{"id":1780,"date":"2021-05-11T12:26:54","date_gmt":"2021-05-11T11:26:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/salc-making-a-difference\/?p=1780"},"modified":"2022-09-19T12:10:22","modified_gmt":"2022-09-19T11:10:22","slug":"democracy-and-grassroots-activism-in-nigeria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/salc-making-a-difference\/2021\/05\/11\/democracy-and-grassroots-activism-in-nigeria\/","title":{"rendered":"Democracy and Grassroots Activism in Nigeria"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Written by\u00a0The Nigerian Society<\/a><\/span>, Gerardo Serra<\/a><\/span>, and Steven Pierce<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Nigeria is a country with a rich and multi-faceted history stretching long before colonial times, during which kingdoms and city-states thrived. During colonial rule, the Northern and Southern Protectorates were amalgamated in 1914 to form the country as we know it nowadays. Nigeria became independent from Great Britain in 1960 and had several years of military rule before establishing the current federal republic. In this format, citizens formally elect their representatives by popular vote. This system was designed to guarantee the rule of democracy and protect the rights of all citizens.<\/p>\n

But is Nigeria really democratic? During the last presidential election for instance, won in 2019 by the current President Muhammadu Buhari, voter fraud and theft of ballot papers were alleged. These types of accusations towards both state and federal elections were not new tore the Nigerian people. In fact, it has become unsurprising for the people to know that the democratic process in Nigeria is deeply flawed, as more people show distrust of the political elite and the government. Even though allegedly the President won the 2019 election 55.6% of the vote, out of the 82,344,107 who registered to vote, only 34.75% actually cast their vote.<\/p>\n

Voter apathy has been the main feature of the political life of young Nigerians. People often fear for their lives because of the real threats that are often faced during political campaigns. Numerous innocent lives are lost during the elections and that makes people stay away from participating. This is indeed a great problem. In a country where there is the need to vote for leaders who are credible and trustworthy, having low turnouts makes it much more difficult.<\/p>\n

Instead, the President has publicly labelled the current Nigerian youth as lazy. In the meantime, the unemployment rate in the country rose to 33.3% in the fourth quarter of 2020. The lack of job creation has affected the youth majorly. Although many are highly educated, their educational efforts are not rewarded with employment, leading to large-scale emigration.<\/p>\n

More recently, the international press was riveted by waves of protest, activism, and mass action that swept Nigeria in October 2020. Picking up on international protests against police violence, activists aimed to abolish the country\u2019s Special Anti-Robbery Squad, which had a long history of wholescale violence against ordinary Nigerians. Founded in response to the genuine threat of armed robbery, the squad represented for Nigerian men and women hassle, harassment, rape and murder. The endSARS movement has shone a light on the lack of accountability in governance by President Buhari\u2019s administration. As people have protested to ask for their basic human rights and stop police brutality, the government has continued to falsify the truth and avoided having a real discussion with its people. Both the protests and the grievances they addressed reinforced narratives of Nigeria as predatory, corrupt, violent, and chaotic. At the same time, some coverage suggested EndSARS was the embodiment of a \u2018rising Africa\u2019 that, by the sheer force of its demographic composition, can put \u2018the youth\u2019 in the condition to bring positive change, and successfully attain democracy and increased accountability. As time has demonstrated, both characterisations are too simple. And yet, this moment of activism in Nigeria, and the country\u2019s ties to a deeply engaged, technologically savvy diaspora, offers new possibilities for hope and for engaged reflection.<\/p>\n

This event was held on April 22, co-organised by the Nigerian Students Society and the School of Arts, Languages and Cultures of the University of Manchester. It sought to provide an opportunity for discussion and networking among Nigerians and other interested people in Nigeria, the University of Manchester student body, the Manchester community, and other interested people around the world. It consisted of three Zoom events, taking place on 22 April at 6pm (UK time).<\/p>\n

These included:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. A video, consisting of edited version of footage gathered from twitter, and from individuals who took part in the October 2020 protests in different parts of Nigeria. This exercise in assemblage reiterates our commitment to focus on marginalized and unheard voices, and to bring a plurality of perspectives and viewpoints on the current Nigerian situation, its genealogies, and its future.<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. A panel discussion with three Nigeria-based speakers who offered insightful, complementary perspectives on youth, activism, protest and grassroot democracy, followed by questions from the audience. The speakers were:<\/span>\n