THE cold-blooded manner in which policemen crushed last weekends protest over the introduction of tolls on the Lekki-Epe Expressway was quite in line with the tradition of crude policing in the country. Nigerian police are noted for adopting maximum force, even when confronting peaceful protests, as was the case on Saturday. Not only was the protest brutally put down, a man was gratuitously and fatally shot by some trigger-happy policemen. Many protesters were randomly assaulted, arrested and detained, although later released on the orders of the Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola. Reports said that among the detainees were journalists who became victims in the course of discharging their duties.Saturdays march by road users and residents of the Lekki-Epe Expressway area against the introduction of tolls did not come as a surprise. In fact, it was a long-standing threat that was being carried out. The introduction of tolls had been in the pipeline, but was delayed following the decision of some of the stakeholders to challenge the rationale in asking road users to pay for the use of the road. They believed that the Lagos State Government should have provided an alternative route to accommodate the interest of those unwilling to pay tolls on the concessioned road. The residents, under the aegis of Lekki Residential Association, also argued that the mere expansion and upgrading of an already existing road did not qualify it for tolls. Having lost a legal battle to stop the introduction of tolls, the residents then resolved to fight for a reduction of the amount payable at each of the three tollgates on the road. In asking for the reduction, they reasoned that, being a residential area, residents might have cause to commute along the road several times in a day. Hence, they adjudged it unfair to be forced to part with their hard-earned money in the form of tolls.Essentially, in an era of Public-Private Partnership, the trend has been to encourage private concerns to enter into partnership with the government in the execution of projects and improvement and maintenance of infrastructure. It is therefore encouraging that a private company has come out to invest heavily in the Lekki-Epe Expressway. For this reason, there is nothing wrong in asking people to pay for services that they are enjoying. What is however wrong is to try to prevent people from exercising their inalienable right to protest against what they feel to be against their interest. Among the protesters that took to the street on Saturday were the elderly, company executives, prominent Nigerian actors and other responsible citizens who deserved to be treated in a civilised manner. But they alleged that they were roughed up and denied police protection when some busloads of hoodlums, armed with guns and machetes, accompanied by policemen attacked them. If they conducted themselves peacefully as they claimed they did, why then did the police have to shoot to kill' The police in Nigeria are often described as relics of oppressive colonial rule and a carry-over of military regimes. But more than 50 years after independence and 12 years of democratic rule ought to have changed the attitude and orientation of the police in the country. From the way the police handled the protest on Saturday, it is evident that they still need further lessons on how to contain protests in a democratic dispensation. This has become more compelling in view of the threat of mass protest by labour in the event of the Federal Government going ahead with its plan to remove subsidy from imported petroleum products. In other parts of the world, where the right to protest is recognised and guaranteed by law, what security agents do during such marches is to ensure the orderliness of the participants. Trained officers are equipped to do so without the use of lethal weapons, especially guns. For instance, during the last protest over the increase in student fees in the United Kingdom earlier this year, the police were armed with batons and shields to protect themselves and charge at the protesters when necessary. Baton rounds or rubber bullets could only have been deployed in extreme situations, such as when the protesters became violent. Even when scenes became rowdy, as was witnessed during the UK student protests of November and December last year, what the police did was to arrest the troublemakers. Similarly, during the ongoing Occupy Wall Street protests, being staged in some parts of the world, no death has been recorded. On November 18, when thousands of protesters trooped out in Brooklyn, New York, to mark two months of the movement, only 250 people were arrested for allegedly stepping out of bounds; nobody died. These are civilised ways of handling protests. The Fashola administration should avoid initiating unpopular policies that may ignite open confrontation with the people. In a democracy, the government has a duty to explain its policies and decisions, and to inform the public of its priorities. The people also reserve the right to reject policies that are considered inimical to their interest. The administration should initiate a policy to ensure that communication across ministries, departments and agencies is well co-ordinated, effectively managed and responsive to the diverse information needs of the public. It should learn to consult the public, listen to and take account of peoples interests and concerns when establishing priorities, developing policies, and planning programmes and services.The death at the Lekki protest exemplifies how nasty, brutish and short life can be in Nigeria. But the police authorities can change this perception through periodic training and reorientation of the officers. A thorough investigation should also be carried out into the circumstances leading to the man being shot. The police and Lagos State authorities should not hesitate to bring whoever is culpable for the callous killing to book.
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