Hardship: Nationwide Protest Looms As Youths take over Nigerian State

Deputy Governor of Niger state, Yakubu Garba, had a herculean task controlling the crowd of angry youths that took to the street in Minna, the state capital to protest the rising cost of food in the country on Monday.

The youths who blocked the major streets in the capital are protesting the rising cost of food items in the country. The situation has become unbearable for many Nigerians, analyst insist, despite government’s assurance that it is trying hard to ameliorate the situation.

The protest has sent shock waves across the country of a possible backlash in other 36 states and the Federal capital Territory, FCT, if it is not quickly contained.

Even though, those watching the situation in the state said riot policemen are likely to be dispatched to contain the protest from spreading to other parts of the state, and adjoining states, it could spark of a more violent problem if not well handled.

The protest is coming on the heels of the Presidency attack on Atiku Abubakar, a former vice president who said at the weekend that the economy has been mismanaged by the ruling All Progresives’ Congress, APC.

For his remark that things are currently too hard for many Nigerians,  the administration issued a statement on Sunday trenchantly criticising  Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, during last year election.

The PDP candidate, among others, in his remarks slammed the government for pursuing economic policies that have driven Nigerians into deep poverty, adding that foreign companies had also left the country in droves due to the unfavourable business atmosphere.

But in a statement signed by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy yesterday, the government said  “Nigerians enjoy lowest cost of living in Africa under Tinubu’, knocking Abubakar for raising unnecessary alarm.