ABUJA: President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Nigerian armed forces on Thursday warned of Kenya-style violence in protests planned for next week over rising cost of living, with the military saying the move would prevent “anarchy”.
Kenya was rocked by deadly protests that forced the government to scrap the new taxes. Nigeria's economic reforms have seen food inflation rise by 40 percent, but there has been no unrest.
Social media calls for demonstrations have been made since August 1.
It is unclear who is behind the calls or whether the public will participate at a time when many Nigerians fear job losses and are wary of past crackdowns.
President Tinubu addressed the concerns in a statement late Thursday, saying: “We are not afraid of protests. Our concern is the common people and the damage that will be done.”
In a separate statement, he said, referring to the 15-month civil war in this northeastern African country: “We do not want to turn Nigeria into Sudan.”
We are talking about starvation, not burial. We have to be careful.”
Prices have risen since Tinubu ended costly fuel subsidies and freed up the naira currency in reforms needed to revive the economy of Africa's most populous country.
Authorities, security forces and governors have asked the youth to stay away from any demonstrations. Some have even accused the organizers of treason and destabilizing the country.
“While citizens have the right to protest peacefully, they do not have the right to mobilize for chaos and unleash terror,” US Defense Spokesman General Edward Bubba told reporters.
He added: “It is easy to see that the contemporary context of the planned protest is overshadowing what is happening in Kenya, which I must say is violent.
He said the armed forces had identified some “elements that were planning to hijack” the demonstration.
“The level of violence seen can only be described as a chaotic situation. “The armed forces will not stand aside and will not allow chaos to come to our nation.”
The Department of State Services, or DSS, which handles insider threats, said “sinister” elements wanted to exploit the protests and were politically motivated.
“The conspirators want to use the desired violent outcome to smear the federal and local governments. Make them hateful and put them in front of the masses.”
Tinubu, who has repeatedly called for patience with his reforms, has also suggested that some groups are mobilizing protests to create violence and replicate Kenya's protests.
He met with traditional rulers on Thursday to seek their help in dealing with any protests.
The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adai Enitan Ogunwusi, said after the meeting: “We traditional rulers are not involved with the people, especially the youths, who come out to loot, start disrupting law and order.
The president last week agreed to more than double the monthly minimum wage for federal workers to 70,000 naira ($43). He has also started delivering truckloads of rice to every state in an effort to ease cost-of-living pressures.
The last major protest movement in Nigeria, in October 2020, was sparked by abuses by the anti-robbery police group SARS, but turned into the largest anti-government demonstration in Nigeria's modern history.
The police unit was disbanded, but the protests ended in bloodshed.
Witnesses and human rights organizations have accused security forces of firing on peaceful protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos on October 20, 2020.
Amnesty International said the army killed at least 10 people at the toll gate, but security forces denied responsibility, saying troops used live ammunition to disperse people who defied the curfew.
