Occupy Nigeria

Occupy Nigeria
Date 2 January 2012 (2012-01-02) – present (4 months, 3 weeks and 3 days) Location Nigeria Causes Removal of subsidy on Petroleum products 120% increase in the price of Petrol corruption in Government & public service Inhuman treatment of Nigerians by Government & Security agents High rate of poverty Goals Reversing the Removal of subsidy on petroleum products Federal Government budget review (Cut-backs on politician allowances) Characteristics Civil disobedience Civil resistance Strike actions Uprising Demonstrations Online activism Rebellion Status Ongoing as of 26 May 2012
Casualties
Death(s) 16 (Lagos, Maiduguri, Ilorin and Gusau; All shot by the Nigeria Police Force)[1][2][3]

Occupy Nigeria is a protest movement that began in Nigeria on Monday, 2 January 2012 in response to the fuel subsidy removal by the Federal Government of President Goodluck Jonathan on Sunday, 1 January 2012. Protests have taken place across the country, including in the cities of Kano, Ojota, Abuja, and at the Nigerian Embassy in London. At least 16 people have been killed in Nigeria, all shot dead by the Nigeria Police Force. The protests have been characterised by civil disobedience, civil resistance, strike actions, demonstrations and online activism. The use of social media websites such as Twitter and Facebook has been a prominent feature.

Background

Nigeria is Africa's biggest oil producer, but still imports refined petrol.^[4] The country produces about 2.4 million barrels of crude oil daily which is exported to be refined abroad; however due to years of corruption-fueled neglect the domestic refineries are inoperative.^[5][6] As a consequence, Nigeria imports 70% of its gasoline (about 250,000bpd of petroleum products^{[citation needed]}) into the country for sale to its citizens.^[5] The price of petrol has increased from 65 naira ($0.40; £0.26) per litre to at least 141 naira in filling stations^[5] and from 100 naira to at least 200 naira on the black market, from which many Nigerians buy their fuel.

With the majority of Nigerians living on less than $2 per day,^[4] cheap petrol is viewed by many Nigerians as the only tangible benefit they receive from the state, hence the widespread disapproval. In addition, the economy is heavily reliant on crude oil (amongst other reasons,due to absence of essential infrastructure and services such as constant electricity). A consequence of this is that other seemingly unrelated items are tied to the price of fuel as has occurred from previous price hikes. Due to the absence of stable electricity, gasoline generators are a common energy alternative for small businesses and residences.

With each hike, there is a commensurate rise in the cost of production of goods and services which would be transferred on to the consumers, leading to widespread inflation. Unfortunately, even when fuel price hikes were reversed in the past, the increase in the cost of goods and services (inflationary reaction) remained.

The removal of the subsidy took effect from Sunday, 1 January 2012 as announced by the Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Product Pricing Regulatory Agency, PPPRA Reginald Stanley.

Protests

Protesters shut petrol stations and formed human barriers along motorways. Nigeria's main trade unions have also announced an indefinite strike and mass demonstrations from Monday, 9 of January 2012 unless the removal of a fuel subsidy is reversed. "We have the total backing of all Nigerian workers on this strike and mass protest," the Nigeria Labour Congress's Chris Uyot told the BBC.^[7]

Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria Lamido Sanusi told the BBC the subsidy (which he said cost the government about $8bn last year) was "unsustainable".^[8] Several previous governments have tried to remove the subsidy but have backed down in the face of widespread public protests and reduced it instead.^[7]

While there is agreement in some quarters that the subsidy might eventually need to be removed, protesters believe the time is not right for such a drastic move as the average citizen's income is a pittance (Nigeria's monthly minimum wage was recently increased to 18,000 naira or around $110) and this is the only benefit the common man gets from the government. The minimum wage has still not been implemented across many states in the country. Based on this, it would be an unsound economic policy to use the prices charged by some foreign countries as a guide to setting the price in Nigeria as their GDP and other economic indices is not comparable to Nigeria's own, especially as Nigeria is a petroleum producing country and should therefore enjoy the benefit.

