The Nigerian Strike: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly

I came back from Nigeria yesterday evening, after some 8 days of stay. I arrived on Saturday the 7th.. in the heat of "there may be a strike next week" talk. And strike there was.. the whole week. By Saturday 14th, someone had named it "the mother of all strikes" in Nigeria. He is correct.

For me, the protests were on three levels. First, I was a complete stranger to the whole of it. Since I dont live in Nigeria.. and fuel costs 1.5$ in my residence country for a liter..it was interesting for me to watch the outcry. On a second level, as a Policy Adviser, I was listening a lot: about what my relatives were saying. I watched a lot of news on TV, followed the #OccupyNigeria and #FuelSubsidy tags on Twitter and tried to process all the public policy issues that were flowing through all of that. On a third level, when I had to hit the road from the Eastern part of the country to the Western part on the Thursday,despite expressed fears from my mother and close family members, then I became one of the actors.

From my end, here are a few of the things I saw as the good, the bad, and the ugly of the strike.

The Good:

The citizen mobilization. Oh yes! In Yinka's article, Social media was hailed as a magnifying force of the protests. The photo shot by Sunday (which I borrowed for this post) also shows how huge certain crowds got. Since the Arab Spring, millions of Africans having been desiring, hoping, scratching for a similar occasion.. to out their issues with the powers that be. In Nigeria itself, the OCCUPYNIGERIA movement had started before the fuel subsidy saga. So it was not a surprise that that the citizen mobilization was huge.

Corruption to the fore: Everybody says there is corruption in Nigeria. I am not in the secret of the gods and cannot say what strategy the Nigerian President - Goodluck Jonathan - may have put in place alongside the fuel subsidy removal one, but for once, the big question of corruption in Nigeria became a national agenda. Government says it wants to tackle corruption by removing subsidy and citizens insist corruption needs to be tackled while subsidy is maintained.. which ever way.. the strike has made it clear.. everyone in Nigeria agrees that corruption is THE problem and needs to be confronted.

Rise of critical questions: I listened to radio and TV programmes during the entire strike. I read the tweets and web posts. I have been impressed by the number of critical questions raised during the strike period. What happened to the subsidy money from diesel? Is kerosine subsidized or not? How does government spending in fuel subsidy actually add up? What are the exact costs? Where does the spending go? Who makes decisions in key energy issues? What about earlier promises made by government on energy-related issues? What is the role of the Bretton-Woods institutions on this? When are the refineries getting back to work? What does it take for Nigeria to get them started? What real mechanisms is government putting in place to REALLY tackle corruption? How come government is quick to remove fuel subsidy when it is so slow in fighting Boko Haram (The Militant Islamic group). So many questions..

Mutual respect: In the history of Nigeria, I am not sure that such a strong-willed confrontation has happened. The way the government took the citizens by surprise.. and the way the citizens reacted with a resilience that took decision makers by surprise as well. At first, the citizens thought the government will back out entirely after 2/3 days of strike.. and the government also thought that citizens will back off after 2/3 days of protests. It is now comfortable to say that there is that healthy respect; in which the government respects the power of the citizens and the citizens become aware that the present government has a strong will. Now that everyone is aware that everyone is aware.. things may never be the same again.

The Bad

The loss in productivity: This is the huge loss. There are figures that are flying around about how much the government was losing in productivity for each day of the strike. But the loss is incalculable. The economic, yes. But the social, the political and the personal. Simply put: Almost everyone in Nigeria lost.

No clear way out of the corruption quagmire: Though the question has risen to the fore and the need to tackle corruption has become a national agenda, the strike does not seem to have paved a way for it. Will the Nigerian government put more emphasis on transparency and good governance? Not sure. Will individuals adopt a less corrupt behaviour? No signs.. The strike may have been the "River Niger" of an anti-corruption move, but the "pacific ocean" of corruption remains cool, calm and undisturbed. Like the novelist Ayi Kwei Armah says: "The Beautyful Ones are Not Yet Born".

Issues with information: As in such cases, one thing was the strike, the other was the information management. It is not clear that the Nigerian government has put in place a strategic government information channel that takes into consideration the Web 2.0 era. Rumors had a field day. When I was setting off from Aba to Lagos, those in Aba had information that there was zero movement in Lagos and those in Lagos were under the impression that because Lagos was crippled for the major part, all parts of the country were. In truth, Aba and some other Eastern Nigeria cities were going about their businesses. Granted, banks were not open but transport was okay. In Lagos too, apart from the designated meeting areas, there was movement in town. If you add those to hackers who took the opportunity to hack key institutional sites.. the misinformation of both parties, and especially the international community was on "high level".

Lack of proper citizen education: In many of the responses to the fuel subsidy removal, almost all pointed to one key factor: there was not enough public policy education of the Nigerian population. The education of the mass did not happen. Some claim consultation did not also happen. Those who could quickly educate themselves "saw the point" in what government was "trying to get at" but not everyone can educate him/herself.

