Are you kidding me? It seems Nigeria’s streets are on fire and the government is not concerned with that fact. They are simply living their life as it was, engaging in doing things with no goal at all, and telling the citizens to shut up and accept it! Protest and counter-protests are numerous, as citizens demand change, and the government fights back with a heavy hand.
One group, on the one hand, protesters, composed of citizens from all walks of life, who are fighting for good governance and the end of corruption, are the protesters. They are carrying signs, shouting slogans, and marching through the streets, their voices just like the bells in the mountains.
On the other, the government is going to hold the power while it reaches soldiers who block the roads, the places where all the protests are getting through, and shut out the people who use their voices to complain. Because, you know, that’s the easiest thing to do – you just close peoples’ mouths back!
Oh, do you even want me to start with the counter-protests? The Lagos government, in a shocking development showing the level of creativity they can come up with, is accused of using the traditional protests like the Oro festival to counter the movement. God, this is so unique, where did they get this idea from? This is a genius who knows that using our own practices against us makes us feel alien to each other.
In the face of all this, the intending protesters are not upset, instead, they are stimulated by the will to change the situation they live in.
Peter Obi, the former presidential candidate, gets it, though. “Protest is a fundamental human right,” he says. “It’s the duty of citizens to hold their government accountable, and it’s the duty of the government to listen.” Wow, what a radical concept!
What would be the fate of Nigerians? Will the government come to save the day? No one knows for sure.
