Senator Shehu Sani represented Kaduna Central Senatorial District between 2015 and 2019. In this interview, the human rights activist who has led several protests speaks on the place of such actions in a democracy, among other issues.
As a pro-democracy activist, who has led several protests, do you think protest is the best way to achieve results?
First of all, we must recognise and appreciate the fact that Nigeria is a democracy that has endured in the last 25 years. In a free and democratic society, our citizens have the right to freedom of expression, assembly, and the right to protest. But the protest that is permitted or endorsed and tolerated by a democracy is a peaceful protest. A protest, where citizens can peacefully express their opinion and be protected by the security apparatus of the state, and at the same time, not engage in acts of violence, because freedom and rights can only be guaranteed in an atmosphere of peace. So, democracy guarantees citizens whether one person, two people, ten thousand persons, the right to express themselves. What we are having today is the fact that there is so much fear and panic over the protest and people make comparisons with the EndSARS, the Occupy Nigeria protest, and several anti-fuel-subsidy protests that happened in the past. The fear that has arisen from my own little study is as a result of the following factors. One, that before EndSARS, there was no Sudan, there was no Kenya. Secondly, the EndSARS protest, occupy Nigeria and anti-fuel subsidy removal protests were all organised by visible leaders. Leaders you could identify and who owned the process. Now, this protest just came out of the blues on social media and then popularised in the country and got acceptance from the wide range of society because the economic condition has been created for it to be accepted.
I believe that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, being a protester himself who participated, supported and contributed to many protests in Nigeria, is not afraid of protest. But protests that have no clear and defined leadership has the possibility of getting out of hand.
- The changing socio-economic fabric in Nigeria and its impact
- Prof Salisu Shehu’s pointblank truth from the pulpit
Still, is protest the way to go?
Protest is not meant to solve problems. It is meant to register the grievances of the people and to also hold the government to account and bring about change or reform in policies and action. If a protest is intended to compel government to change its policies and programme, that is good, but if a protest is intended to overthrow a government or effect a regime change, then we will simply be heading towards anarchy. It is not the way to go, but it is a way of registering the grievances of people. The way to go is for the constitutionally mandated authority, which is the government to address the demands that are made. How did we arrive here today? Former President Muhammadu Buhari-led Nigeria for eight years, and it was the first time in 2015 that opposition took over political power. So, people were full of hope and expectations and Buhari was presented as a magician that had solutions to all the problems of the country. Eight years down, he left Nigeria a bewildered and beleaguered nation.
Now, Tinubu inherited from that position. The mistake that was made was that having known that Buhari left no money for subsidy, there could have been an immediate action to address the challenges and consequences that will come after the removal of subsidy. That was not done. So, after decades of subsidy, we woke up one day and there is no subsidy and the government had to embark on fire brigade approach to solve the problem. Supplying grains, sending money to people, those have not been able to address the issue. I am a protester, I have been protesting all my life, we went to prison as a result of protest, but I will not subscribe to a protest that I don’t know who the leaders are and what their motives are. Their demands are open; the removal of subsidy, end electricity tariffs, end insecurity and whatever, but I would have wanted the leaders to own up. In the anti-fuel subsidy protest of then President Jonathan, you saw Bola Tinubu, you saw Buhari, you saw Mala Buni and Oyegun on the front line of the protest. So here, if Atiku, Peter Obi and the opposition believe in this protest, they should be in the front line. You cannot endorse something and then you stay in your house. But the best way to curb protest is for government to listen to the demands of the people, to set up a committee, just as they did with labour. They should also sit with the leaders of this protest and then see how it goes.
There are those who argue that the current administration is only a year old and so Nigerians should be patient. What do you think about that?
To me, I believe that we can choose to take President Tinubu by his words, that his reforms are intended to reconfigure Nigeria in a sound economic footing. But the impatience that has attended President Tinubu is as a result of the wasted patience that happened under Buhari. People were patient with Buhari for one year, two years and eight years and they ended up worse than when he took power. So, it’s like, Tinubu has inherited a divorcee that has been molested by her ex-husband and he’s now trying to woo her love. When you are bitten by a snake, when you see a rope, you get scared.
So, people were bitten by Buhari and when they see Tinubu, they are scared. Secondly, to me, President Tinubu has taken a big gamble in terms of bold economic reforms that came with a lot of consequences. If he succeeds, he is going to be a national hero because there is nowhere in the world where reforms have been easy.
Reforms took place in Argentina; it attracted thousands of people in protest. They took place in Brazil and brought thousands of people to the streets. Reforms took place in the UK, it happened in Indonesia, in Malaysia, in Singapore, in South Korea. All nations that have achieved and attained economic greatness passed through periods or pains. But it’s a risk when you have a poor and underdeveloped country like ours, where people live from hand-to-mouth.
So, I am one of those who believe that since President Tinubu has promised to deliver on the product of this change, he could have been given more time. But people who say they cannot wait, the constitution also guarantees them the right to protest even if he is one day in power. But I believe that if these reforms bear fruits at the end, the opinions about him and his economic policies will change. If it doesn’t work, then he is going to suffer at the polls.
The fears that protest will be hijacked by thugs and other criminals have always been used by government to dissuade protesters. From your experience, at what stage do peaceful protest turn violent?
Well, there are six factors that turn a peaceful protest into a violent protest. The first factor is the use of life ammunition. If people are engaged in peaceful protest and security forces use life ammunition against them, there is a possibility that it could turn violent.
The second factor is the infiltration of the protest groups by thugs. If thugs join the protest and they go beyond the legal limitations of protest and start attacking shops, homes and looting offices, then suddenly a peaceful protest would turn violent.
The third aspect is if sponsored thugs are used against peaceful protesters, there is the possibility of such protest snowballing into violence.
The fourth aspect of it is when the protest leaders don’t have full control of the protesters, then it will be a free for all as protesters will now go beyond where they are supposed to go.
Number five is counter-protest. When there is counter-protest that meets pro-protest at the same venue that becomes violent.
The sixth aspect of it is that currently, there are groups and individuals with ulterior motives. Other than fighting for economic reforms, there are terrorists, secessionists, violent extremist elements in the society who may want to use that atmosphere to create chaos in the country. If such persons get involved in protest, the protest is certainly going to be violent.
Take for example what happened in Sudan, it began as a protest against increase in price of bread. From price of bread, it moved to demand for political reforms and from there, more protesters overwhelmed the security apparatus of the state. As the police and army withdrew, violent groups took over, looted the Amory and took control of parts of the city. From there now, it’s over a year the nation has been drenched in a civil war with thousands of people killed and millions of people displaced. If Nigeria snowballs into violence, there is no army in the world that can come here to serve in a peacekeeping force. There is no nation that has over 220 million people that has gone into civil war.
When Nigeria went to civil war, our population was less than 40 to 45 million people. If Nigeria degenerates into violence, it’s going destabilise the whole of west and central Africa because our neighbours cannot contain the number of refugees. So, no matter how much you detest Bola Tinubu and his policies, in as much as you demand for your rights and policy change, do it with the need to see that the country is preserved.
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