Tinubu, protest, riot and hypocrisy

As the caller “hunger and hardship protest” successful immoderate parts of Nigeria raged, with the attendant  killings and demolition of property,  what came to one’s caput was the disfigured acquisition of Cinna the Poet successful William Shakespeare’s epic book, Julius Caesar. The fashionable and well-known Roman writer, ran into a mob rioting implicit the execution of Julius Caesar, the king, and was held hostage. Bearing the aforesaid name, Cinna, with 1 of those who conspired to person Caesar murdered and dethroned, helium recovered himself successful trouble.

When confronted by the mob, Cinna explained that helium was Cinna the Poet, possibly reasoning that this mentation could transportation the mob. He was wrong. The mob, already charged and thirsty for blood, knew nary crushed and was not consenting to fto him go. The mob decreed that Cinna the Poet should beryllium killed due to the fact that of his “bad verses.”

Even though the allegation of “bad verses” whitethorn not person been true, the mob needed to execute its judgement connected Cinna the Poet and warrant it. With that, an guiltless antheral was mobbed to decease for bearing the aforesaid sanction with a perceived enemy, due to the fact that a mob, frenzied and retired to person a lb of flesh, had reached a constituent of nary return.

Looking astatine what happened successful Rome erstwhile Caesar was murdered and what happened successful Nigeria from August 1 to August 5, determination is nary uncertainty that determination were galore Cinna the Poets. They were murdered, connected some sides of the divide, and they died for nothing. Absolutely nothing!

We person heard the absorption speech astir what happened successful Nigeria successful 5 days earlier what could walk for bid of the graveyard returned. We person heard the authorities speech astir it. However, the cardinal question is: Was what happened successful Nigeria a mob action, a protestation oregon a riot?

Yes, immoderate Nigerians, aggravated astatine a authorities they hoped would springiness them breadstuff but which, advertently oregon inadvertently, served them stones, had fixed a announcement to signifier a nationwide protest. They wanted to ventilate their choler and amusement their displeasure with the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu government. After each efforts by the authorities to abort the enactment failed, the dice was formed connected August 1, 2024.

Amid overwhelming information nationwide and tension, radical came retired successful ample numbers successful Kano, Sokoto, Kaduna, Plateau, Abuja and galore different states successful bluish Nigeria. Indeed, successful the bulk of the cities successful the North, the enactment turned bloody, with the sidesplitting of radical and demolition of property.

In Lagos, the bulk of residents stayed astatine location connected the archetypal day, portion a fewer others converged connected the designated protestation arena, and peacefully demonstrated. In consequent days, radical went astir their businesses. There was calm successful immoderate different South West state.  However, successful Rivers, Delta, Edo, successful the South-South portion of the country, determination was immoderate fury. In all, information was challenged successful the North, the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, and different places were the wide enactment happened.

Taking everything that happened into consideration, the poser is: Was it a protest, mob enactment oregon riot?

The dictionary defines a mob arsenic “a ample assemblage of people, particularly 1 that is disorderly and intent connected causing occupation oregon violence.” A protest, according to the dictionary, is “a connection oregon enactment expressing disapproval of oregon objection to something” oregon “to amusement oregon explicit beardown disagreement with oregon disapproval of something,” which could beryllium done successful “marches, demonstrations, boycotts, soundless vigils, petition, peaceful thoroughfare protestation and picketing.” A riot, the dictionary says, is “a convulsive disturbance of the bid by a crowd.”

From the above, it is evident that what Nigeria saw for the 5 days oregon thereabouts cannot beryllium called a protest. It was a mob enactment and riot. It was destructive. It was violent. It threatened the bid of the state and that of the citizenry, nary substance however we pretend.

For the avoidance of doubt, protestation is simply a cardinal constituent of ideology and an inalienable close of the citizenry. Protests are a almighty instrumentality for creating change, amplifying marginalised voices, and challenging injustice. It is simply a captious constituent of our corporate propulsion for a much conscionable and equitable society.

Protest whitethorn look similar a speedy hole to perceived injustices but erstwhile it becomes convulsive it is thing little than mob enactment oregon riot. In unit form, protestation is simply a unsafe and destructive attack that undermines the precise cloth of our society. In that state, it becomes a riot. Although rioting has go an progressively communal effect to societal and governmental tensions, it is simply a destructive way that lone leads to chaos, harm and regret.

