Connect with us

News

OPINION: The Politics Of Protest In Nigeria [Nation’s Pulse]

Published

on

By Israel Adebiyi

Nigeria is a paradox wrapped in pain and promise — a country with vast resources, fertile soil, and brilliant minds, yet locked in the chains of systemic failure and elite manipulation. Milk and honey may flow across its landscapes, but the people remain hungry — not for food alone, but for justice, dignity, and a government that works.

Advertisement

Why is it that a nation so blessed seems to curse its people with poverty, insecurity, and hopelessness? Apathy? Maybe. Complicity? Definitely.

The truth is, many Nigerians have stopped holding their leaders accountable. Some are simply waiting for their turn at the table of loot, convinced that justice is no longer a collective pursuit but a personal ambition. Yet, there remains a vast population of everyday Nigerians who wake up each day to survive — not thrive. These are the people with every reason to protest. If not for today, then for tomorrow’s children, who risk inheriting a more broken nation than the one we live in now.

The 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) grants every citizen the right to peaceful assembly and protest. Section 40 explicitly states: “Every person shall be entitled to assemble freely and associate with other persons…” More so, Section 14(2)(b) is unambiguous about the purpose of government: “The security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.”

Advertisement

If the government fails in this duty — and it has, tragically and consistently — then the people are not only justified to protest; they are obligated to.

READ ALSO: OPINION: Tinubu Is The Law!

But what do we see instead? We see silence — not the silence of peace but the silence of resignation. We hear nothing from the elite whose mouths are full but consciences hollow. These are the ones who dine with oppressors but ask the oppressed to “show understanding.” Understanding for what, exactly? For rising food prices? For fuel subsidies that vanish into thin air? For lives lost in Plateau, Benue, Zamfara and countless unreported communities across Nigeria?

Advertisement

And when voices dare to rise, when the streets start to stir, when placards are raised, what happens?

Another crowd appears — not in solidarity, but in opposition. Paid counter-protesters. Men and women bought for the price of a meal, waving banners that defend the very system crushing them. This is the politics of protest in Nigeria: a tragic theatre where hunger is weaponized, and voices are drowned in a sea of rented noise.

On Monday, April 7, 2025, young demonstrators under the banner of the Take-It-Back Movement defied police orders and took to the streets in Abuja, Lagos, Oyo, Rivers, and other states. Clad in signature orange berets, these protesters sang solidarity songs as they marched through major roads, demanding better governance and the fulfillment of Nigeria’s democratic promise.

Advertisement

Their defiance came despite a warning from the Nigeria Police Force, which labeled their protest “ill-conceived and mischievous.” Unsurprisingly, turnout was low. More disturbingly, police officers—who ought to protect peaceful demonstrators—unleashed canisters of teargas on them. In Port Harcourt and Abuja, protesters scattered in panic. Sadly, this is nothing new in a nation where dissent is often treated as a threat rather than a right.

READ ALSO: OPINION: Tinubu, Atiku And The Lion’s Share [Monday Lines 2]

Nigeria is no stranger to protest. Our history is marked by brave men and women who rose against oppression: the Aba Women’s Riot (1929), the Abeokuta Women’s Revolt (1947), the Ali Must Go protests (1978), the anti-SAP riots (1989), the June 12 protests (1993), Occupy Nigeria (2012), End SARS (2020), End Bad Governance (2024), and now the Take-It-Back Movement (2025). Each was a cry for justice — a demand for better governance and dignity.

Advertisement

But with every protest comes a familiar pattern: counter-protests mysteriously spring up, police brutality follows, and then, silence returns.

There is a peculiar madness to the Nigerian situation: citizens who should be protesting against hunger, insecurity, and misgovernance are instead recruited to counter such protests. Sponsored by political actors, these counter-demonstrations are often manned by the very people being plundered. Poverty becomes a currency of control. The politicians understand that controlling the purse means controlling the pulse of the nation.

It’s not uncommon to see protesters sharing cash “appreciation” after an outing. When the promised payment falls short, arguments erupt — sometimes violently — over stipends. This turns a supposed civic action into a spectacle. The powerful know: feed the hunger, and you silence the anger. It is political theatre masked as civil resistance.

Advertisement

How can a people march against poverty in the morning and return in the evening to counter the same protest — cheering the very suffering they denounced? It is not ignorance — it is a system that has made survival more urgent than liberty.

While the poor are manipulated, the elite remain eerily silent. Those who should speak truth to power would rather urge “understanding” — the same understanding that sent their fathers to the grave, unremembered.

We’ve also allowed cultural and religious narratives to dilute our collective courage. “Respect authority,” they say. “Do not rebel against God’s anointed.” But does obedience mean silence in the face of injustice? If our forebears showed this same understanding and retired to their early graves penniless, must we die the same way?

Advertisement

READ ALSO: OPINION: Natahsha’s Apoti Is Not Godswill For Apkabio

Let’s be clear: silence is not spiritual. Submission is not sainthood. A people cannot fear both God and their government — one must give way.

Can Nigeria break free? Can Nigerians demand a system where lawmakers represent us, not themselves? Can we insist that those elected are the best among us, not the wealthiest or most connected? Can we rise above tokenism and stop celebrating crumbs from those who stole the bakery?

Advertisement

The politics may never end — the elite will always find a way to protect their privilege. But the people must become wiser. The price of silence is higher than the risk of protest.

