Datti Baba Ahmed, the former vice presidential candidate of the Labour Party, has stated that many Nigerians are focusing on the wrong things when it comes to protesting. Ahmed said people are quick to protest about religion and ethnicity but rarely take action when it comes to serious national issues like insecurity and the falling value of the naira.
In an interview with Arise TV from 4:35, Ahmed explained how the size of a protest affects the government’s response. He said when only a few people protest, the authorities ignore them. He said when the crowd gets larger, police may show up and arrest people or even use force. He stated that when massive numbers like 100,000 or a million people protest, the government is forced to take the protest seriously and begin to negotiate.
In Ahmed’s words: “Nigerians won’t do that for anything, for their security or currency but will do it for religion and ethnicity. I can’t imagine who goes around to villages killing hundreds and thousands of people. It must be hundreds of people who are killing hundreds of people. And ten people will not come out for the sake of the naira. Our priorities are completely misplaced”
