Nigerians from different parts of the country adopted unique ways to express their displeasure over the biting economic condition.
Events in the past days suggest that Nigerians might be edging ever closer to their breaking points due to the prevalent economic hardship that has made life unbearable for the majority of the population.
It’s no longer news that the country is beset by great economic woes caused by some of the policies of President Bola Tinubu’s government. Chief among these challenges is the astronomical rise in food prices.
The twin decisions of petrol subsidy removal and floatation of the naira have continued to impact the nation’s economy negatively, with the inflation rate going to a record high.
To compound the situation, electricity supply has drastically plummeted since the turn of the year. Unsurprisingly, the Nigerian masses bear the brunt of these economic misfortunes.
While the social media space has been full of lamentations of the suffering masses for a while now, some citizens decided to follow a different route to express their angst during the week.
From Rivers to Niger and Yobe in the far north, many Nigerians adopted unique ways to express their displeasure over the biting economic condition.
Residents of Minna, the Niger State capital, trooped to the streets on Monday, February 5, 2024, to protest the rising cost of living and other economic challenges.
It started when some market women, led by Aisha Jibrin, marched to the streets to lament the plight of women who could no longer fend for their children due to the harsh economic conditions.
However, the situation quickly snowballed into a full-blown protest after other women garnered around them. “We no go gree o, we no go gree, this hardship is too much, it is unbearable,” the women chanted as they marched towards the Bida-Minna Road.
At this point, youths and male traders had joined the women to complain about the rising cost of living and call on the government to provide succour.
However, things took an interesting turn when police officers were deployed to the Kpakungu roundabout, where the protesters had gathered, to maintain law and order.
Rather than dousing the situation, the police’s presence at the scene further infuriated the angry citizens, who became even more agitated with their complaints.
As the police fired teargas to disperse the crowd, some angry youths charged forward in a manner that suggested they were ready to take on the security agents.
Meanwhile, normalcy was restored in the area after several hours of joint efforts by other security agencies.
It was later reported that Jibrin and 24 other protesters were arrested by the police and the Department of State Services (DSS) for allegedly instigating violence, but the Niger State government later ordered that they should be released.
