Occupy protests bringing 'anarchy' to Nigeria

OCCUPY Nigeria is gathering momentum, with the upsurge in people power now threatening to disrupt oil supplies to the world markets.

Nigeria's biggest oil workers have threatened to shut Nigeria's oil rigs starting with work stoppages on Sunday, as anger grows over President Goodluck Jonathan's axing of fuel subsidies for ordinary people.

If the union follows through, analysts estimate that Nigeria's oil output could fall by between several hundred thousand and a million barrels a day. Nigeria produces two million barrels of crude daily, accounting for 95% of its export revenue, yet about 70% of Nigerians persist on just $2 a day or less.

The Wall Street Journal warned its readers: "Some analysts warn that even if Mr. Jonathan were to restore part of the subsidy, the concession wouldn't be enough to satisfy the thousands of protesters, who have turned city centers into caldrons of antigovernment sentiment."

It quoted Bismark Rewane, managing director of Financial Derivatives Co. in Lagos, as saying:  "Both the unions and the government have lost control of this process," The protests, he said, were "becoming a referendum on Goodluck."
 
"All the oil wealth that this country has earned over the years hasn't touched the population," said Adeyinka Shorungbe, a 36-year-old banker who was one of several thousand demonstrators who on Thursday marched through the affluent center of Nigeria's largest city, Lagos. "Everyone knows what's at stake here."

The Independent reported that  Jonathan's government was warning of "anarchy" in Nigeria and reported seeing a protester carrying a sign that read: "We are ready for the civil war."

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Occupy Nigeria uprising - ten protesters killed

POLICE have killed 10 protesters as the Occupy Nigeria uprising gathers force.

Tens of thousands of people have been taking to the streets as trade unions join in the rebellion with an indefinite nationwide strike against Goodluck Jonathan's neoliberal regime, which has hit the poor by removing a state fuel subsidy.

 

President of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Abdulwaheed Omar, who confirmed the killing, accused the police of using excessive force to quell the protests and cracking down on protesters.

 

Giving the breakdown of the casualty figure, Omar said six protesters were killed in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, three in Lagos and one in Kano during the demonstration, reports The Moment. 

 

The Red Cross also confirmed that police fired live ammunition and tear gas to disperse a crowd of protesters in Kano and Lagos wounding at least 18 people, some of whom died in the hospital. 

 

For the Lagos incident, angry protesters at Ogba in Lagos, identified one of the slain protesters as Ademola Aderinto, and the injured as Alimi Abubakar, Egbujor Samuel and Iyara.  

 

One of the protesters, Dickson Oracle said, ‘There were about seven policemen shooting in the air to disperse protesters.

 

"The DPO (police chief) opened fire targeting these four people and shot them. One died on the spot, because he sustained serious bullet wounds and the remaining have been brought to the hospital."

 

Another protester, Abubakar, said: "We were standing in front of our Mosque when some people who were sharing hand bills got to the place and just as we were still talking with them, suddenly police vehicles pulled up and started shooting sporadically on the ground before one of their Ogas took the gun from one of them and fired at us and the bullet hit me on my left thigh and I fell down. 

 

"We were not even protesting on the road."

 

In Lagos the usually busy Mushin, Fadeyi, Jibowu, Ikorodu Road, Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway were blocked by the protesters who made bonfires on the roads. 

 

At Fadeyi bus stop, demonstrators burnt tyres and scores of youth were seen chanting anti- government slogans. 

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Nigerians riot against neoliberalism

POVERTY stricken Nigerians are taking to the streets against a new government imposing a neoliberal agenda.

Reports Vanguard: "For the third consecutive day,  protests in different parts of the country over the New Year Day’s removal of fuel subsidy continued yesterday in some parts of the country ahead of  Organised Labour’s nationwide industrial action billed for Monday.

"Protesters grounded  Ibadan, Benin and Kaduna yesterday as the three-day peaceful protest in the commercial city of Kano turned violent with about 44 persons injured.

"This was even as other trade unions, including the Maritime Workers’ Union of Nigeria, NWUN,  Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions, Federation of Informal Sector Workers, Petroleum and National Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, Nigeria Bar Association, NBA, and the Federation of Female Lawyers have indicated their interests to participate in the strike.

"No fewer than 44 persons were seriously injured in Kano State, when the police and other security agencies reportedly used maximum force to disperse thousands of protesters who had spent three days at Tahir Square in the city centre over fuel subsidy removal that has led to the increase in petrol price from N65 to between N138 and N250 per litre across the country.

"In Benin, the Edo State capital, economic activities were grounded when market women, youths, Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Trade Union Congress, TUC, Civil society organizations under the umbrella of the Coalition to Save Nigeria, in their thousands, stormed the streets of the ancient city, protesting government’s removal of fuel subsidy."

A letter addressed to President Goodluck Jonathan from protesters said: “In the interest of peace, unity and progress in Nigeria, we recommend the immediate reversal of the price of fuel to N65 in the first instance and thereafter to N39.50k, which is the ideal price of a litre of petrol.

"Restore the capacities of the four refineries in the country immediately and take full control of the oil industry.  Drastically reduce the cost of governance and use the proceeds to fund development projects and the welfare of Nigerians. Jettison all market fundamentalist policies/programmes of the IMF/World Bank.

“The ideas and development policies of the two Bretton Woods Institutions have failed repeatedly in different parts of the world. Therefore, the current Minister of Finance and all other agents of the World Bank and IMF in the Federal Executive Council should be sacked if they fail to resign honourably. We believe that Nigeria must reclaim its sovereignty from the IMF, the World Bank and Multinational Corporations, MNCs.”

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