La violencia estalla mientras los nigerianos protestan por el hambre en todo el país
Las protestas forman parte de una oleada mayor de descontento que se extiende por África en lugares como Kenia, Uganda, Ghana y ahora Nigeria.
Las protestas se salieron de control en algunas partes del país, incluyendo los estados del norte de Yobe y Kano, donde las autoridades declararon un toque de queda de 24 horas mientras se producían escenas caóticas en las que se saquearon propiedades privadas y públicas y se quemaron muchos vehículos.
En Kano, los manifestantes asaltaron y saquearon un Parque de Innovación Digital programado para inaugurarse la próxima semana, según informó el ministro de Comunicaciones Bosun Tijani.
Disparos resonaron en la capital Abuja y también en el estado vecino de Niger mientras la policía lanzaba gases lacrimógenos para dispersar a los manifestantes desafiantes. En Niger, al menos seis personas temen haber muerto, según informaron los medios locales.
El portavoz de la policía del estado Wasiu Abiodun dijo a CNN en un comunicado que los operativos arrestaron a 11 "vándalos" armados que incendiaron un edificio gubernamental después de saquearlo.
Abiodun dijo que los oficiales de policía también dispersaron a los manifestantes que habían ocupado una carretera principal, pero no respondió a la pregunta de CNN sobre el número de muertos.
Según Reuters, citando testigos oculares, otras tres personas murieron en el estado del noroeste de Kaduna. El comando de policía de Kaduna no regresó la solicitud de comentarios de CNN.
En Abuja, los manifestantes se reunieron fuera del estadio nacional, donde se enfrentaron a los partidarios del gobierno.
El activista y abogado Deji Adeyanju le dijo a CNN el jueves que hubo contraprotestas por parte de partidarios del gobierno que llegaron en autobuses acompañados de un vehículo de seguridad. Josephine Adeh, portavoz de la policía en la ciudad, negó esto.
"Los manifestantes se Back to the Future violentos y comenzaron a lanzar piedras a la policía, razón por la cual la policía tuvo que dispersarlos", dijo ella.
'Diez días de rabia'
Los manifestantes se reunieron bajo la coalición 'Poner Fin a la Malgobernanza en Nigeria', utilizando el eslogan "10 Días de Rabia" y exigen la restauración de una subvención de combustible whose abrupt removal last May caused a dramatic spike in the cost of food, transportation, and other commodities.
These increases have hit a populace already struggling with widespread unemployment and soaring inflation of 34%, the highest level in nearly 30 years.
One protester in the Nigerian capital told the national Channels Television that he was forced to join the Thursday protests due to hunger.
"Hunger ... me sacó a la calle. No tengo dinero para comprar combustible ... hay un gobierno totalmente malo. Son 10 días (de rabia). Nos quedaremos en las calles hasta que se cumplan nuestras demandas."
Dele Farotimi, un portavoz de la coalición que coordina las protestas, atribuyó la gran participación de manifestantes en todo el país al hambre, que dice que "une a todos los nigerianos a través de las divisiones políticas, étnicas y religiosas".
Before the protests, President Bola Tinubu called for calm, urging citizens not to take to the streets as he feared that it "could degenerate into violence and set the country backwards".
The government also announced last-minute measures to halt the demonstrations but they proved unsuccessful.
On Monday, Tinubu signed into law a bill that doubled the national minimum wage from N30,000 ($18.06) a month to N70,000 ($42.14). He also approved the removal of taxes on food imports, which his office said would address food inflation.
"Most of the demands that the protesters are making are actually being addressed by the federal government," Information Minister Mohammed Idris told a press conference Monday, adding that the government had opened centers across the nation where rice would be sold to citizens "at about 50% of its cost".
Protesters are also calling for the government to address the country’s worsening security problems, amid challenges including kidnappings for ransom.
“In the northern part of Nigeria, the largest part of our country ... the primary cause of hunger is insecurity. The people cannot go to their farms. A lot of people are living in internally displaced persons camps. So you have a lot of disruptions on account of insecurity which is manifesting in both banditry, kidnapping, and terrorism,” Farotimi said.
Some of the other demands include “reducing the cost of governance, and electoral, judicial and constitutional reforms,” according to a signed statement from a coalition of civil society organizations seen by CNN.
Líderes viviendo en lujo
This is the first major coordinated protest in Nigeria since the deadly EndSARS demonstrations against police brutality in 2020, which resulted in deaths and injuries after security forces opened fire on unarmed protesters.
He added that Nigerians were also pained watching their leaders live in luxury while they struggled to make ends meet.
"It has gotten to that point where the people just need to be heard," he said.
Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu has faced a backlash over his government’s spending plans despite the country’s mounting debts and cost-of-living crisis.
Last year, lawmakers rejected plans for a multimillion-dollar presidential yacht before approving a budget that allocated millions of dollars for a presidential fleet, including the purchase of SUV vehicles for the presidency and the First Lady’s Office.
The budget also allocated funds to cover the cost of renovating the president’s residential quarters. Analysts told CNN at the time it was “hypocrisy” for the government to spend on luxuries while impoverished citizens suffer hardship.
The demonstrations in Nigeria are not isolated incidents, as similar unrest can also be seen in other parts of the world, such as the ongoing struggles in various African countries like Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, and Africa as a whole.
The recent looting and chaos in Kano triggered concerns in neighboring Niger, where at least six deaths were reported according to local media.
