Rivers Crisis: Fears of Nepal-Style Protests Grow Amid Political Tension in Nigeria

President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers State on March 18, 2025, suspending Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Odu and members of the Rivers State House of Assembly for six months. The decision followed a prolonged political crisis marked by Fubara’s clashes with his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, now Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.

Key flashpoints included the demolition of the State Assembly complex in late 2023, disputes over legislative membership and allegations of widespread pipeline vandalism. Governance was widely considered paralysed, with the Supreme Court later criticising Fubara’s handling of the Assembly as “despotism” and ruling that there was “no functioning government” in the state.

As part of the emergency measures, Tinubu appointed Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd) as sole administrator to run the state’s affairs, while judicial institutions remained intact. Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, defended the move as necessary to prevent a total collapse of governance and restore constitutional order.

Amid this political backdrop, a debate has emerged online over calls for protests inspired by events in Nepal. A youth-led social media movement in the Himalayan nation recently toppled its prime minister after violent demonstrations triggered by anger at corruption and inequality. Protesters set fire to the Supreme Court, parliament and government buildings in Kathmandu despite a heavy crackdown.

Nigerian activists, including Juwon Sanyaolu of the Take-It-Back Movement, have drawn parallels, urging young people to act. “In 2020, Americans had Black Lives Matter. Nigerians were inspired and we did #EndSARS. In 2024, Kenya had the Finance Bill protest, and we had #EndBadGovernance. It’s 2025. Will Nigerian youths take lessons from Nepal?” he asked in a post on X.

Some Nigerians online echoed the call, while others warned against violent uprisings. Critics of the government cited worsening hardship, unpaid salaries and insecurity as reasons why public anger could boil over. Pro-government voices, however, cautioned that protests could spiral into unrest worse than the #EndSARS demonstrations of 2020.

Former presidential aide Reno Omokri and comedian Seyi Law both warned against copying Nepal’s revolt, insisting that Nigeria could not afford the destruction and chaos that followed in Kathmandu. Pro-government accounts circulated the hashtag #StartFromYourStateofOrigin urging protesters not to target Lagos or Abuja.

Civil society groups expressed mixed views. Rivers CSO chairman Enefa Georgewill criticised Nigeria’s leaders for ignoring reform demands, while Debo Adeniran of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights noted differences between Nepal’s cost-of-living protests and Nigeria’s police brutality-focused #EndSARS movement.

Reverend Yomi Kasali of the Foundation of Truth Assembly warned that Nigeria is not immune to revolution. “What happened in Nepal two, three days ago can happen in Nigeria. No country is immune to revolution,” he said.