In addition, there is widespread indignation by the people that the government has not provided the basic amenities which they should have provided in the first place but rather mismanaged and enriched themselves with the available resources. They therefore believe that the additional income generated by the subsidy removal would be used to line the same corrupt leaders pockets.

It is claimed that the Government of Nigeria has always budgeted enough resources for the comfort of its officials, while disregarding that of the people. The supposed flagrant disregard for the people's welfare by removal of the fuel subsidy without putting in place programs to cushion the effect, coupled with the fact that they (government) have not led by example in sacrificing their huge salaries and allowances (which is further claimed to be the highest in the world), has necessitated the Occupy Nigeria protests.

In other quarters however, there is a belief that there was no fuel subsidy in the first place as a former Petroleum Minister, Professor Tam David-West,claimed that the previous pump price of 65 naira was actually higher than the cost price of 40.02 naira (including tax and other real costs) and the supposed subsidy was a bogus claim by the government.

There is yet another unsubstantiated claim in some quarters that the current travails in the country (including the Boko Haram security incidents) are a deliberate plot by a cabal who are set to make the country ungovernable for the current president due to their candidate in the last election, General Muhammadu Buhari, losing in the election. Proponents of this claim further state that President Goodluck Jonathan is only a stooge who is powerless to make real decisions especially as members of this cabal are in the presidency itself and there might even be some foreign involvement from some Western powers. Other's claim that the cabal's intent is not to destabilize the political system (in which case they are separate from those sponsoring the Boko Haram security incidents), but to make profit at the expense of the masses, hence removal of the subsidy.

“The prices of everything will increase - transport, housing, school fees, food, etc. The common man will not be able to survive.” said Ganiat Fawehinmi, widow of the late human rights lawyer, Gani Fawehinmi.

“Jonathan has shown that he can’t be trusted,” Issa Aremu, NLC vice president, told demonstrators. “He said he was engaging in dialogue and all of a sudden, he increased the price!"

In the meantime however, protests are gathering momentum, with protests starting in Abuja and Lagos on 2 January and the rest of the nation catching the grip on the second day as Kaduna, Kano, Ibadan took over. Continued protests surfaced at Ibadan, Ilorin, Kebbi, Gusau and a host of other states across the nation. Meanwhile, there were claims that some protesters were shot at by policemen in Kano at midnight. It was claimed that the uniformed men ambushed them while undergoing peaceful demonstrations and shot at the protesters. With this, the protesters reportedly dispersed only to reconvene at another venue as they vowed to pass the night protesting.

Celebrities like Banky W, Funmi Iyanda, Seun Kuti,Raskimono,9ice Dede Mabiaku and others have been at the forefront of #OccupyLagos, as the protests have been referred to in the nation's former capital, Lagos.

The south Eastern parts and south south of Nigeria have however been calm about the protests and no potests have been reported in such parts of the country, the reverse is the case in the western and northern parts of the country.

Objectives

The protest aims to among other things:

• First, force the Nigerian government to return to the status quo and cause petrol to be sold at the previous rate of 65 naira per litre.
• The cost of maintaining public officials has skyrocketed over the past decade and this has to be stopped. The Nigerian President budgets N45 million for the purchase of kitchen and household equipment, while N293 million will be used for “refreshment”. The US president reportedly pays for most of his and his family’s dry-cleaning, meals and drinks. Barack Obama can only expect free meals at official dinners, especially when hosting foreign dignitaries. Nigerians will believe that government is merely taxing them to subsidise the life of ease and luxury of public officials.
• Get the government to provide improved infrastructure, eradicate corruption and nepotism.
• Get Nigerians to be more involved in the activities of their government.
• Weaken (and possibly eliminate) the existing "power cabal".