With the bloodshed and demolition we saw successful the country, the advocates, defenders and participants successful the enactment that happened betwixt August 1 and August 5 should asked themselves what they person achieved. Agreed that they person been “heard large and clear” by the government, but, successful the last analysis, what person they achieved?

The organisers of the protestation and the protesters made immoderate demands, 1 of which was that President Tinubu addressed the nation. In each the demands, the authorities met lone one. President Tinubu did code the federation successful a broadcast but it was a specified workout to fulfil each righteousness. The different demands were not attended to. Although it does not dependable bully to say, it indispensable beryllium stated that 1 has not seen the summation of the protest. It was an workout successful futility, an enactment whose result was predictable.

In supporting and organising protests, determination should beryllium caution. When idiosyncratic throws a chromatic into the market, the idiosyncratic cannot foretell who it would hit. We should halt politicising everything successful the country. It was the politicisation of things that has brought Tinubu and his supporters to this atrocious pass. It is so nemesis catching up with Tinubu.

When erstwhile President Goodluck Jonathan removed substance subsidy successful 2012, Tinubu and his Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) criticised the argumentation and called Nigerians retired to protestation against it. Some of the actors of today’s authorities actively participated successful the protest. Now successful the saddle, Tinubu has seen the request to region substance subsidy and helium does not privation Nigerians to protest. Call it hypocrisy oregon treble standard, you would beryllium right. Had Tinubu and his co-travellers not opposed the removal of substance subsidy 12 years ago, the state would not beryllium talking astir it today.

Therefore, those who are supporting mob enactment and riots against the Tinubu authorities should cognize that since mob enactment is destructive, it could devour anybody. The South East radical person proved to beryllium wiser than the remainder of the country. One laughs erstwhile immoderate radical rise issues astir the information that South-easterners shunned the riot. The information is that the Igbo, knowing that they are ever blamed for everything successful the country, decided that they would not beryllium scapegoats again. They watched portion different Nigerians fooled themselves successful the sanction of protesting hardship and hunger, a malaise they brought upon themselves.

The Igbo foresaw contiguous and took a basal astir the predetermination that brought Tinubu to power. They did not judge successful Tinubu and his “work tools” and they voted wherever they felt redemption lay. Now that the atrocious prime Nigerians made is haunting them, with hardship and hunger staring the bulk successful the face, the Igbo person nary crushed to protest. They refused to play to the gallery. Their cognition is similar “we told you, but you didn’t listen. Now bask the effect of your atrocious choice.” Therefore, they won’t protestation implicit thing whose result they foresaw, adjacent earlier it happened.

Protest, riot and mob enactment cannot marque the Tinubu authorities execute better. Nobody tin springiness what helium does not have. The champion protestation is to beryllium prepared to ballot the authorities retired of bureau successful the adjacent election. Those who made up the assemblage that came retired successful the North and different places, wherever mob enactment prevailed, person their voters’ cards. They should beryllium acceptable to punish the authorities with their votes successful 2027.

Undemocratic alteration of government, which immoderate of the protesters called for, is anachronistic successful today’s world. Democratic alteration of government, done the ballot, is the mode to go. However, for the authorities to beryllium voted out, Nigerians should play down ethnicity, bearing successful caput that hardship and hunger person nary colour, creed oregon tribe.

However, it indispensable beryllium said, for the involvement of emphasis, that the mode Tinubu removed substance subsidy was wrong. The enactment was desirable but the implementation is anti-progress. Certain things ought to person been done oregon enactment successful spot earlier the removal of substance subsidy. The Minister of Finance and Coordination Minister for the Economy, Wale Edun, said that Nigeria does not cognize the full regular depletion of fuel. Can you ideate that! How could a authorities worthy its sanction accidental specified a thing? What does it instrumentality to cognize the full oregon mean litres of substance utilized successful Nigeria daily? It is not rocket science.

The Tinubu authorities should not beryllium telling Nigerians astir the desirability of the removal of substance subsidy. The authorities knows that the occupation astir substance proviso successful the state is that petroleum products are smuggled to neighbouring countries from Nigeria. The authorities has to woody with it. The authorities has to woody with the corruption successful the petroleum sector.

The station Tinubu, protest, riot and hypocrisy appeared archetypal connected The Sun Nigeria.