By Blessing Yakubu
Protests have been a powerful tool citizens use to express dissatisfaction with their governments, particularly when it comes to addressing basic needs and rights.
A serious discontent with the second quarter of 2024 opened up a vista for a wave of protests which swept across various countries, reflecting deep-seated grievances over economic inequality, lack of political representation, and unmet social demands.
Citizens in South America, Africa, Asia, and Europe, have taken to the streets, demanding changes and reformation. While the specific triggers of protests vary, common themes include economic hardship, corruption, political repression, and failures in public service delivery.
Credible News highlights countries where protests took place, demands of protesters in those countries, and efforts by governments to assuage protesters, address grievances and restore peace.
Nigeria’s #EndBadGovernance Protest
The recent protests by Nigerians citizens decrying end to bad governance commenced on August 1 and the embers of disruption have not fully simmered. Tagged #EndBadGovernance, majority of the aggrieved citizens, particularly the youth poured onto the streets to express grievances against what they described as bad governance. Their points were clearly laid out: need to provide respite in the dire economic situation that removal of subsidy exacerbated; imposition of multiple taxes; and other tough economic policies were seen as immediate causes of the resultant hardships. The citizens, therefore, demanded reversal of fuel subsidy, reduction in the cost of governance and removal of multiple taxation, and provision of human face to government policies.
Despite official pleas and warning from natural rulers, ministers, government officials and the president to be patient with government because it would take time for the policies to bring in the required respite, many citizens went onto the streets of major cities in protest.
The main aim of the demonstrators was to draw the attention of government and policy makers to the suffering of the people but this objective soon turned into an orgy of violence that led to looting, and rioting. Some of the protesters and security agents were implicated in these debasing acts.
Media reports revealed that the protests turned violent and security agents resorted to maximum force in Abuja, (the nation’s capital), Kaduna, Kano and Jigawa. Reporters, journalists and newsmen tasted the bitter pill of disgruntled citizens and security agents. A number of protesters were reportedly killed.
The protesters had scheduled their activities for 10 days but the movement lost its momentum after five days. Incidentally, the verve died a day after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu addressed aggrieved citizens in a nationwide broadcast on Sunday.
The President explained that government’s decision to remove petrol subsidies was necessary to reverse “decades of economic mismanagement that didn’t serve us well.”
According to him, it remolding the nation requires everyone’s input regardless of age, political party, tribe, or religion.
His words: “Fellow Nigerians, I have heard you loud and clear.
“I understand the pain and frustration that drive these protests, and I want to assure you that our government is committed to listening and addressing the concerns of our citizens.”
But many citizens faulted the president’s address saying the president was out of touch with reality and was skirting rather than addressing the economic concerns of the citizens.
The protest was expected to climax with a-one-million-man-match but petered out on the 10th day like a squib.
The Gen-Z generation had hyped their plans on the internet and in the media prior its commencement but shortly before it started accusations and counter accusations of financial impropriety by some of the organizers and shadow parties filled the internet.
However, it is not unlikely that some of the counter-articles on the internet could have been written or sponsored by fifth columnists determined to take the wind out of the protesters’ sail. Shortly after the protest commenced, media reports revealed that it was successfully infiltrated by external forces particularly in Kano where protesters were seen flying the Russian flags to the dismay of many analysts.
Kenya’s Anti-Finance Bill/GenZ’s Protest
Kenya’s one week protest (June 18-25) ignited the fire of objection as the youth rose up against President Williams Ruto’s proposed finance bill. The protest began as a movement but quickly morphed into a vociferous campaign for more accountable governance in the country. Some of the protesters took extremists positions as they demanded the resignation of the entire government cabinet. On June 25, the erstwhile overwhelmingly peaceful demonstrations suddenly became violent and the centre could no longer hold as the country was no longer at ease.
Some of the Kenyan demonstrators breached police barricades and stormed the precincts of parliament. The mob suddenly set fire to some parts of the building destroyed legislators’ offices and carted away property, including the mace, the democratic symbol of authority for lawmaking in the parliament.
