Nepal Uprising: Pro-Government Groups Push Back Against Protest Calls in Nigeria
Nepal Uprising: Pro-Government Groups Push Back Against Protest Calls in Nigeria
Some supporters of President Bola Tinubu have resisted calls for mass protests against Nigeria’s political class.
The agitation follows a wave of Gen Z-led demonstrations in Nepal, where anger over politicians’ extravagant lifestyles sparked the removal of a prime minister and plunged the country into its deadliest unrest in years.
By Monday, Nepali protesters—incensed by a violent crackdown—defied a police-imposed curfew, and by Tuesday, they had seized control of the streets of Kathmandu. The demonstrations escalated as government buildings, including the Supreme Court and parliament, were set ablaze, ultimately leading to the prime minister’s ouster.
In Nigeria, however, Tinubu’s supporters are pushing back, warning against similar protest calls directed at the nation’s political elite.
Geared by the uprising, some netizens took to social media to urge citizens to protest against the elite in Nigeria.
The leader of the Take-it-Back Movement, Juwon Sanyaolu, in a post on X on Friday, said, “In 2020, Americans had Black Lives Matter.
Nigerians were inspired; we did #EndSARS in the same year. In 2024, Kenya had a Finance Bill protest. It inspired us, and then we had #EndBadGovernance protest. It’s 2025. Will Nigerian youths take lessons from Nepal?”
“It’s funny how this illegitimate government keeps pushing Nigerians. Nigerians will be forced to start that protest by force, and it may even be worse than Nepal’s revolution,” another X user, Sylvester, wrote.
Another X user, Kingsley Agbonyi, said Nigerians must step out in protest against the misrule in the country.
Urging the same action, an X user, Ubtrix, wrote, “I am giving you people this update for free. It is high time people start taking protests to the rightful place. Aso Rock Villa is the place and venue if Nigerians really want to be like Nepal, the country. Do this and thank me later.”
But supporters of the government warned that any attempt to replicate Nepal’s youth-led revolt could trigger unrest worse than the #EndSARS protest.
The #EndSARS protest was a nationwide youth-led movement in October 2020 calling for the disbandment of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, a police unit accused of brutality, extortion and extrajudicial killings.
The demonstrations, which began online before spilling into the streets, ended abruptly after the violent crackdown at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos, where security forces opened fire on protesters, sparking national and international outrage.
A former presidential aide, Reno Omokri, in a post on Thursday, argued that those urging Nigerians to stage protests had never been to Nepal.
“We reject for Nigeria the Nepali breakdown of law and order and senseless looting and destruction of public and private property that has been mislabelled as a protest. Even the Nepali people are now regretting it.
“Nigeria’s security forces and law enforcement agencies should remain vigilant against agent provocateurs who are exploiting the country’s freedom of expression to stir up unrest. If you must protest, #StartFromYourStateofOrigin, not Lagos,” he wrote.
In a follow-up post on X, Omokri stressed that Lagos should not be blamed for the poverty challenges faced by other states.
Comedian and actor Oluwaseyitan Aletile, popularly known as Seyi Law, also weighed in, cautioning against glorifying Nepal’s turmoil.
“They cheer Nepal now, but when rebuilding starts, it becomes a burden. They never learn from Libya. They assume revolution won’t touch the politicians they admire. Keep fueling what you can’t sustain, but remember—it should begin in your own region,” he wrote.
Their reactions highlight a growing divide: while some see foreign uprisings as inspiration, others warn that Nigeria must tread carefully to avoid chaos with lasting consequences.
