It’s interesting to watch this movement continue to grow and change over time. Occupy Wall Street may have started to address a very specific set of problems in a nation that has relatively few problems. But “Occupy” has become a buzzword that begins to fuel any kind of mass unrest and protest in the world. Now civilians in nations that regularly face life and death issues at the hands of their governments, finally have something to rally around, in order to start organizing and standing up to their respective “man”. It’s some pretty amazing stuff.
Occupy Nigeria is a protest responding to the governments repeal of a gas subsidy that kept gas prices in the nation at around $1.70 per gallon. Since the subsidies repeal just six days ago, gas has reached over $3.50 per gallon. This has caused food and transportation costs to skyrocket in the nation causing more food insecurity in a country that has a great deal of problems already. Most of the Nigerian population lives on under $2 per day. They experience water and electricity shortages on a regular basis. A large portion of the population doesn’t have access to clean drinking water. Many face hunger on a daily basis. They’re also facing a radical militant group of Muslims that killed over 500 people in the country in 2011. What do police officers do in the face of that kind of violence? Apparently, not enough. We’ll see how active they become when the mass strikes begin on Monday.
“We are sitting near a keg of gunpowder and we are playing with fire,” said Rep. Pally Isumafe Obokhuaime Iriase of the Action Congress of Nigeria. “This will be the last straw that will break the camel’s back if we do not act.” [Christian Science Monitor]
Nigerians are gathering in solidarity to re-enact the gas subsidy which would cost the government $8 billion in the coming year. But many in the nation feel that that’s not unreasonable considering the years of corruption that the populace has had to deal with at the hands of the government. Nigerians have seen billions of oil dollars funneled into politician’s pockets over the past few decades, and they, like us, are tired of being taken advantage of.
What do you think about Occupy Nigeria?