We did not create this universe, and certainly we are not running it. The universe will proceed upon its path with or without us. It is up to this generation to solve our problems in order to survive and to experience what GOD intended which is heaven on earth.
End of year activities among Nigerians are always financially involving and all families have events and meetings planned for the end of the year when it normally presumed that many more members of families and communities can converge at the same time unlike other vacations which are taken according to individual preference. It involves a lot of expenses and of course for many people income is not being earned whiles them at home for end of year holidays and other activities. For many families, the house, office, shop or business rent falls due at the end of the year. For other families too, school fees for their children and wards fall due at the beginning of the year. In addition to all this, the people who went through great expenditure to travel to their homes will have to go through equally trying times to return to their various stations of livelihood. It is the way Nigerians do it every year; many people may opt not to travel during the festive periods because they have done such trips so many times in the past and from experience they are able to decide to take another view at the whole exercise; however, for some other people, it is their time and there really would be no need to discourage them from having their own experience and their own story to tell. Apart from the costs, these end of year activities involve a lot of risks as many people get robbed, duped, killed and many others fall ill and eventually die.
It is a time of great fun and lot of pressure for people and as the New Year set in and people celebrated and rejoiced that they have seen the year turn, through the president’s broadcast, the people were informed of the removal of the Federal Government’s fuel subsidy. The message did not immediately sink in but when it eventually became clear that all areas of economic exchange would be affected, the labour union with all its alms, allies and extensions as well as well as civil society groups led by the Civil Liberty Organization came together on one platform against the government.
Transport fares immediately shot up like they were rocket-propelled. There was fear, panic, anger and frustration as the people realized that the government of the day had simply defrauded them even in the face of the town hall meetings that were being organized by the Newspaper Publishers Association of Nigeria. The increase in prices was so alarming that it looked like Nigerians would soon start to leave for neighbouring countries by foot. Many people including yours truly had to cut their holidays short and return to their stations so as not to get stranded at home.
Then came the great protest of the 9th of January, 2012. The first day, people stayed indoors but having seen so many protests in Nigeria, knowing that by 5pm at the latest, the protesters would close for the day; people started moving and going about their businesses in the evening. The television stations aired the protests and there was a lot of discussion on the internet on the many related issues that led to the removal of the fuel subsidy. Too many issues have now been raised and people are asking many more questions than the removal of the subsidy. Many more people than expected came out to express their protests over the government’s decisions. Many celebrities, professionals, artisans, religious leaders, etc came out to protest.
By the third day, we had seen enough on television and we were encouraged to join the protests. We walked side-by-side Nigerians and we realized that these people are actually the consumers of government’s products. It was quite touching to see the makeup of these protesting Nigerians; there were old men and women, there were pagan worshippers, atheists, Christians and Muslims in the GAni Fawehinmi square at Ojota. We saw many successful business men and women who came disguised but were spotted all the same. We saw some Nigerians that are so badly afflicted that we were frightened to see that we have such people in our society. They all came out from their caves and various places of hiding.
The government labeled all these Nigerians “miscreants.” Well, we were there and we saw them and we know for certain that the protesters were predominantly Nigerian consumers protesting the government’s unilateral decisions. Decisions that the senate and the House of Representatives opposed. Next, the government instructed the reduction of the pump price of petrol to N97/lt. and deployed armed men of the Nigeria Army to the streets of Lagos and Abuja. For the period the protests lasted, all Nigerians seemed to put aside other issues and faced the government with all venom. At the end of the last week, 20th January, 2012 precisely, the city of Kano was struck from three different points with over 20 explosions simultaneously. A brother-in-the-pen, Enenche Akogwu fell in the hands of fellow human beings; in his home and among his kinsmen, an eternal loss and damning manpower outage has occurred. Media reports indicate that over 250 people have fallen so far in that 3-pronged attack. The curfew over the city of Kano has been relaxed; the president paid an unexpected visit to Kano where it was reported that the Emir of Kano was weeping. The president has returned to Abuja and the armed me of the Nigerian Army still parade the streets of Lagos.
