to escape from the country to avoid the protests which may target them.
President Bola Tinubu has in response to the threat of the protest, called meetings of traditional rulers, governors of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), security chiefs and other stakeholders to discuss the situation. Some spokespersons of government have also issued threats to those they suspect to be organizing the protests, warning that they could face damning consequences.
Some governors as well as the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory have declared that they would not tolerate the protests in their domains. The anonymous organizers of the protests have however refused to back down, insisting that the protests, which will begin on August 1 and last till August 15 would hold as planned.
We are worried that both government and the organizers of the protest have failed to reach a compromise even though the notice of the protest was given many weeks, if not months ahead. In situations like this we expected that government should have taken steps to address the issues raised by the organizers of the protest to assuage the protesters.
Grandstanding by both parties would not help matters for if the protest eventually takes place, it will be difficult to foresee what losses the country would run into both in terms of human lives and valued national assets, not to talk about further damage to the economy which has been on a rundown since last year when government took decisions that withdrew subsidy from a primary product, fuel and allowed the naira, the nation’s currency to go on a free fall in an import-dependent economy.
It’s not too late for all parties to come to a compromise before the protest. The platforms are still open. Grandstanding will not help. Government might have the power of coercion and the masses might have the power of mobilization. But what should be uppermost in the agenda every party is the well-being of the ordinary Nigeria, and the peace and stability of the nation.
The protagonists of the protest have a point. The hardship that Nigerians are going through is enough reason why there should be angst in the land. People can no longer find food to eat let alone take care of their health, the education of their children and meet up with basic needs. Government has not done much to win the confidence of the people. The ostentatious lifestyles of government officials and their families show that government cares nothing.
Government must shut down to attend to the demands of the protesters. They are not too much to meet. Resorting to threats and use of force to quell the protests may not restrain the masses, who have been pushed to the wall by the hardship they are experiencing. Let’s avoid the consequences of the proposed protest and save lives and the economy from the catastrophic consequences of a mass action that could have been avoided.