For, against; for, against; for, against,
The tension in the air is thick with anxiety,
A date with destiny, set in palpable angst,
Many people with reasons as diverse as society;
To some it is time to pay back the man,
The very same one that did the same,
A decade back when things were much better,
That same oogle-eyed, bespectacled quiet gangster;
To others a means to let off steam,
In the direction of everything, anything,
Not awake, not even in a trance,
Just flowing with tide of vociferous war chanting,
And yet some others just belong one team,
Having a singular motive to cause disruption,
Believing in no other way to realise the dream,
Of a a group of people united by a decent nation;
In response, the government of the day,
Seem to have dropped their breaches to ankle,
Stumbling along with weird interventions without delay,
Ambling this way, that way, like a lost and drunken uncle;
Every where there are armed, cutely kitted security forces,
Many of whom were previously missing where the action is loudest,
You wonder whether these ones live a different reality?
Perhaps in an alternate universe where costs are cheapest?
It is barely twenty-four hours to march off,
The government side-eyeing a list of demands,
Drawn by a determined cross-section of delinquents,
It is all, now, or nothing, forever!
Nigerian young people have mobiles across social media to protest the times that the have found themselves in, labelling it #ENDBADGOVERNANCE. The government on the other hand has chosen to play checkers on a chess board with them by pushing #SAYNOTOPROTEST.
Many have called out an inorganic counter advocacy by elements loyal to the occupiers of the rocky villa to discourage the August 1, 2024 protest from marching off. Some allege that as little as one thousand and five hundred naira is being exchanged for a couple of hours of pro-government marches.
On the other hand however, the protest group have remained resolute in the face of all sorts of gimmicks employed by various government agencies to find cracks in their ranks. Cheap or free bags of rice, emergency loans, immediate signing of new minimum wage, etc have not been met with favourable disposition by the hungry and angry.
