People Protested When Naira Was N180 But When It Is N1,500 They Are Not Protesting, Are They Dead? – Obi

The 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has criticised the current dispensation of Nigerian leaders and political landscape, questioning the silence of past protest leaders amid worsening economic hardship.

During the memorial service of elder statesman Edwin Clark on Wednesday, attended by key political figures, including former President Goodluck Jonathan, Obi lamented what he described as a betrayal of past sacrifices made by Nigerian heroes and civil society actors.

I listened to my brother Mike when you talked about, ‘may the labour of our heroes past not be in vain’. I’m happy that Jonathan is here. But I can tell you their sacrifice is in vain. They have sacrificed for nothing,” Obi said.

He sharply compared the reaction to the 2012 fuel subsidy removal under former President Jonathan and the apparent apathy during the current administration’s harsher economic measures.

Jonathan increased fuel from N87 to N120 and people were protesting in this country. And when it was N900 they weren’t protesting. People protested when $1 was N180, and when it was N1,500 they weren’t protesting. Are they dead?” Obi asked pointing to the #OccupyNigeria protests that shut down the country in January 2012.

Jonathan’s attempt to scrap the fuel subsidy at the time triggered mass protests, forcing a partial policy reversal. Then, fuel prices rose from N87 to N120, and the exchange rate hovered around N180 to the dollar.

Over a decade later, President Bola Tinubu announced the complete removal of fuel subsidy on May 29, 2023, his first day in office, causing fuel prices to surge from N145 to over N1,000. The government also implemented a foreign exchange unification policy, leading the naira to plummet from N750 to over N1,500 per dollar.

However, while many prominent figures who led the #OccupyNigeria movement have remained largely silent, widespread protests returned in August 2024, when thousands of Nigerians staged a 10-day nationwide demonstration against the Tinubu administration’s policies.

The protest in August, tagged #EndBadGovernance, witnessed killings and harassment of protesters and journalists by both state actors and hoodlums.

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