Financial Implications of the #EndBadGovernance Protest

 


The first day of August  heralded the first day of the "End bad governance" protest. The protest was organised to protest against the economic hardship, hunger and financial difficulties currently being faced by Nigerians. 

As with most protests, there has been attendant economic and financial implications of the protest. 

The most obvious impact was felt by small and medium scale businesses who were forced to close business to avoid  looting and vandalisation. Considering the fact that SMES contribute 48% to the GDP of the nation and account for 84% of employments, the magnitude of this economic disruption is better imagined. 

Closely related to this is the fact that Nigeria has a huge number of daily wage earners who dominate the informal sector of the economy. National Bureau of Statistics estimates that about 40 million Nigerians are daily wage earners with average daily wage ranging from #1000 to #5000. The economic disruption of a protest means loss of daily wage for this set of people.

The minister of communications, Innovation and digital economy, Bosun Tijani has lamented the destruction of the Digital Innovation Park in  kano by hoodlums during the #EndBadGovernance protest. The park valued at millions of naira is to provide Nigerians with technical skills for the digital economy. Pictures and videos of looters making away with computer systems and chairs from the facility flooded the Internet not long after the protest started.

There were also series of lootings in different parts of the country as hoodlums took advantage of the protest to prey on businesses. Some public infrastructure were also vandalized in the course of the protest by hoodlums.

While protest is a fundamental human right guaranteed by the Nigerian constitution, it is imperative that protesters conduct themselves in a civil manner to avoid conflicting financial losses on innocent citizens. The police and other law enforcement agents should also go after hoodlums that may want to hijack the protest.


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