There is little sense of national cohesion in Nigeria, and protests tend to be along ethnic and religious lines rather than national. Like the 2012 demonstrations against the Goodluck Jonathan administration's efforts to reduce the fuel subsidy, current protests against the police are exceptional in that they appear to be occurring across the country, bridging the usual ethnic and religious boundaries. They also appear to be strongly supported by the Nigerian diaspora, which is linking them to Black Lives Matter demonstrations in the United States and Europe. The 2012 demonstrations collapsed in the aftermath of minor government concessions and the buying-off of certain trade unions. The coming weeks will show whether these demonstrations have any greater staying power.
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