Product pricing

The table below shows the PMS price per litre compared to the minimum wage of other OPEC Countries.^[9]

OPEC Member	PMS Price/Litre	Minimum Wage	Population	Production '000 bPD (2007)
Venezuela	3.61 Nigerian naira	95,639 Nigerian naira	29,105,632	2,340
Kuwait	34.54 Nigerian naira	161,461 Nigerian naira	3,566,437	2,340
Saudi Arabia	25.12 Nigerian naira	99,237 Nigerian naira	27,136,977	9,800
Iran	102.05 Nigerian naira	86,585 Nigerian naira	75,330,000	3,700
Qatar	34.54 Nigerian naira	101,250 Nigerian naira	1,696,563	810
UAE	78.18 Nigerian naira		8,264,070	2,500
Algeria	63.55 Nigerian naira	55,957 Nigerian naira	36,423,000	1,360
Libya	26.69 Nigerian naira	23,813 Nigerian naira	5,670,688	1,650
Iraq	59.66 Nigerian naira	25,813 Nigerian naira	30,399,572	1,481
Nigeria	140-200 Nigerian naira	18,000 Nigerian naira	167 million	2,250

As of January 28, 2012 the exchange rate was:- 1 United States dollar = 160.9561 Nigerian naira

Objectives and demands of Occupy Nigeria movement in Kano

The objectives and demands of Occupy Kano are:

• Calls for the Nigerian government to reinstate fuel subsidies.
• Calls for the government to focus on the quality of living conditions.
• Calls for the President to reshuffle his cabinet Ministers over the controversial removal of fuel subsidy.
• Calls for the government to review and rewrite the Transformation agenda to include social and cultural issues, not only economic issues. The transformation agenda should also have realistic targets, time-scales (no time-scale in the current one) and outcomes.
• Calls for the government to improve public services, particularly health care, education, transportation, social housing, electricity, water services, waste management and fire services.
• Calls for scrutiny and accountability in the public sector. For each Local Council, each state government and congress to have scrutiny committees to examine and monitor all or part of the activity of public sector bodies with the aim of improving the quality of public services. The new Scrutiny Committees should ensure that executives in Nigeria are held accountable for their decisions, that their decision-making process is clear and accessible to the public. That there are opportunities for the public and their representatives to influence and improve public policy.
• Calls for the government to focus less on economic growth and to focus more on sustainability.
• Calls for the government to draw up a 10 year Job creation plan to tackle the country's serious issue of unemployment.
• Calls for the government to tackle corruption, poverty and insecurity.
• Calls for ministers not to sit as chairmen or chairwomen of parastatals or agencies under their ministries because of potential conflict of interests.

Casualties

Muyideen Mustapha, 23, was reportedly the first person to be killed during the nationwide protests over the lifting of petrol subsidies. He was reportedly shot by the Nigerian Police Force in Ilorin, Kwara State on 3 January 2012. Police denied the report saying that he had been stabbed by other protestors for not joining in the protest. Muyideen was buried on Wednesday 4 January 2012, according to Islamic rites.^[10][11]

There have been further reports of one^[12] to three^[13] people being killed by clashes between police and protesters on January 9.

On January 9, a Divisional Police Officer attached to the Lagos State Command, shot and killed a young man, Ademola Aderinde at Ogba during the protests in Lagos. The officer was arrested on the order of the Commissioner of Police and is expected to be charged with murder following an investigation.^[14]

Kano protests

Despite pleas by Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso that citizens of Kano State shun the mass protests going on in other parts of Nigeria following the removal of fuel subsidy by the FG, on 4 January, angry youths stormed the streets heading to the Liberation square, chanting anti-Goodluck Jonathan slogans and demanding his resignation. There are claims that in a show of solidarity (in a state which is highly prone to religious violence), the Christians stood guard to protect the Muslims while they said their prayers.

Later in that afternoon, it reached a crescendo when protesters vowed not to leave the Silver Jubilee Square which is the venue of the protest until the subsidy removal is reversed. There was also a donation of food, water and money to support the protesters by supporters. They sang the Nigerian national anthem every 30 minutes and as at midnight same day, the crowd was still increasing and steadfastly determined to achieve their objectives. 500 rechargeable lamps were donated along with 3 generators which were observed to be on standby to keep the protests going, and volunteered by those supporting the protests. There were also campfires to keep protesters warm.

