Days of rage when reason is treason, By Owei Lakemfa

The thuggish criminality in the United Kingdom exempted, mass protests have been sweeping through many countries, with people standing up for their right to decent lives. It has breezed through Nigeria, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Uganda, Sudan, Eswatini, South Africa and, of course, Bangladesh.

They have been sad days in Bangladesh where bloody mass protests, mainly driven by students, under the banner of Students Against Discrimination (SAD), swept away Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The discrimination referred to are job quotas in public jobs, in which 30 per cent is reserved for descendants of nationalists who fought in the 1971 War of Independence against Pakistan. Another 26 per cent is reserved for various groups. This has become quite contentious in a population of 170 million, of which 32 million youths are unemployed.

But rather than address the issues raised, the government first blamed the opposition parties, the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). Then it claimed that the protesters were “rajakaar” or pro-Pakistani terrorists.

In July, over 150 persons were killed in the protests. The Supreme Court, on 21 July, ruled that 93 per cent of employment in the country should be on merit. So, the main reason for the protests has seemingly been addressed. But the protesters returned to the streets last week to demand the unconditional release of all arrested protesters, the reopening of the campuses, restoration of internet connections, and a public apology from Hasina for the violence. The demands seemed simple but were not readily met. This second seismic eruption of protests, proved far more devastating.

Last Sunday, the protesters made a determined push and about 100 were killed. This eruption, on 5 August, forced Hasina, who had just claimed a fourth term electoral victory in January, to flee to India. The parliament also became history. Power laid in the streets and the military tried to pick it up. But the protesters, who were obviously too young to rule but too strong to resist, forced the military to retreat. They must be good students of history because as it happened in Sudan, the military in many countries is predatory and opportunistic; it is always on the look out to cash in to any situation. Besides, the Bangladeshi military had, since 1971, staged 29 coups and counter-coups.

So, the Bangladeshi students settled for Nobel Laureate Muhammed Yunus, who had been endlessly vilified by the ousted government, to run an interim government. This is designed as a stop-gap before an inclusive and democratic government is elected. The direction of the new leadership is uncertain and the dead are still being mourned. The open sores remain. The aftershocks are still being felt.

The ten-day mass protests in Nigeria began on 1 August. Its main oxygen is hunger, powered by hyperinflation and assisted by wild winds of anger. The immediate reason for this is self-inflicted. When President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was sworn-in on 29 May, 2023, he immediately announced the abolition of fuel subsidy. This greatly fuelled inflation in an oil-rich country with no single functional refinery. The reason for the fuel subsidy was simple: governments, in the 25 years since the return to civil rule, have been incapable of refining the petroleum product needs of the presently 220 million populace.

As such, the simple solution is to refine. However, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are ever breathing down the necks of Nigerian governments not to refine, but to increase fuel prices. But with the ongoing protests, the lousy representatives of these shark institutions have been silent, making the Tinubu administration to carry the can alone. They wield power without responsibility and would be the first to flee the country whenever the situation gets out of hand.

The second reason for the Nigerian hyperinflation is the water-boarding of the naira, again, as the IMF and World Bank have always insisted since 1981. This has always been devastating for an import-dependent country. It is these, coupled with the banditry and terrorism which have forced many farmers off their farms, that have led to the sorry state of the Nigerian nation. The solution is to address these concrete matters, rather than dissipate energy looking for those carrying the Russian flag in the protests or detaining the alleged leaders of the protests.

Some observation. The Nigerian Generals have been too intrusive in their loud media campaigns before and during the protests. Their involvement of soldiers from the very first second of the protests, was not in the interest of democracy and constitutional governance. As one of those who fought military misrule in Nigeria for decades, my antenna is up when I observe the lurking of a tiger.

The Kenyan protests were triggered by a Finance Bill powered by the same IMF and World Bank, breathing down the necks of underdeveloped countries, with the country descending into chaos. The IMF tried to exonerate itself. Its Director of Communications, Julie Kozack, claimed all it had tried to do was to help Kenya “overcome the difficult economic challenges it faces and improve its economic prospects…” This came at the cost of dozens of lives and massive destruction.

Even after President William Ruto withdrew the bill and reshuffled the cabinet, protesters are insisting he steps down. This is because Kenyans are tired of high food prices, rising poverty and corruption. Whatever the outcome, the Kenyan democratic project has suffered a serious setback and healing is far off. Ruto had come from the streets and his greatest fear might be returning there.

The July protests in Uganda were against alleged massive corruption and a demand that Parliamentary Speaker Anita Among steps down.

Ghana used the courts to block ‘The Gen-Z Demo’ planned for seven days from 31 July. There had been massive protests in June against power outages. The protests in September and October, 2023 were mainly against hyper-inflation and mass unemployment.

Zimbabwe detained and charged over 70 persons for allegedly gathering with the intent to promote violence. They were denied bail.

In Angola, the 6 June, 2023 mass protests were against fuel price increases and the massive devaluation of the Kwanza. Over a dozen extra-judicial executions were traced to its security forces.

Perhaps, the most massive protests in South Africa this season took place on 11 May over the sack of 4,002 mine workers. On Wednesday, 7 August, the street protests were restricted to the Western Cape Province.

Generally, the protests, especially in Africa, are against the implementation of the poverty-inducing policies of the IMF and World Bank, and democracies that do not yield dividends. They are a sort of plebiscite against political independence without economic independence. In many instances, the issue boils down to the fact that the people know what they want, but that is not what the governments want.