The #EndBadGovernce protest today, Thursday, August 1, took its heavy toll on parts of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, as commercial activities were grounded in Nyanya, a suburb of Abuja and Mararaba in Nasarawa State, what with business owners all closing their shops for fear of repeating the #EndSARS experience.
As of 6.30 am Thursday, 1st of August, Abuja/ Keffi Federal road was deserted by all commercial vehicles, making movement difficult for Federal workers and public servants to travel across the two States.
At Nyanya Abuja, commercial activities came to a stop as shop owners and roadside traders skeptically fled for fear of any eventuality.
Also, at Mararaba, the commercial nerve of Nasarawa State, was adversely affected as shops and other commercial activities came to an abrupt stop as shop owners, afraid of possible looting of their shops by miscreants among the protesters, stayed away from their places of business.
The Abuja/Keffi Federal road connecting Nyanya in Abuja and Mararaba in Nasarawa State saw a deployment of heavily armed security personnel including soldiers, Civil Defense operatives and private guards (vigilante).
Thousands of onlookers and spectators who could be mistaken for prospective protesters formed huge crowds along the lengthy highway in anticipation of possible participation in a peaceful march or dispersal by security operatives using their teargas or such other crowd control measures.
One of the on-lookers Mr Calistus Moneke, our correspondent that every shop owner within Mararaba and Nyanya was on their knees praying that the protest did not degenerate into burning down of their shops and sources of livelihood
“Left for me, the protesters have succeeded in crippling commercial activities in Nigeria as well as registering their feelings about #BadGovernace in the land. Take a look at the whole place; there is no vehicular movement, no worker sees means of transportation, and no shop is open for business. So I think the idea has been registered. I also know that the internally generated revenue (IGR) has been affected nationwide”.
Mrs Grace Udofia, a civil servant, said: “The Federal government did not declare a public holiday either, but take a look at the road, no single commuter vehicle to convey people to work. Not even commercial cyclists. I think this is a protest on its own. As a civil servant, I am supposed to be at the office, but there is no means of moving an inch from my street. So, I have decided to stay back, and if this should go on for a week, then there is going to be a problem.”
A policewoman, who spoke on anonymity, said that the security team was deployed to secure and protect innocent citizens from hoodlums who may take advantage of the situation.
 “We know that the shop owners are afraid to avoid a repeat of what happened during the #EndSARS protest, where many businesses were brought down, and many individuals met their Waterloo,” she said.
“We know that if the environment is not protected, the bad ones will carry out their hatchet jobs. This is because we had good authority that foreigners were behind what was about to happen, and we cannot allow it in Nigeria.
“As you can see, we are on top of the situation for now and I hope it will not escalate because all these okada people hovering around have been paid to carry out looting in all these shops. Look at all of them and tell me why they cannot go to their various businesses. Why do they gather here? We are still watching them.”
