What's Driving Africa's Protests?

Kehinde A. Togun
Kehinde A. Togun, Managing Director for Public Engagement at Humanity United, is a non-resident fellow at the Centre for Democracy and Development and a member of the board of Partners West Africa Nigeria.

WASHINGTON, DC – Young people have been leading large-scale protests in two of Africa’s most influential countries, Kenya and Nigeria. While many of the protesters’ demands are unlikely to be met, the demonstrations highlight the urgent need for fundamental reforms, not only in Kenya and Nigeria, but across Africa.

In Kenya, young people first took to the streets in June to execute “seven days of rage” – massive and largely peaceful protests against a proposed finance bill that would increase taxes on a wide range of goods and services at a time when the cost of living is surging. Thousands stormed Kenya’s parliament, and President William Ruto deployed the military to carry out a violent crackdown that, in the ensuing weeks, left at least 39 dead and nearly 400 wounded. More than 600 protesters have been detained.

Despite initially vowing to quash the protests, Ruto soon conceded that the people had spoken, withdrew the bill, and dissolved his cabinet. Yet the protests – including calls for Ruto’s resignation – continued, with young people demanding action to address deep-seated problems like government corruption, mismanagement of public funds, and inadequate checks on the executive’s authority.

The Kenya protests inspired young Nigerians, who announced ten days of anti-government protests during August. Their grievances, too, are largely related to the economy and poor governance. Fuel costs rose exponentially after President Bola Tinubu scrapped a longstanding subsidy last year. And the naira’s value plummeted following the central bank’s decision to allow market forces alone to determine the exchange rate.

Now, ordinary Nigerians – who already face high unemployment – are being crushed by inflation and food and power shortages. Yet, as in Kenya, their attempts to be heard have been met with state violence – more than 20 are dead, and hundreds more have been arrested – and curfews, even as political leaders have paid lip service to their demands.

The problems driving recent protests are hardly confined to Nigeria and Kenya. High unemployment is taking a toll on educated urban youth in many parts of Africa. Moreover, many leaders across the continent implement economic reforms that disproportionately burden ordinary citizens, while elected officials continue to enjoy extravagant lifestyles. Many African countries have records of human-rights violations, which go unpunished. Achieving a more stable, prosperous future in Africa requires action in all these areas.

Begin with the prevailing approach to economic reform. Both Ruto and Tinubu would argue that their controversial policy proposals were in their countries’ interest. Ruto’s finance bill was designed to reduce the budget deficit, rein in public debt, and satisfy lenders like the International Monetary Fund (which halted funding to Kenya after the bill was withdrawn). Similarly, Tinubu’s decision to end fuel subsidies aimed to ease pressure on public finances, while the change to the exchange-rate regime was supposed to stabilize the economy and attract investment.

But implementing austerity measures without considering people’s ability to weather them shows a lack of empathy – even disdain. If the terms of a loan agreement are too onerous, it is the government’s job to renegotiate them. Technocrats and responsible politicians must signal to the IMF that demanding reforms that will take an excessive toll on ordinary people leaves countries vulnerable to unrest, while undermining the Fund’s legitimacy – and that of other international institutions – as a partner of African countries.

In any case, if African governments are serious about reducing deficits and debt, they should first look inward. Elected officials in Kenya and Nigeria are not only among the world’s highest-paid; they also benefit significantly from “constituency development funds” – essentially slush funds for politicians. Kenya’s government is particularly bloated.

Curtailing such expenditure is urgent and would be a strong good-faith gesture to young people. A radical increase in transparency – showing how public money is spent at the national and sub-national levels and enabling easier tracking of these expenditures by citizen groups – would also help. Public commitments, such as through the Open Government Partnership, are a good first step, but only if they are quickly backed by action. All of these efforts are prerequisites to reducing corruption.

A third piece of the reform puzzle is ending impunity for state violence. The recent crackdowns are, after all, nothing new in Africa. In Nigeria, the 2020 protests against police brutality were met with yet more violence by security agents, who have faced no accountability whatsoever. Last year’s cost-of-living protests in Kenya were also met with violence, for which no one has been held accountable. Similar stories can be told about many other African countries, where repression is often widespread.

Ending such impunity is an essential first step toward building a peaceful and prosperous civic order. Accountability should start with the individuals who directly inflict the violence, whether police or military, but must also extend to those in command. When protests erupt, government must engage with the demonstrators and find credible ways to respond to their demands. Arrests should be made only when actual crimes are committed, and the accused must be given swift and fair trials.

Despite violent crackdowns, Kenyan youth are still protesting, and their Nigerian counterparts have pledged to return to the streets if their demands are not met. Other countries, such as Uganda, are also facing anti-government and anti-corruption protest movements. As long as governments lean on repressive tactics, rather than undertaking meaningful reforms, such upheaval will continue.

Kehinde A. Togun, Managing Director for Public Engagement at Humanity United, is a non-resident fellow at the Centre for Democracy and Development and a member of the board of Partners West Africa Nigeria.