Over the last few weeks, the Occupy Nigeria movement has been protesting against various things like the removal of the fuel subsidy and corruption in government.

I think that it is a great idea to protest against wasteful, incompetent and inefficient government, as the movement has been doing. However, I feel that the movement is simply riding on the coat-tails of the strike/protest action of labour organisations, and once these organisations have come to an agreement with the government, the protests will fizzle out.

This will be a shame, because for me, the big issue is NOT subsidy removal (in fact, I believe that the subsidy should be removed, however it is done). The issue is accountability and corruption in government.

The problem as I see it is that the Occupy Nigeria movement is NOT sufficiently organised for the government to pay attention to it. For this to happen, Occupy Nigeria needs to turn into a formal organisation with actual members who have obligations to the organisation, and whose leaders know that if they call on the members to do something, the members will do it. Labour organisations have this level of organisation, and this is why the government takes them seriously enough to meet them; the government knows that Labour can reliably call on its members to take action that can affect the government. In other words, Labour has power that the Occupy movement doesn’t.

What do you all think? Will the Occupy Nigeria movement fizzle out, or do you think that it will be around even after the protests?

While both of you are correct; there’s something you forgot to mention. NOTHING even remotely looking like this has EVER happened in Nigeria. Nothing.

Past ‘protests’ have been violent. Past strikes fizzle out after two days…three days most. This is different.

A lot of secrets are now public knowledge. People now know how our monies are being spent – the extravagance of public officials are in the eye of the public.

So…even if it ends with the removal of subsidy; the fact that the first of its kind was a success makes it easier to do another one.

Occupy Nigeria is not really a movement, It is more than that. It is the voice of Nigerians, it is not NLC. Protests started before NLC decided to join. If NLC goes ahead to agree with the government @90 naira, protests will intensify and NLC will be seen as an enemy. For now NLC are just the mediators, they ????? not leading the protests. It wasn’t NLC or Occupy that convinced the masses to protest. The good thing is that Nigerians ????? beginning to realize their power through protests. That has never happened before. I agree with @seun. There ????? other groups rising up alongside Occupy Nigeria. A revolution is imminent, either it is sparked up by subsidy or sumfin else. It is no more about a group, NLC or occupy, this is about the masses. It wasn’t civil groups that started revolutions in the arab uprising, it was the masses.
All I can say is that PROTESTS in Naija has found a footing, it has come to stay.

Be rest assured who will speak has never been a problem in the country. We should be careful not to turn Occupy movement into a political movement. It is and should not be political. Taking over the government is not the goal for now. The issue is first, a voice of resistance to unfavourable policies. Occupy doesn’t know or have the right answers yet, but they are their to check the wrong policies. Having representatives is not overly important for now. Let the people resist first, representatives abound, we already have too many mouths speaking.
The beauty of the Naija problem is that we all know the solution. Government isn’t just implementing the solutions. The masses are saying and clamouring not for change of leadership, but that the existing leaders should do what is right. We say give us electricity because we know its an easy thing to achieve if our leaders act on it. We say stop corruption because we know it isn’t hard to do once the government decides.
The Naija problem is really a simple matter.

Do start the thread. I will have you know that a lot of complex issues can be stopped very simply.

End of story@Tola.