By RSM secretariat
Nigeria was forcibly amalgamated in 1914 by British colonial powers, merging the northern and southern protectorates. However, the country’s independence did not materialize until October 1st, 1960, when the British colonial rulers handed over control to Nigerians. Since then, the situation has not improved significantly.
Nigerians today are largely alienated, hungry, and frustrated, despite living in a country rich in both human and natural resources, including oil and gas.
Structural crisis
Nigeria is failing to add value to its natural resources like oil, and remains incapable of repairing the four existing refineries, while authorities continue to destroy what are labeled as “illegal” refineries. Over the past year, petrol prices have skyrocketed by at least 400%, yet people still have to queue for hours to purchase it. The public is caught in a tug-of-war between the new Dangote Refinery and the federal government. Since the Tinubu administration took power, all its policies are anti-poor.
Under Tinubu’s regime, every sector of national life is in decline. The education sector is practically comatose, and the concerns of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) about the dismal state of education appear to fall on deaf ears within the government.
For the working class and ordinary citizens, life has been marked by skyrocketing costs of transportation, increases in the prices of goods and services, more taxes, and higher tariffs for poor services like electricity and telecommunications.
One of the most alarming issues in Nigeria today is the growing insecurity, with terrorists, bandits, and separatists overrunning vast parts of the country. However, rather than focusing on this grave threat to life, property, and the very existence of the people, the military, secret services, and police have been preoccupied with suppressing public protests about the state of the country.
Crack down on protests
Since August, we have witnessed widespread illegal arrests and detentions of activists and socialists who organized or joined protests, culminating in the protests on October 1st. The regime’s crackdown on dissent appears to be a deliberate attempt to prevent a potential uprising from below against Tinubu’s administration. In a particularly heavy-handed move, 11 leading protesters were charged with treason, terrorism, and disturbing public peace—charges seemingly intended to instill fear in the populace.
In the lead-up to the October 1st protests, leaked police documents revealed troubling directives. One letter from the Inspector General of Police referred to protesters as “unscrupulous elements,” exposing the regime’s cruelty and the police’s ongoing support for the government’s narrative that they are protecting “lives and properties.”
October 1st protests
Despite threats of arrests and fabricated charges against detained protest leaders, people still came out on October 1st to voice their grievances. Interestingly, even top government officials admitted that there was little to celebrate. Nonetheless, security forces made arrests. In Kano State, for example, six prominent activists were invited for a meeting with the Commissioner of Police. However, once they arrived, their phones were seized, and they were transferred to the Intelligence Response Team (IRT), a special unit of the Nigeria Police in Abuja. They were released the day after the protest, but the illegal action disrupted the protests in Kano, as other organizers had to go into hiding to avoid arrest.
Security operatives were stationed in strategic locations across the country, setting up roadblocks throughout Abuja. All roads leading to Eagle Square, the proposed site for Independence Day celebrations in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and the gathering point for the Abuja protests, were heavily secured.
During the #FearlessInOctober protests in Abuja, police fired teargas at hundreds of demonstrators protesting against poverty, hardship, and poor governance. The protests were violently dispersed, yet the Federal Capital Territory Police Command denied attacking the October 1st protesters.
The police spokesperson, SP Josephine Adeh, stated, “The operatives only took proactive measures to prevent looting,” in response to reports that policemen had attacked protesters at Utako Market earlier that Tuesday. She added, “Acting on intelligence, the operatives only took measures to forestall miscreants who were taking advantage of the protest to loot shops in the market, and as a result, extended focus to them. As a responsible agency, we could not stand by and allow traders to be robbed of their hard-earned money and belongings without intervening.”
She urged the public to disregard “misleading and mischievous information,” stressing that the command remained committed to ensuring the safety of the public while respecting their civil rights. However, in contrast to the police’s statement, the protesters were peaceful, carrying banners with messages like “We are hungry” and “Enough is enough, Revolution Now.”
In Jos, a city in the North-Central region of Nigeria, five protesters were arrested and forced to write statements without their lawyers present. They were later released by the end of the day.
In Rivers State, security operatives, along with political thugs, were deployed to attack protesters, preventing the protest from taking place. The police, with support from these thugs, ensured the demonstration did not hold.
Meanwhile, in Ogun State, the government, through the Attorney General, obtained a court order restraining protesters to certain enclosed areas within the state.
In Lagos, leading activists and organizers were invited by the police for questioning. The “National Day of Survival” protest, took place peacefully under the Ikeja Bridge. Protesters gathered to express their frustration with the worsening economic conditions in the country. The event was organized by various civil society organizations under the #EndBadGovernance banner, which had previously held protests from August 1st to August 10th.
Solidarity needed
Despite intimidation and repression, protests were held in about 11 states, highlighting the growing dissatisfaction with the economic policies under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
It is important to emphasize that activists and socialists are still battling illegal detentions and facing fabricated charges. After the protests in Abuja were harshly suppressed, comrades visited detained protesters at Kuje prison to extend solidarity and discuss the steps being taken to meet the stringent bail conditions and the progress made so far.
The international solidarity received so far has been important, and it is crucial to continue the pressure. We urge the trade unions, movements, left organizations to pressure the Tinubu regime to release activists and socialists, drop the trumped-up charges against them, and stop the repression of protests.
