…NLC, NANS, CSOs, religious bodies emasculated
…Ethnicity, religion, party leaning deal unkind cut on dissent
…Peace of the graveyard reign across country
Nigeria is being sharply divided along many lines. The inability of the people to gather around a common issue that affects them has fueled authoritarianism in the country.
It would seem that the government of the day has divided the polity. It has divided religion, ethnicity, labour groups, students’ groups and even opposition parties.
The inability of Nigerians to speak with one voice on political development has negatively impacted the country.
Today, the students’ body, National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), and even the religious institutions have all been divided and emasculated.
During the #EndBadGovernance protest in August last year, NANS, NLC and some other groups that used to be at the forefront of such marches were lukewarm.
Ironically, NANS also protested in support of the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio during the sexual harassment allegation against him.
Even on social media, no opinion or view-point is galvanised as people somehow bring political divide into every discourse. And, the moment political coloration is brought into any discourse, the very essence of such discussion is light of.
The painful and saddest part of it all is that Nigeria seems to be breeding a generation of digital mob.
While political differences are meant to deepen and strengthen democratic ethos, the unwillingness of some individuals to accommodate dissenting views especially when such views are against their own view-point or political stand is not helpful for any democracy.
The need to take a stand on a common goal especially when it comes to government actions and inactions is fast losing a place in the nation’s political ecosystem as it appears many Nigerians have given up “hope” and have resigned to fate on the face of certain unpleasant happenings in the country.
“Nigerians are losing big interest in organised protest because the outcome of such protest in recent time didn’t augur well for the protesters,” Chukwudinma Okoji, a communication expert told BusinessDay.
Drawing inference from the #EndSars and #EndBadGovernance protests, Okoji said that the wanton arrest of protesters and locking them up in the prisons show that the current administration does not want dissenting voice against its policies that have negatively affected ordinary Nigerians.
He however, sees a ray of hope in the social media which allows for a relative degree of freedom of expression, which have also provided a safe space for Nigerians who would have died under suppression of their voices to vent their anger against government’s unfavourable policies and actions.
“Unfortunately, citizens are still being bullied via cyber law as it is seen with many arrests of citizens sharing their mind on government actions and inactions especially against some public office holders.
“There are many cases against individuals who are alleged to have abused the Inspector General of Police. With all these shenanigans of government and its officials, it is difficult to have an impactful public protest in Nigeria for now,” Okoji said.
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Safe spaces for protests in Nigeria
Many Nigerians will remember Ojota protests in 2012 over fuel subsidy removal by the President Goodluck Jonathan administration and the ‘save Nigeria’ march that forced the government to reverse its decision.
Such freedom has become a part of the nation’s history. Today, although Nigeria is in a democracy, the government comes hard on protesters, and even goes a step further to get the courts to rule on the non-availability of such space, even before a planned protest.
“We don’t generally have safe spaces for protests. I think Lagos, Abuja and some big cities have a place like that but since protest is not in our culture, it is difficult for governments to provide an avenue for such protest and this has made citizens to take to social media to vent their anger on the government and its policies,” Okoji said.
According to him, the social media space has taken over the physical spaces as the go-to space for many Nigerians who wish to vent their displeasure against the government.
“Presently on TikTok, Nigerians have decided to rant for 30 days on their displeasure with this current government. An example of such rant was by the female corps member who complained about the high cost of living in Lagos with a meagre salary government is paying the corps members.
“There have been different views on the rant but the question is, did the girl lie about the current realities in Nigeria? Your guess is as good as mine,” Okoji said.
Moses Lawal, a Lagos-based social commentator told BusinessDay that being muzzled up is dictatorial, especially when the views being expressed are genuine. “I am a strong advocate of freedom of expression via speech, text, or physical actions.”
According to him, freedom of expression comes with the often-muted assumption of responsible usage, and that Nigerians must be able to have civil engagements regardless of the intensity of our emotions. “However, I am equally against expressions that are defamatory, malicious, or destructive,” Lawal said.
He further said that the primary goal of both the government and the citizens should be steering the nation through a positive trajectory, where everybody aligns under a common goal, which he considered to be a better and saner society.
“Once either side’s intentions have ulterior motives, the nation suffers,” Lawal said.
Why Nigerians may not have impactful protests for now
Many Nigerians may find it difficult to join any protest going forward and the reasons are obvious.
It is widely believed that the primary responsibility of the opposition in a democracy is to checkmate the government with constructive criticism. However, the opposition parties in Nigeria only come to life whenever there is an election – they exist only to win votes.
“If the main political opposition parties are not vocal, then the citizens have nothing to fight for,” Okoji said.
He also said that many Nigerians resort to prayers on things that can be easily resolved with logic. According to him, this is the pitiable state Nigeria and Nigerians are at the moment. He however, expressed the optimism that very soon, things would change for the better.
“As the saying goes, nothing lasts forever. We all know in Nigeria, when things go awry and could not be fixed by human effort, we resort to God to do what man cannot do for himself,” Okoji said.
Growing level of distrust
Another reason many Nigerians do not find it pleasant to protest or to speak up against the goings-on in society is the growing level of distrust between the political class and the electorate.
Many now consider protests as a means of scoring cheap political points by politicians who rally round the people to stand against government policies and actions – only to do worse when they finally get into power.
A good example is the 2012 ‘save Nigeria’ protest that was led by the opposition against fuel subsidy removal.
Since the emergence of the All Progressives Congress (APC) – the then leading opposition party into power- almost everything the ‘save Nigeria’ group protested against have been repeated hundred times over by the government with little or no resistant from Nigerians.
Dead unionism in Nigeria
The NLC used to be the voice of the struggling masses long before the creation of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) in Nigeria.
However, it appears that the group has been split by the ruling class to weaken unionism in Nigeria – as both organisations hardly take a stand on any issue in the interest of the working-class Nigerians.
Today, many Nigerians no longer take the NLC seriously. The allegation is that it has been compromised. The belief is that the labour’s actions and inactions in the recent past are considered by many Nigerians as mere grandstanding for personal gains, and not necessarily in defense of the masses.
More worrisome is the level of political patronage among the civil society organisations (CSOs) and religious institutions/bodies in the country.
While it could be permissive for an NLC or TUC to trade softly in dealing with the government on policy issues, it is however, unpardonable for the CSOs and the league of pastors, Imams or traditional worshipers to align with the government when the masses are suffering as a result of government policies and actions that inflict pain on the people.
