Across Africa, young people have been at the forefront of recent waves of protest, driven by unhappiness about their current living conditions and political leaders' failure to deliver economic progress.

In Nigeria, thousands of people are expected to take to the streets on Thursday to protest against the high cost of living and the government's handling of the economy.

In recent months, the country has experienced scattered protests, including a labor union strike that disrupted air travel and caused widespread power outages. The nationwide demonstration is expected to be the largest since the #ENDSars movement against police violence in 2020.

The protests, organized mainly by young people, have gained support on social media through the hashtags "EndBadGovernanceinNigeria" and "RevolutionNow." The organizers demand that President Bola Tinubu's government address hunger and economic hardship.

Nigerian youth groups have drawn significant inspiration from recent events in Kenya. There, demonstrations by led by the so-called Gen Z, a name given to the cohort of young people between the ages of 13 and 27, compelled President William Ruto to dismiss his entire cabinet and revoke an unpopular tax hike bill. This also inspired neighboring Uganda to hold a brief protest.

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

"If there's any country in the world where people have been taken for granted on account of their patience, Nigeria will be ranked number one," said Ibrahim Baba Shatambaya, a political commentator and lecturer at Usman Danfodiyo University in Sokoto.

Shatambaya told DW that the political and ruling elites had maintained social divisions among the populace for years to retain control. But the growing discontent in the country was beginning to have an impact.

"Manipulations that were used over the years by the political elites to keep the people in check seem to have faltered and people are demanding that the government should act responsibly," he said.

Nigerians have criticized........

© Deutsche Welle