Nigerians are protesting against a high cost of living, brought on by surging inflation and stagnating wages. Authorities fear the types of mass rallies that have been seen in other parts of Africa.

Nigeria is bracing for a day of protests across cities and towns as people make known their anger over economic hardship that has persisted for years.

Africa’s most populous country, with a population of more than 210 million, is grappling with the country’s worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation.

The hardship is blamed on surging inflation, which is at a 28-year high, and the government’s economic policies that have pushed the local currency to record low against the dollar.

The price of petrol and the price of staple foods, such as rice, have shot up, while wages and salaries have remained stagnant.