Youths take to Suleja streets as hunger protests begin in Niger

Youths in Niger State have taken over the streets of Suleja to protest the high cost of living crisis in Nigeria on Monday, July 29, 2024.

This is coming ahead of the nationwide protests billed to start from Thursday, August 1 to Wednesday, August 10.

The protesters chanting anti-government songs carry placards with inscriptions indicating their displeasure with the state of the country.

The inscription of some of the placards read, ‘Enough is Enough’; ‘Stop Anti-Masses Policies’; ‘We Are Not Slaves In Our Country’; ‘Hardship Is Unbearable’, ‘Fuel Subsidy Must Be Back,’ among others.

According to Daily Trust, the protesters are currently on the Abuja-Kaduna expressway axis of Suleja.

The state governor, Mohammed Bago had recently tried to dissuade Niger residents from joining the protest by distributing welfare packages.

He also announced a ₦20,000 wage allowance for state and local government civil servants.

“We have over 100,000 metric tonnes of food in our reserves, out of which we will be releasing 50,000 metric tonnes to be sold at 50% of its present price. Before the end of the year, we will slash food prices by 90%,” the governor said during a town hall meeting.

Meanwhile, Nigerian youths are gearing up for the planned nationwide protest to register their displeasure with the country’s economic condition and demand an end to misgovernance.

On Sunday, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, endorsed the demonstration and urged participants to protest peacefully.