The protests eventually forced President William Ruto to withdraw the offending legislation and dissolve his entire cabinet. At the time of this writing, protests are ongoing in Bangladesh, India and Venezuela, as well as in Nigeria and the United Kingdom. However, a key element in the maintenance of this critical balance is the behaviour (and especially the utterances) of political leaders. “It’s not (a) protest,” Starmer declared. Perhaps – as we have seen in the respective responses of the Nigerian and UK leaders to the current crises – it is time for the West to lecture less and listen more.

Source: The Guardian August 07, 2024 14:15 UTC