Tap iNiative for Citizens Development and News Central Television hosted a Post #EndBadGovernance Protest town hall meeting. The objective of the meeting was to provide an avenue for key stakeholders ranging from representatives of federal and state governments, pro-protest and anti-protest civil society organizations to have a conversation and forge a way forward on the issues and demands of protesters and forge effective strategies on organizing future protests, while international organizations and foreign missions served as observers.
The town hall meeting provided an opportunity for people to transition post-protest conversations about bad governance in Nigeria from social media to a physical space, adding faces to the voices behind the keypads. The town hall did not have panellists or keynote speakers. Everybody spoke through the crowd.
Some of the notable speakers at the event were, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, the co-founder of Transparency International, Dele Farotimi, a lawyer and political activist, Omoyele Sowore, founder, Sahara Reporters, Abdul Danbature, Arewa Youth Assembly for Good Leadership, Comrade Ene Obi, former Country Director of ActionAid Nigeria, Mr. Hamzat Lawal, the founder of Follow the Money, Damilare Adenola, the Director of Mobilization for the Take It Back Movement, Jonathan Ugbal, a member of the Take It Back Movement, among others. Unfortunately, two of the leaders of the anti-protest protesters refused to speak at the event.
The reactions from each of the speakers proved that particip
ants were looking for an avenue to vent their anger through their lamentations of the negative effects of government policies on their well-being.
Key Conversation Outcomes
- The right to protest is enshrined in the Nigerian Constitution and must be protected to ensure citizens can demand good governance.
- The government must stop infringing on citizens’ rights to protest and release all protesters in prison and police cells.
- Protests are essential for maintaining a sane society, as they provide mechanisms for the people to hold their government accountable. The president should take action to address the demands of the people, as he did when removing fuel subsidies without prior dialogue.
- Ethnic and religious divisions are a threat to everyone, and no one is truly free. Therefore, there is a need for issue-based organizing.
- The demands across the country are consistent—food, shelter, education, and healthcare; this is the time to organize and take action.
- Protest conversations and dialogue should be sustained across the country to maintain consciousness in demand for accountability and justice.
Consensus
- A strong consensus emerged around the need for the government to immediately reverse the subsidy removal policy and reduce the cost of governance, which has been perceived as excessively high and wasteful.
- More government investment in education, healthcare, and infrastructure.
- There was also a significant emphasis on the necessity of genuine dialogue between the government and the critical stakeholders who represent the diverse interests of the Nigerian populace.
- Many participants advocated for restructuring Nigeria into a regional system, where regions would have greater autonomy to develop their resources and contribute to the national account.
- Participants encouraged the government to be more transparent and accountable to build trust with citizens.
The Townhall meeting ended at 1pm with a call for continued advocacy and resistance against bad governance, with participants and speakers alike emphasizing the need for sustained efforts to hold the government accountable and secure the rights of all Nigerians.