Protest: Nigeria shouldn’t be imitating smaller countries like Kenya, says deputy speaker

Benjamin Kalu, deputy speaker of the house of representatives, says violent protests in Nigeria will have ramifications for the rest of the continent.

Speaking on Arise TV on Thursday, Kalu asked Nigerians not to “imitate smaller countries like Kenya”.

On June 18, young Kenyans began protesting against a controversial tax bill.

The protest took a violent turn on June 25, culminating in the torching of government buildings, vandalisation of public infrastructure, and looting of grocery stores.

“Why the news about the protest got to the highest point at the moment is because Kenya had an outing,” Kalu said. 

“Kenya is a smaller country compared to 240 million people. Kenya is a small country compared to Nigeria. We can’t be taking examples of this kind of ugly outing from countries like Kenya. 

“I don’t mince words. I said it on the floor of the parliament. They (Kenya) should copy from us. They should copy that when policies are laid down, these policies take time to mature for implementation.

“And we should show them that there are non-kinetic approaches to the resolutions of issues rather than conflict, coercion and crisis.

“Why are we the bigger brothers in Africa if we do what lesser countries do? What example are we giving to them?

“If we carry on with this protest, a lot of other smaller countries would be involved because Nigeria has done it. We would not be doing only this nation a disservice, the subregion would go into chaos as well as Africa as a continent. 

“We have to think about those who are watching us as their big brother and look at where the solutions lie.”

Kalu also appealed for patience from youths.

He said President Bola Tinubu needs time to fix the country, adding that the nation’s leader is committed to the country’s development.