We are four days into the national strike and protest against the increase in the pump of Petrol (PMS). The protest has been massive across different parts of the country. It is arguably one of the biggest protest gatherings in the history of Nigeria. Informal contact and negotiation has started.
The government has in the last two days met twice with labour and civil and society leaders. The National Assembly is currently leading the intervention, but the government is insisting on only negotiating implementation of the policy not going back to the status quo (N65 per litre).
Yesterday’s meeting like the previous one, was deadlocked. Another meeting has been scheduled for today. To ensure a quick resolution of the matter, civil society groups have also opened an informal contact with influential people close to or in government. Different meetings with different people have been scheduled for today, we hope something positive will come out of them.
Although both labour and civil society were prepared for a long haul of protest, many didn’t seem to expect that the government will stand on its ground for this long. The government seems to be thinking that the momentum of the protest cannot be sustained for more than three days and therefore waiting for the strike to collapse on its own. They have forgotten that the world of protests has changed since last year with the development in the Arab world.
Information and communication technology has made mobilisation quite easy. In almost every city where protest is taking place every succeeding day records more protesters. My biggest fear however, is that as the protest is prolonged, people will get frustrated with the irresponsiveness of the government and may resort to violence.
There are already reported cases of violence in Lagos, Minna, Kaduna, Warri, Kano etc. Abuja has been very good, but for how long? With the number of people joining the protest each day, anything can happen. Some colleagues have been involved in the protest. We all need to remain vigilant.