Protest: Bosun Tijani laments as hoodlums burn, loot 3MTT Digital Innovation Centre Kano

Nigeria’s Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani has lamented the burning and looting of the newly-built Digital Innovation Centre in Kano by hoodlums disguising under the #EndBadGovernanceProtest. 

This is coming as visuals emerging from the media space show a mob setting ablaze the gatehouse of the Nigerian Communications Commission’s (NCC) building in the state before trooping in to loot the newly-built Digital Innovation Centre. Members of the mob could be seen carrying furniture, gadgets and many other equipment from the centre.

Taking to his Twitter handle, Minister Bosun lamented the looting of the centre which was pivotal to his ministry’s 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme that is aimed at building Nigeria’s technical talent backbone. Describing it as a “slight setback” for his ministry’s journey towards achieving a digital-savvy population, the minister said:

“Sad to learn that our Digital Innovation Park in Kano slated for launch next week to support our technical talent accelerator (3MTT) has been set ablaze and looted by protesters. Alongside #3MTT, this building is set to host our buildathon holiday maker programme for secondary school kids starting next week. A slight setback for our journey to deepening our workforce for technology while creating job opportunities for the youth. Millions of Naira down the drain,” Bosun Tijani said.

Nationwide protests hit Kano

This development comes as nationwide protests commenced in several states around the country. The protesters are demanding a lot of concessions from the federal government, all of which are balled into one rally cry: to end bad governance in Nigeria.

Currently, protests have been recorded in Lagos, Abuja, Ibadan, Port Harcourt, Benin, Warri, Yenagoa, Kaduna, Jos, Sapele and Kano. While the conduct has largely been peaceful in most cities, police have fired teargas into protesters at the Eagle Square in Abuja, an act that has reportedly sparked violent responses, with a video showing the vandalisation of a police stand.

It is unclear what spurred the violence in Kano state that led to the burning of the NCC building and looting of the Digital Centre. Other business places have also been reportedly vandalized and looted in the state, spurring calls for security forces to step in and quell the uprising.

See also: Bosun Tijani says over 1m applicants for FG’s 3MTT program to undergo AI training