The Ugly

Greed. I think it should be called by its name. Owners of fuel stations who had products delivered at the initial price were happy to sell the same at the new price. In Aba, stations sold PMS for 150 Naira!! Somewhere in Lagos, people had to beg to buy at 138 Naira. It is easy to point at the corruption of others.. but for the owners of the fuel stations.. mhmm! There was also the "Okada" bike riders who doubled their prices. The airlines who were collecting 100$ each for ticket changes. The women at the market.. greed had a field day

Extortion: I had to send out a tweet when my driver panicked. He got news that youths armed with clubs were breaking windshields of vehicles at Ijebu Ode junction of the Benin-Abeokuta express way. On arrival, the sight that met my eyes was a very worry one indeed. At least 1000 youths had mounted road blocks at every 20 meters on either side of the highway and were collecting cash from every single vehicle that drove by. My driver paid in at least 12 points for a 500 meters stretch of road. It was sickening!

Deaths: Labour may have called off the strike, but the fact still remains that people died during the strike. Some from one kind of violence or another, and others as collateral. Like my mother will say, "it is only after the race that we will calculate the distance".

In years to come, Nigerians will look back to the second week of January 2012 and point at the many firsts..

I do hope that the good, the bad and the ugly of the week will serve us in a positive way.

For Nigeria, for Africa, for the world.

Il Zont lumé 'Bidjan!

Mamoudou: Eh! Bou-ari, sh'est comment? On ti voit plus là? Tu s'en fous de nous ishi maintenant ou bien ti gagné PMU?

Boukary: Mais vous quartier là oo, c'est campement. Moi, yé travaille au Paris maintenant!

MM: Puatate! Regarde moi, un gnamogodé comme ça là! C'est qui, qui va t'envoyer derrier l'eau?
BK: Voilà! Toi, avec ton vié vélo, vous deux vous tournez dans campement ici seulement.. Fo venir au Plateau où nous on travaille.. làbàs, c'est Paris directe!
MM: Tchié, akodé lumière là?
BK: Môgô, yétédi, y a lumière, y a lumière. Cette fois-ci, Paris même est petit devant nous ooh!
MM: Donc tu fais partie de ces gens, ils s'en vont promener Plateau on dirait n'enfant là?
BK: Moi là, yé promène pas dêh! Tu sais, où moi je garde, c'est devant l'arbre là même! Je suis ashis, voila lui, voila moi!
MM: Ah bon? C'est ké ti est deveni patron vrai vrai.
BK: Non, ça là, fo voir pour croire. Blanc oo, Libanais oo, noir oo, shinoir oo, tout le monde vient regarder ça! Ca défile seulement la nuit!
MM: Mais ce que moi aussi je va serser prendre madame avec monz enfant pour venir voir..
BK: Wè wè! Le 31 là, ca va chauffer même! Feu d'entifices, tout ça.. moi yé demande pas Patron dêh, mais jé va envoyer ma famille labas tchô!
MM: Eh Allah! On dirait Houphouët vie encore oo..Dieu merci!
BK: C'es pas ça les gens disent là? Y en a sont content, y en a sont pas content..
MM: Quoi? Si l'homme dit qui'il content pas zolie lumière là, c'est un sorcier!
BK: Ah mon frère.. je 'tends beaucoup où je suis ashis là bas dêh.. ça bavarde seulement.. y en a il parle, y en a ils sont la faire bisous seulement..
MM: Tchié, c'est arrivé dans affaire d'amour encore?
BK: C'est ça là même! Ça tombe amoureux à gauche à droite dêh! Yédis, on vit au Paris oo!
MM: Safroulaye!! C'est dans ça il vont 'ceinter beaucoup beaucoup femme encore..
BK: C'est ça qui est là ooo, s'ils zon lumé 'Bidjan, c'est tout ça.. lumière, amour, bonheur.. en tout cas.. au travail la nuit, on est plus seul.. y a du monde au Plateau..

Eh! Abidjan.. Dieu merci oo

10 things Laurent Gbagbo said today to the Internation Criminal Court at the Hague

Laurent Gbagbo has just finished his first appearance at the tribunal of the Internation Criminal court. The Presiding judge was Silvia Fernandez Gourmendi. Here are the 10 things he said. Each point gives insight to what is to come, beginning from the 18th of June, 2012.

1. My name is Laurent Gbagbo. That is the official name. Koudou is also my name. But officially, I am called Laurent Gbagbo. I was born on the 31st of May, 1945, in Gagnoa, in the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire.

2. I only speak French.

3. The circumstances of my detention at the Hague are fair.

4.I was arrested on the 11th of April, 2010 as the President of my country

5. It was the French army that arrested me. The bombed my residence for several days. 50 tanks surrounded my residence while helicopters bombed from above.

