SPOTLIGHT: Beyond economic hardship, these are other issues protest organisers have raised

As Nigeria prepares for a nationwide protest billed to begin on 1 August, there are uncertainties about its possible fallouts in a country that has seen the bad and the good of such street demonstrations.

It has refreshed the memories of the October 2020 #EndSARS protest, which went on peacefully around the country until hoodlums began to loot stores and attack public infrastructure and security operatives.

However, unlike the 2020 protest, which centred primarily on police brutality, this protest is mainly driven by the discontent of many citizens with the government’s handling of the economy.

The protesters have rebuffed appeals from President Bola Tinubu’s administration to drop the protest plan to allow the government to focus on addressing their demands.

There is a motley of interests and personalities driving the mobilisation for the protest.

So, the demands have been as varied as the diversity of the protest…