Thousands have taken to the streets in Nigerian cities in anti-government protests against the high cost of living in the country, driven by crippling inflation and a devalued currency.
Police used tear gas Thursday to disperse crowds in the capital, Abuja, and in the nation’s second largest city, Kano, where demonstrators attempted to start bonfires outside government buildings.
There was also a heavy security presence in the commercial capital, Lagos, where protesters marched toward government buildings, ringing bells, chanting, and carrying placards denouncing corruption and Nigeria’s green and white flag. They were led down the street by armed security personnel.
Many Nigerians blame the cost-of-living crisis on reforms introduced last year by President Bola Tinubu, who canceled a popular fuel subsidy and took steps that devalued the naira.
Activists online had been calling for the protests for weeks, inspired by the recent protests in Kenya that forced that country’s president to withdraw proposed tax increases.
Organizers in Nigeria had said their protests are aimed at addressing both economic hardships and longstanding systemic issues, such as corruption and press freedom.
Ahead of the protests, lawmakers in the national assembly last week voted to more than double the monthly minimum wage of federal workers from 30,000 naira to 70,000 naira, about $43. The president signed the bill into law earlier this week, but it appeared to do little to dampen calls for a nationwide demonstration.
Religious leaders and other social groups tried to discourage the protests out of fear that, like the Kenya protests, they could turn violent. International rights group Human Rights Watch warned that Nigerian government rhetoric ahead of the protests raised fears of a violent crackdown.
Last week, Nigeria's inspector general of police, Kayode Egbetokun, warned, "Some groups of people, self-appointed crusaders and influencers, have been strategizing and mobilizing potential protesters to unleash terror in the land under the guise of replicating the recent Kenya protests. ... We must ensure that these protests do not snowball into violence or disorder.”
