Groups of civil society and (human) rights defenders planned and proposed a well-publicised ten-day nationwide street protest against hunger and bad governance days before its scheduled date of August 1, 2024. Like the #EndSARS protests of 2020, it all started like a joke but gained traction, first on the internet and later offline, with mixed reactions. The planned protest subtly shook the country’s socio-politico-economic sphere – and it vibrated! It responded that way owing to past experiences plus threats, by faceless characters, to unleash rage during the “peaceful” protest.
Those goofs’ words were promptly capitalised on by state’s agents and beneficiaries of the warped Nigerian system! Also, those pretending to have forgotten that they were champions of this means of dissenting in the past (within the ambit of people’s recollection) tried but failed in demonising the proposed street protests that finally commenced, according to schedule, in different parts of Nigeria, with varying intensities and impacts. However, we must bluntly condemn the seemingly premeditated violent spin-offs in parts of the country, hoping that we will not be pronounced “guilty” for the sincerity of localising the bulk of the riotousness and violence that accompanied or completely replaced the protest(s) in Nigeria’s north – based on the overall picture! Accordingly, the street rioters involved in that chaos and viciousness were swiftly tagged as “hoodlums”!
Who/what is a hoodlum? Since this is a word still being used in English language, we will consult some English dictionaries. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (tenth edition) defines a hoodlum as a violent criminal, especially one who is part of a gang. This dictionary situates a hoodlum within ferocious mode occupied by “a violent and noisy young man”. Hoodlums were also synonymised as hooligans in this dictionary! Webster’s ninth New Collegiate Dictionary states that the origin of the word – hoodlum – is unknown defining it as a thug especially one who commits acts of violence; a young ruffian.
Checking for online definition(s) of hoodlum: (1) Oxford English Dictionary defines it as “a youthful street rowdy; ‘a loafing youth of mischievous proclivities’; a dangerous rough” (2) Cambridge Dictionary defines it as “a violent person, especially one who is member of a group of criminals” (3) Merriam-Webster Dictionary considers the word to be “somewhat old-fashioned” but defines it as “a usually violent criminal; also a young person who behaves in a rowdy or intimidating way: a ruffian”. Clear commonalities exist in these definitions; these are young (male) humans and violence. These observed common features may be because hoodlumism as a physical exertion requires strength/mobility, implying that Nigeria has a significant population of a vigorous youth that can be easily agitated towards violence.
It may be necessary to state the obvious that the right to dissent is one of the core ingredients for what is known as liberal democracy or western-style democracy that Nigeria is claiming to have borrowed from the USA. Yes, this type of democracy has its inherent flaws and challenges; though, we know that Nigeria is practicing its version of civilian dictatorship masquerading as a liberal democracy! Certainly, Nigeria’s “democracy” is not what they say it is! Hence, if it is a liberal democracy, the right to peaceful protests should be guaranteed.
This should be as long as others’ right(s) is/are protected in exercising right to peaceful protests. Meaning that your right stops where the next person’s starts; especially if such society is being administered by sane leaders deriving powers from the mandate genuinely given by a consenting majority. Invariably, the expected is that a protest cannot be said to be peaceful if, as a result of it, there is loss of lives, wounding/maiming and destruction/dispossession of (public and private) properties through arson/looting! This is why the ill-fated riot-like “protests” and their negative outcomes mostly in northern Nigeria were said to have been executed by “hoodlums”; a demeaning term we intend to interrogate here.
It has been long-established that peace (not peace of the graveyard) is needed for societal growth and development. So, the “hoodlums” who turned peaceful protests to riots should be brought to book! Again, who/what are these “hoodlums”? Please, allow us to give a description to the phenomenon while the reader analyse it with best objectivity even as opinions can also end up being relative and subjective.
A society/group should be well-run in order to not create valid reasons for protests or mob formation! Mobs, when formed, can be amorphous, faceless, riotous and directionless, harbouring criminals, violently vindictive, destructive and subversive elements! Sadly, mobs are like wildfires! They do go out of control in most cases! It is widely reported that many of the participants in the aforementioned riotous mobs went destructive, waved flags belonging to another country (Russia) and deafeningly called for military overthrow of a civilian government! It appeared they were unaware of their action’s legal implications! Thus, it is easy to “railroad” other societal members into referring to those in such mobs as “hoodlums”.
Calling mobsters “hoodlums” is an easy way to gloss over (a) deep-rooted problem(s) in an ostensibly justified manner! An indolent approach; but is that the whole story? The end? For us, it is not! We should not simply be “moving on” always after this kind of clearly intentional maddening destructions! In line with Yuval Harari’s advice in a book, we all should interrogate basic narratives of our world! Who made these “hoodlums” so? Are they from the outer space? They are from here! They are here! Many of them are known! Superficially, they are mostly without western education; paradoxically, there are “educated” ones like holders of various certificates and degrees, among them, at the background!
This intricate web is thicker than can easily be seen through! It is complex and risky to check through this perceived web in detail! The nearer one thinks he/she is to the solution(s), the farther he/she unknowingly is! A doubtless fact is that “hoodlums” are useful to politicians! This is why when “hoodlums” are publicly denounced by politicians, we always cackle with laughter asking them to tell that (their story) to the marines! Politicians are part of the problem of hoodlumism! That is, if they are not the problem! Know this and know peace!
Well now, let us get to the meat of the matter; it will be “incorrect” and “unfair” to vilify only the street urchins involved in hoodlumism. It is pathetic seeing juveniles (probably 2 or 3 years old) waving foreign flags and calling for military incursion into politics. To our mind, calling only these people “hoodlums” is a version of escapism! What about those enabling actions and inactions that continuously spawn and nurture these “hoodlums” over the years, and currently? What about those that have been paying lip service to issues concerning public education? What about those that have been benefiting from “using” these “hoodlums” over the years?
Without mincing words, the people we just made allusion to and others we cannot identify and/or remember of, here, are also “hoodlums”! Those raggedy rioters are not the only “hoodlums”; those ensconced in comfort contributing to this hoodlumism are also “hoodlums” because it takes two to tango! This reminds us of an article by Onome Osifo-Whiskey in Tell magazine of December 6, 1999, from where we excerpted the following: “…..In the end, even the generals were themselves no more than glorified hoodlums, mere mortals unduly elevated and lionised by the power of the gun…..”
On a final note, Nigerian political/ruling class should learn from history as against the well-known norm of – them and their counterparts elsewhere – doing otherwise! These “Frankenstein’s monsters” people within that class have been creating and propping up when these “monsters” fit into their plans but later denounce for political “correctness” will definitely descend on, and consume, that class sooner or later if they continue refusing to depart from routes to ruination! The signs are increasingly visible! Nigeria’s fault lines are unstoppably widening beyond what can be patched ad infinitum! Nigeria needs a thorough fundamental reappraisal! We need to say all these because of our love for this country, Nigeria.
We recommend that the Nigerian political/ruling elite should take a cue from “Glasnost” and “Perestroika” championed by Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (1931–2022) who served as the leader of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics from 1985 to its dissolution in 1991. Yet again, let us all learn from history! Time magazine reported Gorbachev saying in a July 1986 speech that “…..those who attempt to suppress the fresh voice, the just voice, according to old standards and attitudes, need to get out of the way…..”
Prof. Erakhrumen teaches at the Department of Forest Resources and Wildlife Management, University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria.