How Kaduna residents observed hardship protests

By Femi  Oyelola

 

Very early in the morning on Thursday Kaduna residents in their numbers troop out to express their anger over their living condition and demanded  s positive change.

It was the commencement of the much-awaited nationwide planned protests against bad governance and hunger; a day the masses  took their faith in their own hands in response to the harsh economic conditions in the country.

The triggers are a combination of unprecedented fuel price hike, high food inflation, rising electricity tariffs and  collapse of the naira, which have led to the worst economic crises for decades.

The protesters comprising of married women, young girls, and boys, adults, and children came out from areas like Kabala wes, Rigasa, Tundun Wada, Kabala Doki, Unguwar Sarki, and Malali holding leaves and placards some of which read “Tinubu we are hunger” “End the fuel subsidy now”, “We need Jobs” among others.

The protesters were also shouting “Bamu so “ (we don’t like Tinubu), Mu ba bayi bane ( we are not slaves).

Speaking in an interview, one of the protesters, Babangida Garba remarked that in addition to the hunger and high cost of living being experienced in the country, “there’s joblessness in the country.

He said the issue of joblessness is one of the things that made us protest. We have finished school but no job. And if you apply they will tell you they want a person with ten years of experience. Why should they attach experience to someone who has just finished school

Also, speaking  one of the protesters, a 70-year-old woman, Hajiya Maiyaki said she was in full support of the protest because people can no longer eat, saying, “We rice, beans, garri, yam are beyond our reach. We have children and grandchildren, we have orphans, and we cannot feed them.

Another aggrieved student, Aisha Abdullahi said,” Since the coming of Tinubu’s government life has become expensive, saying, “My parents find it difficult to feed us. They find it difficult to clothe me. Pointing at her shoes, she said my father bought me these shoes in 2022.

Meanwhile,  many residents decided to remain indoors for fear of the unknown just as economic activities were paralyzed.

Also closed were the state secretariat as well as Banks, schools, markets, and shops. Bus and tricycle services were not available, as thousands of youths barricaded major routes in the state capital.

A shop owner, Mr Ignatius Chukwu disclosed that the fear of looting was the reason they closed their shops,

“I’ve valuables worth over N50m and if we open the shop they loot it. Who will give you the money to restock? So, many of us have valuables worth hundreds of millions.

However,  despite the precautions, what looked like a peaceful protest suddenly turned violent as hoodlums hijacked the protests attacking the government and private properties.

The protesters marching in large numbers as part of the “EndBadGovernment” nationwide protest moved toward Sir Kashim Ibrahim to register their grievances.

However, when Government officials were busy trying to get the leadership of the protesters, some hoodlums resorted to setting up fire barricades by burning tyres at different locations.

Speaking to  Peoples  Daily  Weekend the Kaduna  State  Police Public  Relations  Officer (PPRO) ASP Mansir Hassan said following the sudden outbreak of violence that characterized the nationwide protest in Kaduna, the Police arrested no fewer than twenty-four miscreants involved in violent conduct occasioned by mischief in the State.

ASP Mansir Hassan added that as earlier envisaged, the somewhat peaceful protest was hijacked by hoodlums who took undue advantage of the so-called faceless sponsors and unleashed their planned mayhem on the State.

“Consequently, the unruly miscreants attempted to gain access into the Kaduna State Government House before they were resisted by the security personnel at the said location, injured two policemen, and broke the glasses of a Police armoured personnel carrier stationed at the entrance of the Government House.

“They subsequently, attacked the office and staff of the Kaduna State Traffic Law Enforcement Agency (KASTLEA) and torched the former along with adjoining State Government offices.

“Twenty-five numbers of these hoodlums were arrested with exhibits indicating their violent tendencies. These exhibits included scissors, a jackknife, and even live 7.62 X 39mm ammunition recovered from one Hassan Ibrahim of Rigasa area Kaduna. Similarly, one suspect was arrested dressed in a Police camouflage uniform for deception.

“Despite the Inspector General of Police’s advice to groups intending to protest, to liaise with the Commissioner of Police of the State they so wished to protest, to fashion out modalities for a peaceful protest, no individual or group that has up till this very moment notified the Kaduna Police Command of its intention to protest in the State.

“In the absence of such a notice, it will be presumed that there’s none, and any attempt to protest violently, those persons or groups will be termed miscreants and will be treated as such.

“The Commissioner of Police Kaduna State, CP A.D. Ali,  is calling on all parents and guardians to restrain their wards from indulging in disturbance of the public peace. “

A  Legal practitioner Barrister Mary Audu said while fuming at the number of children below 10 years that joined the protests saying Part II- specifies that Article IV of Nigeria’s 1999 constitution gives rights, freedoms, and responsibilities of children to parents and state.

She therefore asked why the organisers of the protests would allow these children in their midst.

Barrister Mary applauded Kaduna State  Governor  Senator Uba Sani for handling the ugly situation as a Comrade and activist that he is by ensuring that security agents were professional in dealing with the protests

“ I followed the protesters from Kano Road to the Sir Kashim Ibrahim House and everything was peaceful before the arrival of the hoodlums.

“I dashed back to my house in Malali to  receive rumors of a 24-hour curfew has been imposed on the state but the Government  quickly came out to debunk it and we are all pleased with it,” She said

Similarly, the Protests in the ancient city of Kano were hijacked by hoodlums who looted malls, shops, and government buildings, a few hours after the commencement of hardship protests in the state.

According to resident  Muhammad Kura, most of the hoodlums involved were young individuals brandishing local weapons attacking shops, malls stores, and government buildings, and setting bonfires on the roads

It was gathered that widespread looting had escalated with some of the looters attacking a house and store adjacent to the government house where they carted away foodstuff and properties reportedly worth billions of naira.