Members of the police and armed forces were grounded, unable to exercise control over the protesting youths.

At 1:15am on Thursday, 5 January 2012, extra battalions of the Nigerian Mobile Police moved in on non-violent Occupy Nigeria protesters in Kano to teargas and shoot unarmed sleeping protesters after the group began an Egyptian-style Tahrir Square occupation of the Silver Jubilee Square. Defiant protesters however moved the protest to a new base at Sabuwar Kofa approximately 1 km away from the original venue.^{[citation needed]}

Ojota protests

The Gani Fawehinmi park in Lagos has been the center of the Lagos protests, with more than a hundred thousand Nigerians gathering there daily. The crowd is said to increase daily as more people continue to join the protests in Lagos. A few casualties have been recorded in Lagos including Ojota, Ogba and Ikeja but the protesters are determined not to back down till their demands are met.

Abuja & London protests

The Occupy Nigeria Movement plans another protest to hold at Eagle Square, Abuja for Friday, 6 January 2012 while another one hold simultaneous at the Nigerian Embassy in London. However, leaks from security agencies report of an order issued by the Government of Nigeria to the Mobile Police, advising them that the best way to stop the protests is to kill at least one of the protesters.^[15] Organizers of the peaceful protest are trying to call the attention of the whole world to the premeditated crime against humanity which the Government of Nigeria under President Goodluck Jonathan is about to perpetrate.

International protests

The Occupy Nigeria protests have also occurred in other countries to show solidarity with what the plight of Nigerians back home. The first one was held at the Nigerian Embassy in London on January 6, 2012, followed by another at the World bank complex in Washington D.C on January 9. 2012. Other countries like Belgium and Brussels joined the protests and occupied the Nigerian embassy in their countries in the second week of January 2012.

NLC/TUC

On Thursday, 5 January 2012, the Nigeria Labour Congress issued an ultimatum to the Federal Government promising to halt the economy of the country by Monday, 9 January 2012.

"We are shutting down the Nigerian airspace to local and international flights from Sunday night" said Denja Yakub of NLC.

"If a revolution will solve our problems, why not, what is going on already shows that our people are prepared for a revolution. "But we will not ask for a revolution that will bring back the military, they are a part of the problem." he added^{[citation needed]}

Government reaction

Following the emergency meeting of the Federal Executive Council, in Abuja, the Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, told newsmen the government was not oblivious of the pains inflicted by Nigerians as a result of the new policy. In order to ameliorate those pains, he said the government had commenced a ‘massive mass transit scheme’ aimed at cushioning the effects of the subsidy removal on transportation. 1600 diesel powered mass transit vehicles, he claimed, would be distributed.

Curiously missing at the pivotal meeting were two controversial senior officials and pillars of the new policy: Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and Petroleum Resources Minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is quoted as having said that she'll resign if the presidency goes back on its decision to remove the subsidy.

Media

It is claimed that the State media; Nigerian Television Authority NTA refused to acknowledge the protest and is falsely reporting the entire Nigerian populace have accepted the increase in fuel price and are going about their businesses. It was further claimed that the Federal Government has reportedly ordered the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission to warn media houses to stop any broadcasts about the protests.

Channels Television and Galaxy Television, two local mediahouses in Lagos, covered the Lagos protests on 3 January 2012. There was also a report on the march in the Daily Times of Nigeria.^[16]

In addition, Facebook group pages were created to spur Nigerians globally against the fuel subsidy removal. One of them (called "Nationwide Anti-Fuel Subsidy Removal: Strategies & Protests") which was created on 2 January 2012 has over 20,000 members by January 9, 2012 and still growing.^[17] Student websites in universities and blogs ^[18] are reporting the Occupy Nigeria Protests and student representatives are sending live pictures of ongoing protests.

Twitter is also being extensively used as a connecting platform for the protesters across the nation, and the world.

