Lagos, Nigeria (dailynewyorknews) – Police and protesters clashed across Nigeria on Monday amid a national strike and mass demonstrations in a government decision that more than doubled fuel prices in mainly poor countries.
Among other incidents, police reportedly fired on protesters in the state of Kano in northern Nigeria, wounding at least 13 people, according to a doctor who was among the protesters.
Protesters gathered to hear the speech when the police “suddenly and some were shot and some tear gas,” said Shehi Ali, vice-president of the Nigeria Medical Association.
Ali said one protester, a 12-year-old was shot in the neck. Another protester was shot in the groin, he said.
“We tried to reconstruct what happened in Egypt in Tahrir Square,” says Ali, of what had been peaceful demonstrations.
The police commissioner of Kano, Ibrahim Idris has denied that the agents fired at the demonstrators. He said officers were forced to use tear gas to “criminals and drug addicts” who tried to take by assault the governor’s residence.
“These people tried to take advantage of the situation and the loot, they are criminals,”
The protests were otherwise largely peaceful, and officers were on the side of the Nigeria Labour Congress, one of the groups organizing national strikes, said Idris.
In addition, Femi Sanya, a union leader said three trade unionists were killed by police gunfire during a peaceful demonstration in Lagos. But Salailo Sunday, a union president, said he had no reports of union members to die.
There was no immediate comment from the Nigerian authorities on the accounts of violence.
Lagos, a city of nearly 8 million people, was eerily quiet Monday afternoon. With many businesses close in the middle of a call for a national strike, a few cars traveled roads normally filled with the city.
The residents had filled the store on Sunday, laying in supplies in anticipation of demonstrations and strikes, the Guardian newspaper of Nigeria reported.
The commander of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Ade Abolurin, deployed 43,000 paramilitary soldiers and volunteers from 160,000 in response to the planned strike and warning the demonstrators protest “against criminal activities involved,” according to a note published in the organization’s Facebook page.
Demonstrations and strikes in January, following a government decision to reduce fuel subsidies in the country, which is the largest oil producer in Africa.
Read about what’s behind the fuel strike
Citizens of the most populous nation in Africa have conducted “Occupy Nigeria” mass demonstrations since the decision, the police responded with force in some cases.
“I’m no economist, but common sense is clear that the elimination of fuel subsidies, but it seems the simplest solution is not even an option,” said Halliru Haditha, a protester Abuja.
“Rising fuel, which has doubled and even tripled in some states, affect not only transport, but the price of food, clothing, all kinds of costs, direct labor for construction. However, wages remain the same, which means that anyone who pays the bills will be directly affected, especially the middle class and poor. ”
Many Nigerians must concede that the only advantage of living in an oil producing country has poor infrastructure, poor roads, high unemployment and intermittent electricity.
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“While we know that in the long term, the elimination of subsidies will help the economy right now is a style of high-profile life is unbearable for most Nigerians, and soon the poor will die,” said Diane Awunah protester, who lives in Abuja.
The money saved by eliminating the subsidy to improve public services and build much needed infrastructure, said Reuben Abati, a spokesman for President Goodluck Jonathan.
But there is a general lack of confidence in the government to provide the infrastructure – Nigeria is regularly ranked among the world’s most corrupt countries.
The country produces about 2.4 million barrels per day, but imports about 70% of its gasoline from as far away as the United Kingdom and Venezuela, because most of its own refineries do not work after years corruption fueled by neglect.
In a televised speech, Jonathan urged citizens to avoid “indiscriminate violence” and said he sympathizes with those who protest against the government’s decision to cut fuel subsidies.
“If I were you, I probably … the same opinions that criticize the government,” the president said Saturday.
The government has avoided calls to resume the grant, and ordered the distribution of public transport buses to major cities.
Jonathan said the decision to reduce subsidies benefit the population in the future.
The U.S. Embassy in Abuja, warned Americans to store food, fuel, maintenance and travel delays such as strikes and demonstrations are underway.
Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2012/01/09/world/africa/nigeria-strike/index.html?hpt=iaf_c1
