ABUJA: President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Nigerian Army on Thursday warned of Kenya-style violence in protests planned for next week over rising prices, with the army saying it will stop the “hate”.
Kenya has been rocked by deadly protests that have forced the government to scrap the new tax. Nigeria's economic reforms have seen a 40 percent increase in food inflation without disruption.
An online call for demonstrations has been made since August 1.
It is not clear who is behind the call or who will participate at a time when many Nigerians are losing their jobs and remembering past oppression.
President Tinubu addressed the concern in a statement on Thursday evening, saying: “We are not afraid of protests. We are concerned about the common people, and the future harm.”
In a separate statement, he said “we do not want to turn Nigeria into Sudan”, referring to the northeast African country's 15-month long civil war.
“We are talking about hunger, not burial. We have to be careful.”
Prices have risen since Tinubu ended expensive fuel subsidies and liberalized the naira currency in reforms needed to revive the economy of Africa's most populous country.
The authorities, the security forces and the governor urged the youth not to protest. Some even accuse the organizers of being traitors and trying to destabilize the country.
“Although citizens have the right to peacefully protest, they do not have the right to riot and unleash terror,” security spokesman General Edward Buba told reporters. .
“It is easy to see that today's protest environment overshadows what is happening in Kenya, which I must say is violent,” he added.
The armed forces saw some “elements bent on hijacking” the planned demonstrations, he said.
“The level of violence predicted cannot be attributed to a state of insecurity. The armed forces among them will not stand by and allow chaos to befall our country”.
The Department of State Services or DSS, which manages domestic threats, said that “dirty” elements wanted to take advantage of the protests and had political motives.
“The plotters want to use the aftermath of the violence to discredit the federal and sub-national governments; make them unpopular and bring them into line with the people,” he said in a rare statement.
Tinubu, who has repeatedly called for patience in his reforms, also advised some groups to incite protests to unleash violence and revive Kenyan protests.
On Thursday, he met with traditional leaders to seek help in countering any protests.
“We traditional leaders do not engage with people, especially the youth, go out and start looting, start breaking law and order,” said the Ooni of Ife Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi after the meeting.
The president agreed last week to more than double the minimum monthly wage for federal workers to 70,000 naira ($43). He also started delivering rice by truck to each village to ease the cost of living.
The last major protests in Nigeria, in October 2020, began with the abuse of the SARS anti-robbery police, but escalated into the largest anti-government protests in Nigeria's modern history.
The police force was broken up but the protest ended in bloodshed.
On October 20, 2020, security forces have accused security forces of firing on peaceful protesters at the Lekki Port Gate, Lagos.
Amnesty International said the army killed at least 10 people at the gate, but security forces denied responsibility, saying troops always used guns to disperse curfew violators. .