Jonathan administration

It still is a mystery how the cost of subsidy shot up to 1.3 trillion naira in just one year of President Goodluck Jonathan's administration, especially since ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo's administration spent 300 billion Naira per year. When the Obasanjo government left power in 2007, the country was no longer in debt and the 30 billion dollar foreign debt that Obasanjo met when he came to power in 1999 was fully paid off. Today, under the administration of Jonathan, the country owes debt to the tune of 30 billion dollars and is still borrowing. What baffles Nigerians is that in the midst of these, the leadership had mischievously gone ahead to share some huge funds in the name of Excess Crude revenue when it should have stored it up for the coming yearForeign reserves have been depleted from 80 billion dollars during the Obasanjo administration to 33 billion dollars under the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan.

It was reported that when the Obasanjo administration left power in 2007, 23 billion dollars was left in the Excess Crude Account after he built it up from nothing in 1999; by January 2012 the account was empty because the money has been "squandered and the account scrapped".^[19]

See also

• Arab Spring
• Civil resistance
• Occupy Movement
• Occupy Wall Street

Portals Access related topics

Social movements portal Society portal Politics portal Business and economics portal Nigeria portal Africa portal

References

• Bociurkiw, Michael (January 4, 2012). "'Occupy' Protests Become Major Challenge to Nigerian Government". Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-bociurkiw/nigeria-occupy-protests_b_1183907.html. Retrieved March 04, 2012. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Occupy Nigeria

• http://saharareporters.com/news-page/occupy-nigeria-anti-fuel-subsidy-removal-protests-erupt-kano at SaharaReporters
• Nigerian unions threaten nationwide strike over spike in gas prices after fuel subsidy stopped^{[dead link]} – at Washington Post
• Nigerians protest at removal of fuel subsidy at BBC News
• Kaduna, Nigeria. Peaceful protest of citizen fed up with the government. OccupyNigeria movement

v t e Occupy movement Protests Australia Melbourne Sydney Canada Ottawa Regina Toronto Windsor Ireland Cork Dublin United Kingdom Bath Edinburgh Glasgow London (The Occupied Times of London, Bank of Ideas) Thanet United States (list of protests) California Albany (Occupy the Farm) Berkeley (UC Berkeley) Los Angeles Oakland (2011 Oakland general strike · Timeline) Pasadena (Rose Parade) Sacramento San Diego San Francisco San Jose UC Davis Redwood City Other Ashland Atlanta Austin Baltimore Boston Buffalo Charlotte Charlottesville Chicago Cincinnati Dallas Eugene Houston Las Vegas Minneapolis Nashville Philadelphia Pittsburgh Portland Providence Rochester, NY Salem Salt Lake City Seattle St. Louis Syracuse Texas State University Vanderbilt Wall Street (Timeline · The People's Library) Washington, D.C. Other Bahrain Berlin Cyprus Dataran New Zealand Nigeria Oslo Reykjavik Rome Events 15 October 2011 global protests  (2011 Rome demonstration) Bank Transfer Day UC Davis pepper-spray incident Places Dame Street (Dublin) Dewey Square (Boston) Eyre Square (Galway) Farragut Square (Washington, D.C.) Finsbury Square (London) Frank H. Ogawa Plaza (Oakland) Gill Tract (Albany) Grand Parade and South Mall (Cork) McPherson Square (Washington, D.C.) Rothschild Boulevard (Tel Aviv) San Jose City Hall (San Jose) Plaza Blocks (Portland) Sproul Plaza (University of California, Berkeley) St. James Park (Toronto) Stapleton House, Oliver Plunkett Street (Cork) Vancouver Art Gallery (Vancouver) Victoria Park (Regina) Westlake Park (Seattle) Woodruff Park (Atlanta) Zuccotti Park (New York City) United Nations Buffer Zone in Cyprus (Nicosia) Groups Adbusters Media Foundation Anonymous ¡Democracia Real YA! Occupy Homes Occupy Marines UK Uncut Other 2011–2012 Spanish protests 99 Percent Declaration 99 Percenters Distribution of wealth General assemblies Human microphone Income distribution Law enforcement and the Occupy movement Occupy Comics Occupy hand signals Occupy This Album Reactions Wall Street We are the 99%  Category  Commons  List of protest locations  Social movements portal