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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.
High cost of living protest in Minna
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.
Sex-starved Rivers women beg DisCos
In a related development, women in Rivers State also carried out a protest on Tuesday. However, unlike their Niger State counterparts, these women were more concerned that their husbands have become less inclined to engage in marital copulation with them.
According to the protesters, the lack of action 'in the other room' was caused by the poor power supply being experienced in the country. The women, mostly married, marched to the office of the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company near the Isaac Adaka Boro Park in Port Harcourt to express their grievances.
Holding placards with inscriptions that clearly conveyed their frustrations, the women barricaded the entrance of the Port Harcourt Disco, singing and chanting choruses to drive home their displeasure over the prolonged blackout.
Some of the inscriptions read, ‘We lack romance with our husbands,’ ‘Our husbands no longer touch us at night,’ ‘No light no payment’, ‘The heat is too much,’ and ‘PHED help us to sleep well with our husbands’.
Osun youths protest rising cost of living
A group of youths in Osun State also staged a peaceful protest on Friday, decrying the cost of living.
Wielding placards with inscriptions such as ‘change the unfavourable policies’, ‘Nigerians are suffering, we can’t cope again’, and ‘We are humans, stop mistreating the citizens’, among others, the protesters converged at MDS Road, Osogbo.
The protesters remained unperturbed by the large presence of police near the scene as they chanted choruses to register their anger over the rising cost of living and called on the government to intervene immediately.
Yobe business community turns to God for help
While others are marching to the street amid the biting economic reality, the business community in Yobe State decided to seek divine intervention.
On Friday, the United Marketers Association (UMAPO), Yobe state chapter, organised a special prayer to ask God for mercy.
Speaking at the prayer ground, Chairman of the UMAPO Potiskum chapter, Alhaji Nasiru Mato, noted that prayer was to seek God's forgiveness and ask Him for a way out from the economic quagmire.
Mato called on the federal, state, and local governments to set up committees that will come up with solutions to the hardship being faced by Nigerians.