“ Some of the hoodlums launched an attack on the Kano printing press, office of the Digital Industrial Park of National Communications, Commission (NCC), Audu located at the Audu Bako Secretariat,

“Places like Rufaida, Yogurt in Kabuga, Haramain Sokoto road, shops and stores along Zaria and zoo roads were among the places that were massively looted.

“Most of the thieves were seen carrying bags of rice, spaghetti, bags of flowers,  office furniture, air conditioners, cooking oil, refrigerators, computers, and metal signboards.

“Also, a bus belonging to the Channels television carrying some journalists was attacked by the hoodlums along Sokoto road in the metropolis.” He said

Reacting to this a public  Commentator Bala Ibrahim described the incident as using patent poverty as a pretext for protest, to steal.

He stressed that lawlessness had come upon the protesters under the people’s protest, which according to the planners, was meant to be peaceful. From the onset, the justification for the protest was repeatedly the issue of poverty, which they blamed on bad governance.

Ibrahim opined that no one can argue against the fact that indeed there is poverty in the land. saying indeed there is hunger in the land. Unemployment, inflation, and insecurity have become the unintended partners of our country, Nigeria.

“ No one can also argue against the fact that these are sinister vices that can besiege a country, as a result of unrighteousness. “He said

He however observed that for long, Nigerians have sadly been living in partnership with poverty. It is not the creation of President Tinubu, nor is it the making of the ruling APC. But the President and the party are committed to effecting a change, within a reasonable time.

“According to statistics,  despite our rich endowment of resources, including oil and minerals, Nigeria as a nation, has been struggling with staggering levels of poverty. Data from the World Bank paints a sobering picture: out of a population exceeding 200 million, over 104 million Nigerians live below the poverty line. This is sad, very sad, and something that should be looked into with patriotism, and not a poorly planned protest.

“From the reports received, the protesters in Kano, Borno, and Kaduna, simply turned thieves, carting away people’s properties in the name of hunger.

“The pictures I saw are sickening, saddening, and seriously skanky. Those accusing their leaders of corruption and bad governance have simply turned sleazy, at the slightest chance of coming into contact with other people’s property.

“Who is now the bad, between the leaders and the followers? And these are the same people patenting poverty to provoke the protest.

“If the only instinct inside the mind of a person in poverty, is the temptation to steal, then that poverty-stricken person has a deficit of integrity, a deficit of morality, and a deficit of proper probity.

“Contrary to the promises made by the planners, about their intent for a peaceful protest, the police in Kaduna said they have arrested some of the protesters with live bullets. Live bullets and firearms in the hands of a person on a peaceful protest?

“Maybe I have a problem with my thinking cap, but up till now, I cannot grasp, or come close to the correct comprehension of such a scenario. It’s either the planners were acting with naivety, or they simply exaggerated the protest instinct, political consciousness, and the projected sense of honesty of some of our people in Nigeria.

“Yes, there are many of us that are copy-and-paste patriots. Some of us are patriots by rhetoric, but thieves and traitorous by action. And same people are always the first to steal when placed in positions of trust. Why should we patent poverty to provoke a protest that would provide a cover for theft?

“From the reports of previous protests or riots in Nigeria, mostly, small businesses are the ones that account for nearly ninety percent of the losses. Such businesses that are impacted by the effect of looting, in the areas in which unrest took place, hardly recover.

“More so, all together, small firms every month stood to lose incalculable amounts in their attempts to resume business operations. As a consequence, many small businesses become confronted with closure, for the simple reason that some people have patented poverty to provoke protests.

“Lawyers have told us, and I expatiate a little, that every citizen of Nigeria is entitled to move freely throughout Nigeria and to reside in any part thereof, and at liberty to engage in any business permitted by law, and that, no citizen of Nigeria shall be expelled from Nigeria or refused entry thereby or exit therefrom, or have his business vandalized by miscreants, under whatever guise, I think.

“If bad governance is a situation where a government fails to adhere to the principles and practices that ensure accountability, transparency, and  fairness, with what happened today in Kano and other places, where the protesters turned into thieves, I think the time has arrived, for an additional lexicon, to take care of “Bad Followers”, particularly those of them that would patent poverty as a pretext for protest, to steal.”

Similarly, a former Senator representing  Kaduna  Central in the Upper  Chamber  Senator  Shehu Sani

Condemned the looting spree in Kaduna and Kano urging protesters to abide by the laws while exercising their civil rights.

Reacting to the protests and looting that followed Muhammad Hassan-Tom wrote” As nationwide planned protests against bad governance and hunger get underway, the worst wrath of the masses may have been inadvertently averted. For one, real revolutions are not advertised and are usually unannounced.

“For another, the passionate pleas and prayers of patriotic Nigerians especially religious and traditional rulers went a long way to convince most of the angry and hungry citizenry to give the governments yet another chance to right the wrongs.

“The tragedy would be for the political ruling class to assume that the people are pacified by the pathetic palliatives that they have been frenetically putting out in the build-up to the protests.

“ These measures do not indicate they even appreciate the scale of the problem. So far, the largest intervention by the Federal Government involves the distribution of 20 truckloads containing 1,200 25 kg bags of rice to each state.

“Catering to citizens and workers’ welfare is not negotiable if the government is desirous of a peaceful and patriotic citizenry and developing an effective and efficient workforce. The alternative is to continue to periodically court protests.

“Like a vicious circle, this is guaranteed to perpetuate poor governance, poverty, and under-development at all levels.”