October 1 in Nigeria is christened National Survival Day, not independence
Earlier in the day, President Bola Tinubu’s Independence Day speech had failed to impress although he would have hoped the reverse was the case when it was drafted.
Marking Nigeria’s 64th independence day anniversary on 1 October 2024, there was a feeling that the journey as a country hasn’t delivered all the accruable benefits under over-a-year-in-office President Bola Tinubu. For this, the people have to protest. They see themselves as having a moment of national survival instead of a celebration.
Breakdown of numbers from President Bola Tinubu's 64th Independence Day Address to the Nation pic.twitter.com/54tChzDv0u
— Presidency Nigeria (@NGRPresident) October 1, 2024
Two major cities, one federal-run and the other governed by a state have seen different reactions because of their complexities. Abuja in the F.C.T is the first one where demonstrations against record decline in their purchasing power were promptly dispersed by law enforcement when they tried to gather at a market in Utako but Africa’s largest city is giving a different taste in this 64 years of independence from Britain.
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In the megacity of Lagos, the whipping harsh economy is ever so present. It is simply what pushed the resident to move forward with their dissent by fanning a #FearlessInOctober protest. Along the Obafemi Awolowo Way in the capital is the Ikeja Overpass Bridge which was commissioned for use last December and that is where the people gathered.
Among the protesters who truly wanted to be seen, there were placards conveying messages they wanted President Tinubu to truly get. The common demand is always often having lots to do with energy and the previous August demonstrations had that same theme.
This time around in Ikeja, Lagosians want government action that returns petrol price to ₦197; there should be the cancellation of hiked-up electricity and the authorities should free Adaramola Michael Lenin and others now, reads inscriptions of blunt placards.
Earlier in the day, President Bola Tinubu’s Independence Day speech had failed to impress although he would have hoped the reverse was the case when it was drafted. In the people’s eyes, asking for more patience amid ruins is just thoughtless.
A quote from the All Progressives Congress-affiliated president today anticipated the rebuke. It was said that while it is tempting to focus on what has been left undone and where we have stumbled as a nation, we must never lose sight of how far we have come in forging and holding our country together.
To Nigerians struggling to feed, it is of no use that Mr Tinubu thinks the cost of living crisis is worldwide, they only want him to do something about it. At the bridge underpass in Ikeja, 10 cardinal demands capture the mood.
Part of the requests is for officials to reduce food prices and end hunger. This is more important than ever now. To get a sense that all citizens are equal under a democratic system, it was recommended that political officeholders be placed on a minimum wage.
When the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) announced the result of several weeks of negotiations with a tripartite committee headed by the federal government and included 26 state governors and the private sector owners on Thursday 18 July, only a ₦70,000 deal was agreed.
This type of situation, seeing all the bargaining and government pushbacks against a higher wage, has offered room for people to question if the public servants, given that the effect of their contributions isn’t always felt across the whole nine yards, have done enough to earn millions at a go, while common workers struggle to earn scraps.
It isn’t helping Nigerians to feel like it is Happy 64th Independence Day and they want change at all cost.
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