LET me open my discourse by asking some rhetorical questions for which I believe many Nigerians, home and abroad have ready made answers.
Is Nigeria facing an infernal social insecurity? Are Nigerians going through an unprecedented economic turmoil including poverty, deprivations and hunger? Are Nigerians one of the most resilient people going by their measured perseverance in the face of some scotched-earth policies by the federal government which further exercerbate their existential crises? To all these questions and many more that are on the lips of Nigerians, the answer is a resounding yes.
Since the answer is in the affirmative, do I support the oncoming national protests? To this I will say no. I will regale you with my reasons in due course.
But before then, let me put a caveat. I’m an unabashed democrat. I believe in the spirit and letters of democracy based on the conviction that democracy is a system that accords and guarantees fundamental and inalienable rights to individuals, such as right to life, freedom of association, freedom of speech, and the right of persons for peaceful assembly.
It is pertinent for me to state here that
Nigeria is a state party to the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). In the covenant article 21 expressly give citizens the right of peaceful assembly.
At regional level, Nigeria is a state party to the 1981 African charter on Human and peoples’ rights. Article 11 of the charter also empowers individuals with the rights to assemble peacefully. Again, Nigeria is a party to the 1998 protocol on the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights which also confer on citizens the right to peaceful assembly.
Section 40 of the 1999 constitution as amended, also clearly stated that every person is entitled to assemble and associate with others freely. Therefore, the Nigerian constitution has also given all individuals express rights to peaceful assembly.
Coming from this context, I can say with all sense of modesty that I’m empowered with the knowledge to know that peaceful assembly is not an anathema in any democratic setting.
It is also my fervent belief that Nigeria is being ruled with blithe regard to the cardinal principles of check and balance, transparency and accountability as enshrined in the constitution while rule of law has been desecrated and thrown to the dogs since time immemorial.
Since the birth of civil rule in 1999, our democracy has always been a journey in descent, impunity and lawlessness with leaders openly shortchanging the people at will.
In the ensuing national debate in favour or against the peaceful assembly or what Nigerians refer to as “national protests”, I have always aligned with the views of those who push for peaceful assembly in the face of the lackluster approach of the government towards the plights of millions of Nigerians who are hobbled by adversities and worsening life conditions on daily basis.
I’m still a believer that in peaceful assembly lies some of the solutions to our governance challenges. Be that as it may, I want to enjoin Nigeria to only occupy the streets as a last resort after the government has failed on all fronts.
There is no gainsaying that the Tinubu led government is disturbed or even anxious by happenings in Nigeria especially the calls by Nigerian youths to commence peaceful assembly in the face of hunger, insecurity, poverty and deprivations which have became the past times of Nigerians in recent times.
I believe the federal government’s anxiety is even amplified by the recent developments in some African countries.
In the first instance, resistance to bad governance started to manifest in the form of coup d’etats especially amongst countries within the Sahel region. At a time, such coups became so contagion that democracy in the continent became patently threatened. As at the last count, no fewer than seven African countries are ruled by the butt of the gun from 2020 to date.
But recent development in Kenya has again redefined the dynamics of resistance to bad governance through peaceful assembly which is the underlying and most fundamental factor behind the recent calls for national protest which has the tendency to sweep across many African countries in what may come as our own version of the “Arab Spring”.
But I want to quickly note that while some of the countries swept by the Arab Spring had some form of stability, others like Libya are still contending with the internecine wars which the Arab Spring has wrought on them.
For me, the current situation in Nigeria presents and opportunity where the government and Nigerians should form a national front to discuss our challenges and a proffer a way out. It is not late for the government to create a window for interacting with Nigerians on the subject. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has traversed the length and breath of Nigeria when he was canvassing for their votes. He should waste no time to create a similar forum to meet with Nigerians for confidence building. There should be no place for arrogance or procrastination on the side of the leadership at all levels towards the amicable resolution of the contentious issue at hand.
I also wish to appeal to Nigerians to as a matter of urgency, align with the government’s move to chart a way forward out of the conundrum. Unlike Kenya where national protest was rooted based on the conviviality, confidence and understanding between the people, Nigeria is already a disparate entity of diverse and contending interests. And to add salt to injury, it is a place in which fringe armed groups and non state actors are having a field day with terrorists holding sway in the North, East, IPOB having a field day in the south east, while bandits, kidnappers and other violent groups are wreaking havoc in other parts of the country.
We don’t need to be reminded that it is easy for enemies of Nigeria to form a vanguard with these violent armed groups to hijack the protests and render Nigeria ungovernable. And to add to the dangerous mix, politically exposed persons with huge war chests can also use their wealth to add petrol to the raging fire. Our teeming unemployed youths may serve as cannon fodders to these unscrupulous politicians. There is also the possibility that our unemployed youths can seize the protest to engage in arson and looting of government and private properties as witnessed during the #EndSARS protest.
With the above tendencies, it is better for Nigerians to once again allow reasoning and wisdom to prevail in this period of national anomie lest we regret when the damage is already done. A case in point is Libya.
I come in peace.
Ismail is the editor-in-chief of Fact Check News.