Protest already achieved 25% of its goal — Activist

Human Rights Activist and Lawyer, Tony Dania, has said that the #EndBadGovernance protest has achieved about 25 per cent of its goals even before it began.

He attributed this to the implementation of populist policies by the government such as reducing the price of rice, supporting Dangote’s local refinery, and approving a minimum wage for workers.

While addressing journalists on Wednesday in Lagos, he explained that the protests erupted because the government was not proactive in handling the issues that led to the protests.

He said, “They’re selling rice. They’re coming up with populist policies, which is something they should have done before. They are addressing the issue of Dangote refinery, which they should have considered earlier. So, I think the protest has succeeded to some extent.”

While he expressed support for the protest if peaceful, he said he desisted from participating because it was not well coordinated.

He added that the protest may be hijacked by hoodlums and become fatal, pushing the country into chaos.

According to the activist, the so-called organisers of the protests do not have well-coordinated plans.

He said, “Can any of the organisers control the protests if hijacked by criminals? Can they manage protests against the protest because the government will also counter-protest, and some politicians may even plant thugs among the genuine protesters? Can they control the situation?

“The protest is justified and I support it, except that I am not in support of it being hijacked by criminals or politicians. You can’t stop the area boys from joining in. You can’t stop the government from counter-protesting.

“The protest is justified even though some cases have been seen to be very pronounced for other parties. It is not a partisan issue. But then, politicians can still take advantage of it, leading to the destruction of scarce infrastructure.

“I will not support that. Protests that lead to the killing of police personnel, like what happened during the #EndSARS saga, are unacceptable.

“I will not support protests that lead to destruction. But everything in society is evolving, not static. So, we should look at the best way to effect protests and reduce the damages that usually occur in Nigeria.

“For instance, what I’m doing here is a form of protest, and it’s effective and does not damage society.”

The legal practitioner said the genesis of the protests is rooted in conspicuous corruption among government officials at both the federal and state levels, some cases of alleged serious fraud and fraudulent enrichment, high cost of living, very low incentives for medium and small-scale industries, the impact of oil and gas and maritime sectors on the economy, as well as youth restiveness and unemployment.

However, he said the solution to the current situation is for the Federal Government to implement populist policies that are self-executing, and support the Dangote refinery which he said would contribute more than 30% to the nation’s economy by creating thousands of jobs along with value chains, support local farmers, and tackle the insecurity in the country.

He expressed the view that the protests would not last the ten days as pronounced by the organisers, saying more than 40 per cent of Nigerians cannot wait for so long as they depend on daily jobs for their survival.