Nigeria Now and the Art of Protest

As Nigerians face economic and social challenges, it is important that they express their grievances through protests. However, certain groups have resorted to a different form of ‘protest’, which is used to water down the legitimate concerns of the people.

It is a mockery of the concerns of the masses when supporters of Nigeria’s ruling party, the All Progressives Congress [APC], engage in organized protest, not against the government, which is within their rights to, but against opposition figures, who have no administrative responsibility towards those protesting. Yet, at various points in 2023—which had all the tensions that come with an election year—pro-Bola Ahmed Tinubu (at the time, the president-elect) supporters staged demonstrations against major opposition candidates, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi. The demonstrators affirmed their national leader, Tinubu, won the election. They also suggested that Atiku should retire from politics and claimed that ‘Obidients’ (supporters of Obi) made the election a smooth ride for their candidate. How these became protest demands is inexplicable. After all, they believed their candidate won the election. Even more jarring, this group of supporters went on to put ‘the nation on notice that no one will be allowed to intimidate the Nigerian judiciary any longer’...

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