The second half of 2024 has been greeted by protests in many countries worldwide. The peculiarity of peaceful protests becoming violent is usually affiliated with Africa, but it has taken an upturn in recent months, extending to Europe and Asia.
The recent protests broke out in Nigeria, the United Kingdom, Kenya, Bangladesh, and India.
It first broke out in Kenya when youths in the country began demonstrations that turned violent over the prospect of increased levies on essential foodstuffs. The protest claimed more than 20 lives. This led the country’s president, William Ruto, to withdraw his finance bill and dissolve his cabinet.
Aside from Kenya, protesters in Nigeria, the United Kingdom, Bangladesh, and India have followed suit in what they believe to be a revolutionary protest that would solve the myriads of problems ranging from the high cost of living, anti-immigration, anti-labour policies and quota system for government jobs.
In this report, The PUNCH highlights the countries where protests are ongoing, causes, and the demands by the protesters in the identified countries.
1. Nigeria
Protesters hit the streets across the country over the high cost of living and soaring prices of foodstuffs on August 1. The protest scheduled to hold for 10 days was tagged ‘Days of Rage’ and organised by a group called the “Take It Back” Movement in collaboration with Concerned Nigerians, Nigerians Against Hunger, Initiative for Change, Human Rights Co-Advocacy Group, Nigerians Against Corruption Initiative, Citizens for Change Advocacy Initiative, Timely Intervention, Active Citizens Group, Students for Change, We Coalition, Total Intervention, Refurbished Nigeria, Tomorrow Today, Our Future in Our Own Hands Initiative, Youths Against Tyranny, and Call a Spade a Spade Movement, among others, to put a stop to what they described as ‘bad governance’ by the country’s leaders.
Their demands include an end to anti-people’s policies, a reversal of fuel price, an increase in the national minimum wage to N300,000, a reversal of the hike in tertiary education fees, transparency and accountability in governance, electoral reforms, including the autonomy of the Independent National Electoral Commission, reforms in the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, transition to a unicameral legislature, and reform security agencies to stop human rights violations.
The protest has reached day five despite President Bola Tinubu calling on the protesters to quell their action because of infiltrators who were noticed waving the Russian flag in FCT, Kano, Kaduna, and Zamfara.
2. India
The Indian National Trade Union Congress has called for sit-in protests at all district collectorate offices across Kerala State on August 5 to denounce the state government’s labour policies.
It first started in February when police used tear gas and barricades to stop thousands of farmers from marching to the capital, New Delhi, to press their demands that the government set a minimum price for all their produce to ensure they could sustain their livelihood. This demonstration has lingered, and others who are not in the Agricultural sector have supported it.
Earlier talks with the Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai failed to secure a government commitment to provide support prices, which spurred the farmers to go ahead with their “Delhi Chalo”, or “Let’s go to Delhi”, march.
Their demand is that the Ministry of Agriculture should increase prices for their crops to ensure they can sustain their livelihood.
3. Bangladesh
Bangladesh is on the boil again, with close to 100 people killed on Sunday as protesters, calling for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s resignation, clashed with security forces and supporters of the ruling party.
Last month, at least 150 people were killed and thousands injured in violence touched off by student groups protesting against reserved quotas in government jobs. The ‘Students Against Discrimination’ group, which was at the forefront of last month’s job quota protests, is leading the latest demonstrations.
Demonstrations started at university campuses in June after the High Court reinstated a quota system for government jobs, overturning a 2018 decision by Hasina’s government to scrap it.
The Supreme Court suspended the high court order after the government’s appeal and then dismissed the lower court order last month, directing that 93% of jobs should be open to candidates on merit.
The protests to reform the quota system paused after the Supreme Court scrapped most quotas on July 21. Protesters, however, returned last week demanding a public apology from the country’s Prime Minister Hasina for the violence, restoration of internet connections, reopening of college and university campuses, and release of those arrested.
Their demand is that the job quota in the country be reversed and that PM Hasina resign. Although the resignation call has been fulfilled, the country’s PM was seen today in a video that went viral on social media, fleeing her palace to seek a place in India until the unrest subsided.
4. United Kingdom
Violent protests have erupted in towns and cities across Britain after three girls were killed in a knife attack at a children’s dance class in Southport in northwest England last week.
The murders were seized on by anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim groups as misinformation spread that the suspected attacker was an immigrant and a radical Islamist. Police have said the suspect was born in Britain and are not treating it as a terrorist incident.
The protests have spread through cities across the country, including in Liverpool, Bristol and Manchester on Saturday, resulting in dozens of arrests as shops and businesses were vandalised and looted, and several police officers were injured.
On Sunday, hundreds of anti-immigration protesters gathered by a hotel near Rotherham, northern England, which Britain’s interior minister said was housing asylum seekers.
Although the country’s Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, condemned what he described as “far-right thuggery” and said perpetrators would face the full force of the law after days of violent anti-immigration protests culminated in hotels being targeted.
Some Britons are demanding the return of immigrants to their countries as they believe that they are the ones causing unrest in the UK.
5. Kenya
A wave of protests swept through Kenya. Triggered by controversial proposed tax hikes, the movement has evolved into a wider campaign for more accountable governance in the country. Some demand the entire government’s resignation. The demonstrations started on June 18 and, for a week, were overwhelmingly peaceful, but in the early afternoon of June 25, they took a violent turn.
A number of demonstrators breached police barricades and stormed the precincts of parliament. They set parts of the building on fire, destroyed legislators’ offices, and carted away property, including the speaker’s mace.
Their demand is that the bill be reversed and President Ruto’s resignation be announced. So far, only the finance bill has been reversed; the President remains.
6. Venezuela
Large crowds have returned to the streets in Venezuela’s cities, protesting President Nicolás Maduro’s alleged election manipulation and denouncing the increasing suppression of opposition supporters
Thousands of protesters gathered in a major avenue in Caracas, the capital, to rally behind opposition leader María Corina Machado, who insists that her presidential candidate, Edmundo González, was the legitimate winner of the disputed July 28 election.
The protesters took to the streets defying a severe crackdown by security forces that has resulted in hundreds of arrests on terrorism charges and a reported 11 deaths.
