AHEAD of the planned nationwide protest scheduled for August 1, a video showing some youths holding placards and burning tyres has surfaced online with a claim that the protest has commenced in Kano.
A verified X user, @CrownprinceCom2, posted the video with a caption that read:
“This is Northern Nigeria Kano State to be precise.. Can you repost this video and let’s them see it… Tinubu without you doing the needful you can’t stop an hungry man 1st of August is here.”
The post has generated more than 290,000 views, with over 3,000 reposts and more than 4,000 likes as of July 27, 2024.
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Another X user, @EmmaMillelJnr, posted the video with a similar caption thus:
“Kano has started their protest. As i always said, the revolution that will change the trajectory of the country will start from Kano.”
The video has generated over 32,000 views as of July 27, 2024.
CLAIM
Video shows #EndBadGovernance protest in Kano.
THE FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is MISLEADING.
Reports have indicated that various Nigerian groups are planning a nationwide protest from August 1 to 10, dubbed “10 days of rage,” or “End Bad Governance in Nigeria” to address the country’s soaring cost of living and economic hardship. This is why the hashtag: #EndBadGovernance, #EndBGIN, #EndBadGovernance2024 and #EndBadGovernanceinNigeria has been trending on multiple social media platforms, especially on X for days.
The plans for protests follow weeks of demonstrations in Kenya that were sparked by proposed tax hikes and outrage over high-level corruption in the East African nation. The demonstrations resulted in a tax hike bill being withdrawn and Kenyan President, William Ruto, dissolving his cabinet.
In Nigeria, the main concerns revolve around the soaring cost of living, which many Nigerians blame on government’s economic policies.
The Nigerian President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, had scrapped a popular fuel subsidy and devalued the local currency, naira, thus causing spiral hike in food and commodity prices.
Nigeria’s overall inflation was in June 2024 at its highest level in 28 years – more than 34 percent with food inflation much higher, according to the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG). This is in addition to widespread insecurity and climate change affecting farmers’ ability to grow crops.
The FactCheckHub subjected some keyframes in the video to a Google reverse image search and the result showed that the video has been online since May 2024 amid the emirship tussle in Kano State.
An earlier version of the video was posted here by Daily Trust on May 26, 2024.
Recall that earlier this year, Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II and Aminu Ado Bayero, dethroned Emir of Kano, were locked in a battle for the royal stool of the Kano emirate.
Sanusi was the Emir before he was dethroned in 2020 by the then governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje, over allegations of insubordination.
Following the emergence of a new Kano governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, after Nigeria’s 2023 general election, the Kano State House of Assembly repealed the law which was used to unseat Sanusi.
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Consequently, the Kano governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, announced Sanusi’s reinstatement as Emir after signing the new Kano Emirate Council Law. The development led to long tussle for weeks in the state.
The video showed some of the youths in the state who marched to the streets to demand reinstatement of Emir Ado Bayero, the dethroned monarch. Some of them lit bonfires on the major road as they marched chanting anti-government songs, Daily Trust reported in May 2024.
THE VERDICT
The claim that the video shows the #EndBadGovernance protest in Kano State is MISLEADING; the video showed protest over the emirship tussle in Kano State and unrelated to the planned protest billed for August 1.
Nurudeen Akewushola is a fact-checker with FactCheckHub. He has authored several fact checks which have contributed to the fight against information disorder. You can reach him via [email protected] and @NurudeenAkewus1 via Twitter.
