It is no more news of the hardship and the continuous inflation in the country, and this time everyone is complaining, workers and the wealthy included. Africa’s richest man has even come out to share his two cents on the recent happenings as it continue to impact lives, quality of life, and businesses altogether.
August 1 Nationwide Planned Protest
In light of the above, a nationwide protest kicking off on the 1st of August is currently being worked on and yes, people are agitated both the government and citizens.
For many days now leading to the big day, tensions have been high and security operatives have been put on high alert. Remember the incident that transpired in the last nationwide protest which allegedly took the lives of peaceful protesters, 20th October 2020, and the government is not taking anything lightly.
Many government officials have come out to air their views on the matter including his excellency, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the president of Nigeria as well as the minister of youth affairs, Hon Jamila Ibrahim Bayo, just to mention a few.
Many activists in the person of the famous Charlie Boy have also shared his insight on the matter. We all know that he is ever ready for scenarios like this one such as the protest as it aims to bring about something better.
In his words, he thinks the government is wrong in saying they already have a list of the sponsors of the protest, instead of them exploring ways and mediums to curb the hardship of the nation which in the first place led to the panned August 1st protest.
A Few Things to Pack and Consider In Your Backpack For The Protest
As the date and time for the big day draws ever closer, experts have shared their opinions as well as safety tips for Nigerians and all those preparing for the protest to practice and they are as follows;
- Gas/anti-teargas masks – you can easily make one with materials laced with kerosene.
- A waterproof vest or plastic raincoat and shower cap
- Water bottle
- Water-based sun-screen and sunshade
- Light snacks and drinks
These are some of the basics. And again for those who are not strong enough, sick, or have other health challenges such as asthma; ulcer, or any other that does not require any sort of hectic physical activities should please stay home.
Demand of The Planned Protest
The looming protest which is titled, “Days of Rage”, “EndBadGovernance” is reportedly aimed at drawing the attention of the Federal Government to the economic place of the country.
And according to Sowore, Nigerians are asking the FG to “Scrap the 1999 constitution and replace it with a people-made Constitution for the Federal Republic of Nigeria through a sovereign National Conference followed by a National Referendum.
- Toss the Senate arm of the Nigerian legislative system. Keep the House of Representatives and make lawmaking a part-time endeavor.
- Pay Nigerian workers a minimum wage of nothing less than N250,000 monthly.
- Invest heavily in education and give Nigerian students grants not loans. Aggressively pursue free and compulsory education for children across Nigeria.
- Release Mazi Nnamdi Kanu unconditionally and demilitarize the South East. All ENDSARS and political detainees must also be released and compensated.
- Rationalize public-owned enterprises sold to government officials and cronies.
- Reinstate a corruption-free subsidy regime to reduce hunger, starvation, and multidimensional poverty.
- Probe past and present Nigerian leaders, who have looted the treasury, recovered their loot, and deposited it in a special account to fund education, healthcare, and infrastructure.
- Restructuring of Nigeria to accommodate Nigeria’s diversity, resource control, decentralization, and regional development.
- End banditry, terrorism, and violent crimes. Reform security agencies to stop continuous human rights violations.
- Establishment of a special energy immediately to drive massive corruption-free power sector development.
- Immediate reconstitution of the electoral body, INEC to remove corrupt individuals and partisan hacks appointed to manipulate elections.
- Massive investment in public works and industrialization will help employ Nigeria’s teaming youths.
- Massive shake-ups in the Nigerian judiciary to remove cabals of corrupt generations of judges and judicial officers that continue denying citizens access to real justice.
- Diaspora voting.
