On August 1, 2024, Nigerians began ten days of protests in the streets against a number of issues, including the high cost of living, hunger, unemployment, and restricted access to high-quality education.
The government asked citizens not to participate in the protests a few days prior, citing worries about the economy and security.
The majority of the country’s demonstrations have been nonviolent. Nonetheless, in certain northern states, there have been reports of violence, theft, and property damage.
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On August 4, President Bola Tinubu urged Nigerians to end their demonstrations in a speech to the country. He gave them his word that the economy was starting to improve.
In this regard, there is a Whatsapp message circulating that says Tinubu would be replaced by the United Nations (UN) after 15 days of protests.
The message reads: “BREAKING NEWS ; UN will take power from TINUBU if protesters continue the protest for 15 days, it used to be 30days but they’re doing Promo at the UN. Way to go guys,” the message reads.
Nigeria is one of the 193 members of the United Nations, an international body. Promoting international collaboration, security, and peace is its main goal.
In several instances in Nigeria’s past, the situation was sufficiently serious that other organizations—including the UN—got involved. These consist of the the Biafran conflict, the Boko Haram insurgency and the #EndSARS protests.
But has the UN made such a statement about the August 2024 protests? We checked.
Context of UN interventions
Except in cases where the security council directs it to do so in order to restore international peace and security, the UN is prohibited from interfering in matters falling under the domestic authority of any state under article two(7) of the UN charter.
Under chapter 7 of the charter, the UN Security Council is empowered to impose sanctions, conduct peacekeeping missions, or launch military interventions, but it is not permitted to seize control of a nation’s government.
The goal of the UN is to protect civilians, thus whenever it gives aid or deploys peacekeeping forces, the host nation must agree.
The UN lacks the power to overthrow a sitting president or take over the administration of a sovereign country.
No evidence
The UN issued a warning on July 19, citing past examples, that the protests, which were hashtagged #EndBadGovernance and #EndBadGovernanceProtests on social media, might be taken over by individuals with bad intentions.
However, we were unable to find any proof that Tinubu would lose his position with the UN if the protests went on for more than 15 days.
We looked at the official UN website and X account, the official UN Nigeria website and X handle, and none of these had any such claims.
Furthermore, the media hasn’t covered it, even though if it were true, it would be a significant and noteworthy development.
Source: Africa Check