Two of their major demands were reversal of the bill on finance and resignation of President Ruto but so far, only the finance bill has been reversed.
Knife Attack Protest in the UK
Britain, recently experienced violent protests as crises erupted in Liverpool, Bristol and Manchester and across the country after three girls were killed in a knife attack at a children’s dance class in Southport in Northwest England.
READ ALSO:Â #EndBadGovernance protest: Police arrests Ondo governorship candidate, activist
Anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim groups leveraged on the murders as misinformation allegedly implicated an immigrant and a radical Islamist. The protests led to vandalisation of public properties and looting of shops. In the ensuing altercation between the police and protesters, a number of police and protesters were injured.  One of the preliminary statements of the police was that the suspect was born in Britain and they did not treat it as a terrorist incident.
The country’s Prime Minister, Keir Starmer described the act as “far-right thuggery” and said perpetrators would face the full force of the law because the violent anti-immigration protesters resorted to targeting hotels.
But in a related development, thousands of anti-racism demonstrators rallied across the United Kingdom on Saturday to protest the recent rioting blamed on the far-right group.
Anti-Government Protest in Venezuela
Venezuela was formerly one of the wealthiest countries in South America but a sharp decline in global oil prices in the early 2010 plunged the oil-dependent nation into a downward spiral, engulfing the country in deep political and economic crises that have persisted till date.
Following the death of Socialist Leader Hugo Chavez in 2013, his hand-picked predecessor, Nicolás Maduro attempted to curb the nation’s  economic collapse by printing money but this approach further  pushed the country into years of hyperinflation.
Dissatisfied with Maduro’s administration, and seeking power transition, thousands of Venezuelan protesters gathered in a major avenue in Caracas, the capital, to rally behind opposition leader MarĂa Corina Machado, who insisted that her presidential candidate, Edmundo González, was the legitimate winner of the disputed election conducted on July 28.
The protesters took to the streets defying a severe crackdown by security forces and hundreds of protesters were arrested on terrorism charges. Eleven people were reported to have died in the course of the protest.
Maduro has remained the President of Venezuela despite public outrage.
Students Protest in Bangladesh
Protests began in Bangladesh last month over a controversial government job-quota system and escalated into a nationwide unrest following a harsh crackdown by authorities.
Nearly 300 people were killed within weeks in one of the most violent phases of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year rule, according to Aljazeera reports.
On August 4, nearly 100 people were reportedly killed in another police crackdown. Their death sparked outrage and culminated in a serious protest among the Bangladesh citizens.
The protest which continued even in the face of crack downs by security agencies, orchestrated the forceful resignation of Prime Minister Hasina and she fled the country thereby ending her 15-year rule. But the students successfully got hold of ex Army Chief and Defense Minister and hung them.
The protests in Bangladesh resulted in the ousting of Prime Minister Hasina. An interim government being headed by Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus has been installed.
In contemporary times, protests have become quite impactful and have both positive and negative outcomes: Some have led to significant political reforms and outcomes. But protests can also lead to violence and repression. In Nigeria, Venezuela and the UK, government crackdowns resulted in casualties and arrests and this indicates the risks protesters face when challenging authoritarian regimes.
Role of Technology and the Social Media
Technology as well as the social media have been playing critical roles in the organization, amplification and execution of protests across the world. Activists and organizers use platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and WhatsApp to mobilize, share information, and garner both local and international support for their aim and objectives. But many governments have equally responded by imposing internet shutdowns or surveillance technology to track and suppress dissenting voices.
Each of the various recent protest movements has been shaped by unique context, but they have also been united by common threads of economic disparity, exclusion and lack of political representation, and inadequate public services. As protests play out globally, they remind the world of the power of collective action and the ongoing struggle for justice and equality worldwide.
The global wave of protests underscores a growing demand for governments to address the fundamental needs and rights of citizens. It speaks to the need for more humane and dividend result-driven governance.
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