By Femi Oyelola
There is no gainsaying that the #EndBadGovernance protests which spread across Nigeria from August 1, have inflicted a heavy toll on the nation, with lives lost, property destroyed, and economic activities disrupted.
As the storm of the protests is settling down, the human and economic repercussions of the protests are staggering as Nigeria’s economy has reportedly suffered a loss of over ₦700 billion in just the first three days of the protest.
A report by the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) had earlier said that the nationwide protests could inflict an estimated daily loss of N400 billion to the already fragile economy.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Center, Muda Yusuf, said the consequences of such a huge loss for the country and the citizens would be very severe, which could degenerate into chaos and anarchy.
Similarly, the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu has decried the economic losses arising from the Protest, saying the loss of human lives in the protests far outweighs material damage.
The minister, who spoke at the African Caucus 2024 meeting in Abuja recently, acknowledged that government measures aimed at transforming the economy may have short-term costs, but are necessary to address decades of under-investment in critical sectors.
Amnesty International has also reported multiple deaths, while the Nigeria Police Force has confirmed the killing of one officer and injuries to others.
To the Muhammad Hussaini Family of Samaru in Sabo Gari LGA Kaduna State, the pain of the protest will remain with them for long a period as their son, Ismail Muhammad, was killed when troops of the Nigerian Army mobilized to disperse a mob in the Samaru area during the protests.
Even though the Kaduna State Governor dispatched a high-powered delegation made up of top government officials and heads of security agencies to console the family of the teenager, the pain of the unfortunate incident remains hurting.
The team was led by the Overseeing Commissioner for Internal Security, Samuel Aruwan.
“While the team was with the family, I spoke on the phone with the Father of the deceased, Muhammad Hussaini, and expressed our deepest condolences.
“I told him that we are deeply pained by the unfortunate incident and will leave no stone unturned to ensure that justice is served. A full and thorough investigation will be conducted and the culprit will be brought to the book.
“I will stay in close contact with the family of the deceased in these trying times. I pray to Almighty Allah to comfort them. May Almighty Allah forgive Ismail’s shortcomings and grant him Aljannah Firdausi, “ he said.
It was also reported that at least, 17 people have been killed since the protests began across Nigeria on the 1st of August. The fatalities occurred in various locations, including Abuja, Kano, Niger, Borno, Kaduna, and Jigawa.
Mrs. Bola a businesswoman who operates from the premises of AIT along Ali Akilu Way has a bitter tale to tell. Speaking to Peoples Daily Weekend, she said her shop was vandalized and all the crates of drinks were charted away.
However, she still thanked God and security operatives who arrived in time to disperse the looters trying to gain access to her business center where she kept her photocopy machines and computers.
But Mrs. Chinaso Obi was not that lucky as the looters invaded her apartment located behind the KASTELEA office, looting whatever valuables they could reach and destroying the rest.
Narrating her ordeal to the Chief of Staff to Kaduna State Governor, Mal. Sani Liman Killa, and the Overseeing Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Security, Mr Samuel Ahuwan, Mrs Chinaso who was in tears said she doesn’t know where to start from or where to go.
Similarly, Mal. Hassan Ahmed whose tricycle was vandalized in Rigassa said, “This is not protest, my brother, but an act of looting and vandalism.
“I packed my Keke in front of my house because I didn’t go out today but suddenly they invaded my compound with various looting materials and asked me to take them to Panteka market knowing fully well that if I was caught on the road, I would be arrested.
“Instead of understanding me, they flared up and destroyed my Keke and you can see what is left of the damaged body parts. I don’t know where to start because I am so confused.”
But Mrs Mary Ebele, popularly known as Mama Twins who owns a restaurant at Refinery Junction in Chikun LGA said, she viewed the protest as a gain because there was no case of protest in her area as such, so everyone remained indoors and that increased the number of her customers.
“Before, if I cooked, it would last and remain that I will take home but now, that same food will finish before half day because customers are plenty. People now rush to buy food from my side because there is no chance to go to the market.
Up till yesterday, people were still coming, now the challenge is that I cannot go to the market to buy more foodstuff.
“I do not pray for protests to happen because I heard what happened to some people in town, how they were destroying things so I don’t pray it happens but for me, it was a blessing.
However, Edirin Robinson, a Mass Communication Student at Kaduna Polytechnic maintained that the protest remains the most futile protest she had witnessed.
According to her, there was no need to call for protest since President Tinubu had only just clocked one year in office and was still trying to put things in order.
She stressed that the previous government had done damage to the nation’s economy and it will require double or triple, the efforts of a leader to balance the economy.
Edirin added that the brains behind the protest were despicable people who used the pains of innocent citizens to motivate them to fulfill their selfish desires while they exempted themselves from the pains of the protest.
“I don’t see any need for a protest and if I had my way, it would never have happened. Look at the situation now, if we are to be honest, nothing was achieved and the situation is now worse.”
“They say it’s to remove bad governance and that is more funny because we suffered eight years with no accountability from the previous government, so why can’t we allow President Tinubu his four years in peace?
“That aside, the protest was not peaceful, instead there was vandalism, looting, and bloodshed. Private properties were invaded and sources of income for most were destroyed, what have we achieved?
“It is high time Nigerians learnt to understand that violence will never solve anything. I plead with the youths: do not allow selfish and wicked humans to manipulate you and use you to carry out their malicious plots against the nation.
“It is no longer about, religion, tribe or political party, it is more about the greater good of Nigeria. We all hope and pray for the best but protest, especially of this kind is never an option, God forbid it happens again.”
Speaking on the way forward, Apostle Yakubu of House of Purpose Ministry, U/Sunday in Chikun LGA said he and his Associate Pastors have been on their knees, even before the protest, calling on God to intervene to ensure that chaos and anarchy did not take over the nation.
He advised that now that the protest is over, leaders at all levels should pave the way for programmes and projects that will sustain peace and unity in the country
Corroborating this, the President of the Association of Nigeria Lecturers in Diaspora United Kingdom and Campaign for Democracy in Diaspora United Kingdom Abdullahi Akeem Ahmed (Dan Farauta)opined that there are two categories of citizens in Nigeria today, the hungry and the angry.
He explained that the hungry are the innocent/ordinary Nigerians looking for just what to eat of which they suffer the most, while the angry are the subsidy cabals, forex cabals, people benefitting from the old corrupt system.
According to him, “these people were very comfortable and never on the side of the masses. Now there is a new order. The cheap windfall is no longer available, hence they are angry.”
“Unfortunately, the angry is using the hungry to fight their war, and ignorantly, the hungry is fighting the battle of the angry ones.
“Note, the Angry never loved the Hungry, they just see them as tools to achieve their selfish interest.
In all cases, it is the Hungry that bears the brunt so don’t get involved in their fight. Make the best of your worst situations,” he said.
