Traffic in Abuja is gradually returning to normal as protests appear to be winding down.
On Tuesday, only the former country director of ActionAid Nigeria, Ene Obi, and Hauwa Mustapha were spotted holding a sit-in at the Moshood Abiola Stadium.
Tuesday marked the sixth day of the #EndBadGovernance nationwide protests against hunger and hardship.
Security personnel at the stadium reportedly prevented anyone from protesting in the designated area.
Journalists present to cover the demonstration were also not allowed to remain outside the stadium. Security personnel stated that they were enforcing a court order restricting protesters to the inside of the stadium.
The two women who spoke with the media, Ene Obi and Hauwa Mustapha, vowed to continue their sit-in until the ten-day demonstration concluded.
“Look at the president’s address to Nigeria. It was a completely empty speech. What are you telling us? Not even one of our demands has been met. And now you’re telling us to go to the stadium. We’re here at the stadium, aren’t we? Let our children come,” said Ene Obi, one of the organizers.
Obi continued, “Lower the prices of petroleum products. This is the same government that opposed the removal of fuel subsidies, and now the same president is using it to punish Nigerians.”
“We are mothers. What they are doing is turning our children against us. Even the police and security agencies—are they shopping at different markets? Their money is useless. They are pitting our children against us. We are sitting here, let them teargas us. Many of them are young enough to be my children.”
“The mothers in this country are suffering. There are no jobs. Many of our children have gone through school but have no employment. We are calling for an end to bad governance.”
“They say you need to appoint one minister from each state. We don’t have ‘ministers of state’ in the constitution, yet they are creating more positions for more ministers to join. There are no indications from the government that they can reduce the cost of governance.”
This development comes after several days of violent protests in the nation’s capital, where police officers fired tear gas at protesters.
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