Until Nigerians rise not just in anger but in strategy — not just in numbers but in purpose — we will remain trapped in this vicious cycle of elite manipulation and manufactured consent.

The pulse of this nation beats faintly, but it still beats.

Advertisement

Let us protest — not just with placards but with our voices, our votes, our pens, and our principles. Let us remind those in power that the people are not spectators in the theatre of governance — we are the soul of the nation.

And when the people rise — truly rise — no paid protest, no media spin, no bullet can stop them. The elite must speak louder. And the youth must march — more organized, more informed, and more relentless.

History is watching. And the future is listening.

Advertisement

Until next week, keep your finger on The Nation’s Pulse.

Advertisement

News

EFCC Investigates 18 Sitting Governors

Published

on

The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has revealed that the anti-graft agency is currently investigating 18 sitting governors across Nigeria.

Olukoyede made the disclosure on Friday in Lagos during a sensitisation programme aimed at addressing the abuse and mutilation of the naira.

Advertisement

According to him, although the EFCC is actively investigating the governors, further action will be taken once they leave office and lose immunity.

READ ALSO: Lawyer Asks Court To Void EFCC, NSCDC Acts

He stressed that the EFCC does not always wait until public officials conclude their tenure before probing them, citing a case involving a former governor who fled the country shortly after leaving office to avoid arrest.

Advertisement

He said, “I will give you an experience we had in EFCC. There was a time in this country when we were investigating a governor. We don’t wait until they finish their tenures before we investigate.

“As I’m talking to you, I’m investigating about 18 governors who are still serving. When they leave office, we will go to the next level.

READ ALSO: EFCC Probes Man Nabbed With Undeclared $420,900 At Kano Airport

Advertisement

“This governor was investigated while he was in office. Immediately, he finished his tenure, the following day, he took off to England to avoid the arrest of EFCC.

“Coincidentally, that week happens to be his birthday. He organised a birthday party in the hotel where he was staying.

While the party was going on, he started spraying pounds — 50 bills and 10 bills. So the manager of the hotel was called. He came down and saw the former governor spraying pounds. He had never seen such a thing in his life so he had to call 911.

Advertisement

READ ALSO:EFCC Arraigns Bankers, Accomplices For Alleged N8.5bn Fraud

When the Metropolitan Police came, he asked that they should help arrest the former governor. The ex-governor was arrested and they wanted to put him in an ambulance.

“The people — his friends, colleagues, and two governors — who went to London to celebrate with him had to intervene. They said the ex-governor was not a mad man because the hotel manager thought he was mad.”

Advertisement

Continue Reading

News

Makinde, Wife Installed As Aare Omoluabi, Yeye Aare Omoluabi Of Akure Kingdom

Published

on

Oyo State governor, Seyi Makinde, and his wife, Mrs Tamunominini Makinde, have been installed as the Aare Omoluabi and the Yeye Aare Omoluabi of Akure Kingdom.

The governor, who was conferred with the chieftaincy by the Deji of Akure, Oba (Dr.) Aladetoyinbo Ogunlade Aladelusi, in Akure, on Friday, said the honour was a call to contribute to the uplift of Akure Kingdom.

Advertisement

Makinde, who congratulated the Deji on his 10th anniversary on the throne, promised to continue to strive and do his best for the progress of the kingdom.

READ ALSO: 2027: Makinde For President Posters Flood Kano

He said that he would contribute towards completing the Akure Town Hall and the modernisation of the Akure Palace, among other things.

Advertisement

He said: “For me and my wife, we are elated for the honour done to us. We can only promise that we will continue to strive and do our best for the progress of Akure Kingdom.

“Usually, they say that prophets are not recognised in their own domain. But today, Akure Kingdom has recognised one of their own. So, I appreciate this. In 1977, I was here and I was 10 years old. So, the honour done to me today is because I am a son of the soil and it is a further call to do my best for the uplift of our Akure Kingdom.

READ ALSO:How RCCG Pastor Absconded With $8,000, Marry New Wife In US — Pastor Adeboye’s wife

Advertisement

“I want to thank my mother, Mrs Victoria Modupe Alo. She insisted that she must be here.

“There are ongoing projects in the palace and the town hall. I will contribute towards completing the Akure Town Hall. I will also contribute towards modernising the palace of Akure.

“You will know the 10th year coronation of Kabiyesi for a big difference.”

Advertisement

The event had in attendance dignitaries from Oyo State and across the country.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

News

How To Stop Smoking

Published

on

The only way to motivate yourself to stop smoking is to change your lifestyle. If you continue the same life exactly with the same mindset (corn, overeating, unfulfilled job, unfulfilled marriage, etc.), you will relapse later even if you quit for months or years because smoking is a mindset, it’s a symptom of unfulfilled life.

READ ALSO:Cannabis-smoking Mother Bags Life Jail For Drowning Two Sons

Advertisement

Smoking, or any addiction for that matter, is a symptom of unfinished shadow work (it’s a bit complex term, research it and keep diving within) When life tastes sweet, smoking loses its flavor, so start actually living instead of sleepwalking through life, review your hobbies, check lines of work you’ve always been passionate about, talk the real talk with spouse, friends, filter out the people that are holding you back and dragging you down to their level (you won’t be able to see that with clarity if you smoke)
(TRIBUNE ONLINE)

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Trending