Nigeria: ‘Nigeria Is Sitting On a Time Bomb’ Says the President of the Episcopal Conference

Abuja — “Nigeria is sitting on a time bomb”. This was the alarm raised by Lucius Ugorji, Archbishop of Owerri, President of the Catholic Bishop Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), in his opening address to the second Plenary Assembly of the CBCN, in Auchi, Edo State.

Referring to the recent protests of young people over President Bola Tinubu’s economic policy, Msgr. Ugorji said he expected further demonstrations if no action is taken to meet their demands. “As long as the nation is afflicted with poverty, suffering, and corruption, and as long as the future of the youth our nation remains bleak, we will continue to experience protests.”

The President of the CBCN, therefore, criticized the federal government’s response, in particular that of “some government officials who, instead of confronting evil, are committed to unloading their own responsibilities and looking for a scapegoat”. “We are in fact sitting on a time bomb while security agents try to repress the protest participants and their supporters with fabricated accusations,” he warned. “This raises concerns that they may be trying to deprive citizens of their democratic rights and freedoms to protest, or give the impression that everything is fine in the country and there was never any real need to protest. This is delusional and reprehensible. ” Msgr. Ugorji invited President Tinubu to review his economic policies underlining that Nigerians are suffering because of them.

The #EndBadGovernance protest movement had proclaimed 10 days of demonstrations and strikes throughout Nigeria from August 1 to 10 (see Fides 2/8/2024)). The protests have degenerated into violence both because of the infiltration of criminal elements amidst the peaceful demonstrators, and because of the brutal reaction by the police that led to the death of at least twenty people, in addition to the arrest of upward of a thousand demonstrators. The greatest violence occurred in the Northern States. In Kano, where some 873 suspects were arrested by police, thugs disguised as protesters assaulted and vandalized government offices and looted private properties. Some of them were also caught waving Russian flags while calling for the establishment of a military government in Nigeria. A clear reference to the coup military juntas close to Moscow, which have settled in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.

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According to the Nigerian press, new protests are planned for October. The demands of the # EndBadGovernance leaders are not limited to calling for the restoration of fuel subsidies, as well as addressing and resolving the exponential increase in the cost of basic necessities. Among the demands are minimum wage for workers, reforms of the police – perceived as corrupt and violent – and the judicial system, considered corrupt and unjust.

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