Residents of Plateau State on Tuesday ignored the protests slated across the country to mark the nation’s 64th independence.
The October 1, 2024, protest, tagged “FearlessInOctober,” had witnessed massive mobilisation, especially on social media during the past months.
There were fears that the Independence Day protests would take the pattern of the August 1 EndBadGovernance in Nigeria protest in the state, where aggrieved youths took to the streets of Jos, demanding an end to economic hardship as well as a reversal of the petrol subsidy removal and electricity tariff increase.
However, our correspondent, who monitored the situation in Jos on Tuesday, observed that although there were no protesters in sight at the Secretariat junction and Old Airport junction, where they usually assemble before hitting the streets, security operatives were on the ground at both locations keeping watch.
It was also observed that major roads and streets were relatively quiet, with no heavy traffic, while shops and other petty businesses were open.
Checks at the major markets like Terminus, Satellite Market, and Bukuru Market showed that the majority of businesses were also open, with only a few of them shut.
As of the time of filing this report, there was no information on any protest taking place anywhere in the state.
When contacted, a former Minister of Sports, Solomon Dalung, who led the previous EndBadGovernance in Nigeria protest in Plateau, said they decided to change their methods of protest for October 1 because the situation in Plateau does not warrant open demonstrations by protesters.
Dalung said, “It is not as if we do not want to protest in Plateau State on October 1, except that the context of the situation we have now and the previous one are not the same.
“So, you should not expect us to adopt the same method. But the truth is that the economic hardship and suffering experienced by Nigerians that warranted the EndBadGovernance in Nigeria protest have not changed as we speak, so you cannot say that Nigerians in Plateau have stopped protesting for those responsible for the situation to change it.
“So, we will continue to protest the bad situation we have in Nigeria until the people get relief, but the method of this protest should not be expected to be the same here in Plateau.”
