By Joe Chukindi
The ongoing protest in the country, which was codenamed #EndBadGovernance, geared at making the leadership of the country intervene in the skyrocketing prices of food items, has been totally boycotted by all the South-East states.
However, though there were no physical meetings and movement of large numbers of people in the various cities in the Southeast, there are many who believed that South easterners joined the protest, but in a totally different way.
Days before the protest, there had been warnings by various Igbo leaders and groups, calling on the Igbo not to join the protest.
The likes of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the apex Igbo socio-political group, made press releases dissuading the Igbo at home and in the diaspora from participating in the protest.
Rt Hon Benjamin Kalu, the deputy speaker of the House of Representatives joined in the call when he made a video calling on the Igbo to boycott the protest.
He warned that if the Igbo joined in the protest, especially in other towns outside their area, the tendency was that people of other regions may skew the protest against them, and accuse Igbo of being the masterminds of the protest, with the intention to vandalize their properties and also loot them.
Heeding to some of these calls, the first three days of the protest witnessed a total boycott by Ndigbo, and has remained so.
DAILY POST correspondent who monitored trends across the South East noticed that there was no protest anywhere in the South East.
In Lagos and Abuja, and other parts of the country, Igbo traders also failed to join a herd of protesters who stormed the streets to ask the president of Nigeria, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to reduce the cost of living and end hunger in the country.
In Awka, it was observed that Dr Alex Ekwueme Square, a public square which serves as a meeting point for protesters was deserted on August 1, and other preceding dates, when the protest was held in all parts of the country.
Meanwhile, what looked like a different kind of protest was witnessed in several parts of the South East.
Though the atmosphere of the country was tense, leading to low vehicular activities in the zone, with markets, motor parks, banks and schools closed, on the morning of August 1, youths formed football teams in various streets in most towns and played soccer as their own kind of protest.
Others were also seen in beer parlours drinking, eating and making merry as their own protests.
Very early on the first day of the protest, it was almost a funny kind of greeting as people asked each other where they were going for their own protest.
Some youths who spoke to DAILY POST in Awka while playing football on the popular Majuo Street in Awka said it was their own way of protesting.
One of the youths, who gave his name as Ejike said: “I own a shop at Eke Awka.
“We are here to do our own protest since they said today is set aside for protest.
“Market did not open, so we have to do our own protest here. We heard that people are burning properties already for the protest, but here, our own protest is to play football on this deserted main road.”
“When they are done with their own protest destroying things, we will now go back to our markets.
“We are not joining anyone in their destructive protest,” the youth said.
What looked like a more funny protest was the gathering of people in videos circulated on social media, both in Enugu, Onitsha and Awka, where able bodied men gathered at drinking joints, treating themselves to drinks and chicken as their own kind of protest.
In Awka, at Aroma Junction where some youths gathered drinking and eating and chanting songs, one of the youths, a printer, Mr John Nze said: “This is our own kind of protest. We are here to eat and drink and protest along with our northern and western brothers.
“We want to say that we are happy with the leadership of President Bola Tinubu. We did not vote for him, but we know that our northern and western brothers voted for him.”
“So this is the time to reap the reward of their support to Tinubu, and we are here to urge our president to keep up the good work,” he said sarcastically.
Reacting to the decision of the people, both the Governor of Enugu State, Dr. Peter Mbah and the Minister of Works, Engr. Dave Umahi commended the South East zone for heeding the call not to join in the protests.
Both leaders spoke on Sunday in Enugu, noting that the action prevented needless loss of Igbo lives, businesses, and property, while also showing good faith to the President Bola Tinubu administration.
“I also want to take the opportunity to commend our people greatly for heeding our call to shun the protests and go about their business. We commend them highly because they understand the value of hard-work.
“Sometimes, you may not be able to appreciate the effect of government policies immediately, but I tell you that some of these policies are well-intentioned. With time, if we can just exercise a little more patience with the Federal Government, we are going to begin to see the values of these reforms.
“We want to continue to call on our people to go about their business and know that if they destroy our assets, we are still going to use the wealth of our common patrimony to fix those assets. So, we must remain focused and continue to do our work,” Mbah stated.
In the same vein, the Minister of Works said the people of South East and the Igbo community all over Nigeria had made a loud statement by not protesting.
“We are not going to protest. We want proper integration in the affairs of this country. Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Mr President, started it by giving an Igbo man the Minister of Works, appointing an Igbo Man as a service chief, among others.
“We have been excluded from governance and development in the past. But now, you can see infrastructural developments in the South-East. So, why should we protest against a man who has given to us what was never given to us before?” Umahi queried.
Similarly, the National President of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council, Worldwide, Mazi Okwu Nnabuike, told DAILY POST on Tuesday that Ndigbo had sent a clear message by not participating in the protest.
Okwu noted that, “our people have suffered so much in the past and have also borne the brunt of all the protests in the country.
“So, it would have been fool-hardy for any Igbo person to join in the protest. What are we protesting for? We have been marginalized for decades of years and nobody protested on our behalf.
“Now, simply because some people are not comfortable with the government, they want to drag all of us into it; never again shall we be made scapegoats in this country.
“The President is doing well and we shall continue to support him.
“So, Ndigbo not participating is another form of protest. Our message is loud and clear. President Bola Tinubu should be allowed to govern the country.”
Meanwhile, on a day when the country was protesting against hunger in the land, the governor of Anambra State was at Amansea, a boundary community in the state, flagging off a project.
Press Secretary to the governor, Mr Christian Aburime said: “The pertinent question on the mind of Governor Soludo seems to be: how can a nation, a people, so enviably blessed with fertile, arable land mass and clement weather conditions be struggling with hunger?
“This has spurred the governor to swing into action with his new initiative, unveiled at Amansea, in order to galvanise Anambra’s citizens into embracing agriculture on personal and family levels.”
He said: “Of course, Nigerians cannot afford to be waiting for Manna from heaven or from Abuja. As much as the government must take certain steps to address the rampant food inflation in the country, it is Governor Soludo’s belief that the long-term solution to our food crisis lies in the rich soil beneath our feet and the strength of our own hands.
“The timing of Governor Soludo’s initiative could not be more critical. As galloping inflation ravages the Nigerian economy, food prices have become the most visible and painful indicators of the nation’s economic challenges.
“Individuals and families across the country are grappling with impossible choices, forced to decide between putting food on the table and meeting other basic needs. There is, indeed, no easy choice.”
Meanwhile, the convener of Youths Earnestly Support Soludo (YESS), a political pressure group, Dr Nelson Omenugha who is a special adviser to the governor on youth Empowerment said the protest failed woefully in Anambra because Governor Soludo intentionally lined up empowerment programmes which have kept youths of the state busy.
“That is the reason there is no protest in Anambra.
“When I was SUG president of Unizik, I dissuaded protest because if you protest and other nefarious elements take advantage and destroy things, you will still be the one to pay and at the same time, you will be worse off than you were before the protest.
“That was why we intentionally met with youths before the commencement of the protest to tell them all these.”