6. My Minister of Interior, Desiré Tagro, was killed before my eyes.

7. My son and my doctor were severely beaten before me

8.I only eat twice a day

9. All through my detention in Korhogo, I only saw the sun when my lawyers came to see me.

10. I was tricked into the Hague trip. I was told I was to go see a Magistrate. Then I was taken to the airport. I arrived with only the pair of trousers and shirt I had on me.

Senegal: waiting to explode

At about three months to the presidential elections in Senegal, the demons are rearing their heads. As the debates are heating up, and political sentiments are rising on the mercury scale, it is our duty to raise an alarm. Senegal is a political situation waiting to explode. Here are 5 points to consider:

The Constitutional Crisis

The country revised its constitution in 2001. Most of the revisions were linked to the office of the president, its prerogatives, tenure and duration. The revision shortened the duration of the tenure from 7 to 5 years. This tenure could only be renewed once. While obtaining an extension of presidential powers, the then President touted this "success in democracy", proclaiming himself as an avant-gardist and reassuring the population that he will no longer be a candidate in 2012.

Now 2012 is months away.. and someone is debating whether the 2 tenures should take into account the initial tenure.. The language is clear. The answer is Yes. But the president seems to either have lost a part of his democracy memory or forgot his language lessons!

The President who is looking for preachers of "another gospel"
As a legal person, the first reaction will be to refer to the constitutional experts of the country. Naturally. All of them in the country have spoken, except for one. All those who have spoken have said the same thing: President Abdoulaye Wade IS NOT constitutionally a possible candidate. And what do we see? The President who hires "International constitution experts" to a Dakar meeting so they can come read what Senegalese wrote. And these International preachers are insisting that "Yes", Wade can run for presidency in 2012 at the age of 86

Enter the Constitutional Council

Yes, the ultimate decision lies with the Constitutional Council. Though all its members are hand-picked by the President and some have attended the "International constitution conference" and that it has already jailed an activist wrote a strong-worded letter warning them of any unconstitutional decision in the Wade, issue, some people are still hoping that the constitutional council will render an unbiased decision.

The silence of the international community

I have not heard from the African Union. I have not heard from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The Union Monétaire Ouest Africaine is as dumb as ever. Neither have I read any official position of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie. This silence is worrying.

A population that is thinking "we can handle it" and "it cannot happen to us"

Six months ago, many Senegalese were publishing on Facebook and Twitter, firm convictions of everything being under control. At about three months to the elections, the tendency is clear. The pro-Wade group are sure that nothing will happen and their candidate will win. The anti-Wade group are professing the same: nothing will happen. He wont get clearance. As the days approach, the die-hard believers are still there:
Folks who believe they have come a long way as a country,
People who believe that popular protests will give them victory,
Senegalese who continue to think that "everything is under control"


When it is only waiting to explode.

Open letter to MENA of NIGER

Yeah, so you qualified for the 2012 African Cup of Nations? Okay, noted. We hear you.

This letter comes as a reaction to the fact that instead of planning your friendly matches, you are touring the country from South to North, East to West.. celebrating your victory.

We are sure that you know that in soccer, one man's joy is another man's misery. One team's victory means another team's defeat. While you are on the “high” and doing your joy-tour, we wish to bring the following to your attention.

MENA is going to AFCON with 9 points! Yes, that is 50% of possible points. Cape Verde, Cameroon, Uganda, Nigeria, and Malawi each have more than that and are home. It is only a reminder... we know you know.

We have a message from South Africa to you. Not only did you rob the Rainbow Nation of a place in the AFCON, you have dealt a blow on their national pride. You have exposed the “limit of the intelligence” of their Football Federation leaders. You have given them a very bitter after-taste. This blow is like pouring ash over the silver glimmer of the FIFA world cup which they so valiantly and brilliantly hosted.

There is also a message from from Nigeria. They have thousands of professional players. They had what it took to qualify and did not. Now everyone is comparing Niger and Nigeria. That makes Nigeria cry. The shared border makes it possible for people in Nigeria to smell your celebrations. Your victory reminds Nigeria of all of its failures.

Cameroon has sent their own missile to you. Niger does not have any “global star” like Eto’o. If you lost, there would not have been too much shame.. but now.. everyone is saying “Niger is there and Eto’o is absent’. Your victory is exposing the death of the old Lion.

Egypt says it wont forgive you. You must note that. In football, it may take 10 years, but some scores will be settled. In fact, Egypt will not only make you pay in soccer. In every sport where you will meet Egypt, be ready for a battle!

Finally, there is a message from FIFA and CAF. Yes. They have messages too. No, no, no. They are quite “congratulatory” about your qualification. They even have very positive things to say about you, and are actually hoping that you will go very far and maybe even show up for world cup in Brazil as you have started already dreaming.. Their message is simple: you only qualified for the competition. There are no trophies for qualification. The trophy is for the competition itself. Another way to say, this is only the beginning. You must now prepare for AFCON 2012.

Over here, we will fix our eyes on the draw of October 29. We are sure you know we are wishing you the “group of death”!


Signed: the miserable losers