Actions vary, and it's effectiveness depends on the kind of situation and the environment in question. Petition against the government or people in top positions most often doesn't seem to be fruitful or produce the desired results, because it follows a channel that suppresses anything that challenges their actions. The people at the top are vested with high autonomy that makes most actions ineffective from people at the low-level, the people who make, implement, and execute the law have lower autonomy over the people whose actions should be questioned. The system is faulty and that's one of the reasons why most of the actions may not produce results.
In Nigeria, the government seems to be prepared ahead of time for actions against them, therefore, putting up defense beforehand. They prepare ahead of time to rig elections, denying us the goal of a free and fair election. They put up channels of communication censoring the ones that speak against their authority, and may ban the use of social media just like they did a few months ago on Twitter. In the past, most actions had failed and the only actions that had continually worked here in Nigeria is being inactive- By being inactive I mean going on a work strike.
The threat of doing nothing scares the government, they want the people to esteem them and feel they're doing them a favour by offering the little that they give. It scares them to know the people are in agreement fighting for one goal. When it comes to the government sectors, they dread when they feel the people are uniting against them and are beginning to know their rights. Sometimes protest works especially when it persists for days. It makes the government fear the escalation of what the protest may become.
For me, the best action is by making a protest, not just a protest that lasts for a day but a protest that persists until the government decides to make a change. Protest has the ability of igniting the spirit of oneness, it draws the attention of foreigners to interfere, and could expose some concealed truth that the people at the top are hiding thereby hastening their response. Protest is a direct disagreement to how we are being treated, and it most times doesn't end on the local level but calls for intervention from the western countries if it persists for a longer period. A protest shows strength in the unity of the group and that's what prompts a quick response.