N651 and the rise of “Hitlerism”2

Abstract

Abstract

Nothing shocks more than the insensitivity and insincerity of successive leadership of most African nations to the plight and pitiable conditions of living by the people they rule over. In some quarters, the masses wonder about these kinds of leadership they have been blessed (?) with. It is understandable then when they resort to violent demonstrations which, rather than help, only worsen their situation. The 2012 Masses demonstration in Nigeria over Fuel Subsidy Removal, remains a significant point of reference in this direction. The intensity of the images of the protests in Lagos captured by a Lagos-based photo-journalist and the inherent clarity of the message contained therein form the background of this paper, which looks at the conditions that stimulated the protest. The paper uses Aime Cesaire’s postcolonial essay, Discourse on Colonialism as a canvas to examine the conditions that often lead to such violent demonstrations