The Last Straw that Broke the Camel's Back.

On the first of August, 2024; the Nigerian youths erupted into the streets in demand of a stop to what they refer to as the “end bad governance” This movement despite government warnings and pleas could not be infringed on, as it aligns with the human right enshrined in the 1999 constitution. Putting a barricade to the protest, according to a seasoned legal professional Maxwell Okpara in an interview with AIT, is like a call for a military decree- an era where freedom of expression, alongside others, is disregarded.

The demonstration, meant to be peaceful and mature like many others in the past degenerated to violence. Surprisingly, the pattern of protests turning violent has been a recent global trend, crossing the walls of Africa where it is a norm in developed countries like the U.K., and Venezuela, among others.

While some of the demands of the protestants in the aforementioned countries have been granted, the story of the Nigerian protest, protestants and government even on the 5th day of the movement remained the same
However, the president in his address on the 4th of August 2024 enjoined the suspension of the protestant, adding that they should pave room for dialogue.

“I hereby enjoin protesters and the organisers to suspend any further protest and create room for dialogue, which I have always acceded to at the slightest opportunity.”

However, the president’s speech met the rage of the citizens, as they claimed that he had failed to address their needs, which included; an increase in the minimum wage, scrapping of the senate, development of the education sector, and reversal of fuel subsidy among others.

The question is, can the youth demands be met on such short notice?

Some experts believe that the youth demands on such short notice can not be fulfilled, thus, there is a need to exercise patience like the president has urged Nigerians to. On the other hand, some claim that, if prioritized, the demands can be well attended to and resolutions can be made. However, remaining married to reality means, acknowledging that democracy whether in Nigeria or elsewhere, requires systematic execution of tasks, which could delay the fulfilment of the demands of the raging citizens.

The need to end bad governance has been an obvious Nigerian reality, however, this governance is the first to experience a protest with this tagged “end bad governance”

So the question is, what happened to the patient Nigerians and Why now?

During an interview with AIT, Omoyele Sowere, a Nigerian politician and human rights activist, said, “Hunger, anger, unemployment, insecurity, and poverty” are the sponsors of the protest. Meaning, the Nigerian youths are driven by the above negative phenomenon and want solutions. The aforementioned have been in existence, except for hunger, which has taken the lead and dominated the tournament since 2015, when the former president, Muhamadu Buhari resumed office. Thus, the patience of Nigerians was already waning before The present Government, and Mr president renewed hope Agenda during his campaign, his previous positive records seemed promising to many youths, but now, the delay in results and hikes in standard of living have blinded the patience of the average Nigerian.

This government is dim fit as the last straw that broke the camel's back, and the president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu should address the issues of the nation swiftly. His intellectual capacity is no doubt grand for the task ahead of him, and there is no scepticism that he is up to the tasks, as promised during his electoral campaign under the “renewed hope” agenda