Kenya said they needed more money and wanted to increase taxes. The Kenyan government proposed raising US$2.7 billion by increasing taxes on essential goods and services, from cooking oil to bread. The bill also targeted digital revenue, where the bulk of young people generate their income.
The people of Kenya said “NO” to their government proposal and took to the streets. They marched to their Senate and the lawmakers who were preparing to pass the bill into law, escaped through a tunnel. The government responded with violence and 35 youths were killed by security forces. But the GenZ youths remained resolute and stood their ground on the streets.
When the government saw that the violence and deaths would not deter the angry youths, President Ruto did a u-turn and immediately withdrew the finance bill which sparked the protests. In a televised address, he announced specific austerity measures that included: The dissolution of 47 State corporations with overlapping and duplicative functions to save on operation and maintenance costs.
He also suspended the appointment of 50 chief administrative secretaries that were challenged in court on the basis of the positions being unconstitutional.
The President also announced that the offices of the First Lady and the spouses of the Deputy President and Prime Cabinet Secretary, would not be funded using public money.
He fired almost his entire cabinet and announced significant cuts in earnings of cabinet members.
He called on members of parliament to also follow suit and implement cuts in their own budgets and also promised prompt action on rogue security agents.
The young people of Kenya won. Their victory came at a very high cost of 35 lives cut short by rogue security agents. They may not have ended corruption in Kenya, but they sent a very clear message to their leaders that they are still answerable to the voters. President Ruto knows that those events would repeat themselves if he forges ahead with anti-people policies. He is also aware that his re-election bid is hanging on the balance.
In Nigeria, there is a planned protest against the suffering of the masses beginning August 1, 2024. Our protests have never been palatable over here. I have been on the streets protesting against injustice for most of my life. I am speaking from experience.
Will the people join us to protest or will they sit back at home to just watch us on TV being beaten, tear gassed and dragged into waiting Black Marias? Because in Nigeria, there are people who feel that they are too big or too busy to protest, yet they complain the most about the country. These set of people believe that there are others whose job is to always protest when there is injustice, while their own preserve is to just watch the protesters on TV. They stand aloof when things go wrong and expect others to make the things right, while they watch from their window pews.
There are others who have cheekily asked what protests can achieve. And there are those who claim they are kingdom children and even if a liter of petrol sells for one million Naira, their God will provide, so people should remain docile. But remember in 1 Kings 12, the eleven tribes of Israel did protest against high taxes imposed on them by King Rehoboam. They gathered in their numbers to protest to the King and called for tax cuts but when their King gave them deaf ears, the eleven tribes seceded from Judah.
We are all in this together knowing nothing will change if we do not do something different. If our protests will ever bring us expected changes, then we all have to think of getting involved, for the love of our country.
Yours sincerely,
Citizen Agba Jalingo.
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