By Emeka Amaefula
PROTESTS AGAINST BAD GOVERNANCE IN NIGERIA -DAY ONE ACROSS NIGERIA
The organized protesters in Rivers state gathered at Port Harcourt Pleasure Park along Aba Expressway in the morning hours as their take-off point as they processed along the road waving fresh leaves and some carrying placards with several inscriptions written on them. It was an empty road for a very busy commercial nerve center of the capital city of Port Harcourt, Rivers state. As banks, commercial institutions including Shoprite, a multi-national shopping Mall along Aba Road became empty with most residents peeping from their front houses taking measured steps to weigh in their decisions whether to join the marching processing band of protesters against bad governance in Nigeria. Along NTA road a very busy connecting routes to the Airport Omagwa via Obiri ikwerre Flyover, it was a different game as the road was blocked by early birds protesters and motorists were cautioned by others to take different routes but the road was empty as there was no vehicular movement including that of pedestrians who all were watching development from their various houses.
As the Aba road Protesters were trooping out with others joining them from the flanks of adjoining roads and streets the number of protesters increased as the moved towards the Government house Gate where Rivers state Governor Siminialayi addressed the Youths of Rivers state with soothing words of concerns about the current economic hardship in the country and promised to carry their message to Mr President. He urged them to remain calm and peaceful as it’s their constitutional right to engage in peaceful protest. His offer of money for the provision of water threw up a rejection of shouting responses from the teeming crowd “We want jobs and not your money”
The Rivers state Governor as at the time of filing this report happened to have been the only serving governor who mustered courage to come out to address the protesters. Sir Siminialayi enumerated his administration’s youth friendly policies for economic enhancement which included N4B Credit facility for Small/Medium scale investors loan scheme, Free Bus for palliatives to cushion the economic hardship occasioned by Fuel subsidy removal et.c. Elsewhere in the country it was chaotic in Kano state as protesters looted the newly constructed Nigerian Communication Commission, NCC building about to be commissioned in the city of Kano. In Kaduna capital of Kaduna state it was more brutal as three persons including a Police officer were reported to have been killed during the protest. . A video clip obtained by a Daily trust reporter in Daura showed a crowd of protesters shouting in Hausa language “Bama yi,! Bama yi ! which literally meant “We don’t want”, In Daura, Katsina State, the home of former President Muhammadu Buhari, it was reported that angry protesters swooped on his residence and attempted to break into his building shouting that they are hungry and tired of this administration. A resident of the building came out to address the crowd and promised to take their message recorded for transmission to former President Buahri. The teeming crowd shifted their base to the Palace of Emir of Daura, Alhaji Farouk Umar Farouk.
At Abuja the Federal Capital Territory, where Minister of FCT Nyesom Wike’s administration obtained ex parte Order stopping Protesters from accessing the Eagle Square a popular gathering place instead the court ordered that Protesters should use the MKO Stadium for there gathering as the streets of FCT Abuja may not be safe from the activities of hoodlums who may hijack the peaceful protests. On the day Labour Party 2023 presidential candidate Mr. Peter Obi was seen participating among the protesters. It was also gathered that there was shooting of Tear gas canisters by security operatives to disperse the protesters with the compliance of the Court Order obtained by the Minister of FCT Abuja. Nyesom Wike in his Thursday 1st August,2024 Press briefing accused a senator of providing food for the protesters accusing him of sponsoring the protest which he said he would be investigated for in due time.
The Protesters at Ojota Lagos, witnessed the presence of Shehu Atiku Abubakar, one of the sons of the 2023 PDP Presidential candidate Alhaji Atiku Abubakar who addressed the teeming crowd who defied the the traditional ORO festival declared in the South west region of Nigeria by the traditional rulers.
———Emeka Amaefula —–+234(0)8111813069
