- Many have criticised Tinubu’s speech on the nationwide hunger protest
- Reacting to the President’s broadcast, Atiku said the President's speech failed to address the challenges confronting Nigerians
- Wole Soyinka pointed out that the broadcast did not address the violent actions of security forces on protesters
Amidst the ongoing nationwide protests against the hardship and economic crises in the country, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu addressed the nation at 7 am on Sunday, August 4, the fourth day of the protests.
The President’s address has however, drawn reactions from Nigerians, with many criticising it.
Tinubu’s address failed entirely - Atiku
Reacting to the President’s broadcast, Atiku Abubakar, the former Vice President and 2023 PDP presidential candidate, in a statement issued in Abuja by his Media Adviser Paul Ibe, condemned the broadcast as lacking substance and failing to address the challenges confronting Nigerians.
The statement read, “His (Tinubu’s) speech neglects the pressing economic hardships that have besieged Nigerian families since the very beginning of his tenure.
“This address lacks credibility and fails to offer any immediate, tangible solutions to the Nigerian people.
“Given the extensive publicity surrounding the protests and the threats issued by government officials against demonstrators, one would have expected President Tinubu to present groundbreaking reforms, particularly those aimed at reducing the exorbitant costs of governance.
“But alas, no such announcements were made. The President ignored the protesters’ demands, such as suspending the purchase of aircraft for the President, downsizing his bloated cabinet, or even eliminating the costly and burdensome office of the First Lady, who has been indulging in extravagant trips at the nation’s expense.
“In his lacklustre recorded speech, President Tinubu offered a superficial account of his so-called reforms, revealing his own tenuous grasp of policy as he failed to convince his audience.
“While the President has spoken, it is unfortunate that his words lack substance and respect for the protesters’ sentiments, leaving Nigerians with little faith in his reform agenda – if one exists at all.
“We urge the President and his team to own up to their failures over the past 14 months and abandon the absurd theory that the protests are orchestrated by the opposition,’’ he added.
It's time to stop security agencies’ brutality - Soyinka
Nobel laureate Professor Wole Soyinka condemned President Tinubu’s national broadcast, pointing out that it did not address the violent actions of security forces against protesters.
He said, “My primary concern, quite predictably, is the continuing deterioration of the state’s seizure of protest management, an area in which the presidential address fell conspicuously short.
“Such short-changing of civic deserving, regrettably, goes to arm the security forces in the exercise of impunity and condemns the nation to a seemingly unbreakable cycle of resentment and reprisals,”
“Live bullets as a state response to civic protest – that becomes the core issue. Even teargas remain questionable in most circumstances, certainly an abuse in situations of clearly peaceful protest,” Soyinka added.
The Nobel laureate further said, “The nation’s security agencies cannot pretend unawareness of alternative models for emulation, civilized advances in security intervention,”
‘Bullets instead of bread signals dark backward movement’
Soyinka noted that in France, even during physical clashes, protesters weren't shot. This is unlike Nigeria, where protesters face brutality.
He said, “Need we recall the nationwide 2022/23 editions of what is generally known as the YELLOW VEST movement in France? Perhaps, it is time to make such scenarios compulsory viewing in policing curriculum,”
“In all of the coverage that I watched, I did not catch one single instance of a gun leveled at protesters, much less fired at them, even during direct physical confrontations,”
“The serving of bullets where bread is pleaded is ominous retrogression, and we know what that eventually proves – a prelude to far more desperate upheavals, not excluding revolutions,”
“The time is long overdue, surely, to abandon, permanently, the anachronistic resort to lethal means by the security agencies of governance. No nation is so under-developed, materially impoverished, or simply internally insecure as to lack the will to set an example,” he added.
Falana charged the President to address protesters' demand
Mr. Femi Falana, SAN, head of the Alliance on Surviving COVID-19 and Beyond (ASCAB), issued a statement condemning the suppression of peaceful protesters and expressing his condolences to the families of those who lost loved ones in the protest.
He said, “We commiserate with the families of the patriots’ peaceful protesters that were killed and call on the federal and state governments to set up commissions of inquiry, which should include representatives of credible human rights organisations and the NBA to investigate the killings, to bring to justice the reckless murderers in Police uniform and ensure that,”
“The family members of the deceased should be adequately compensated by the federal government. The victims of the barbarous police killings should be identified and celebrated as heroes and heroines of the struggle for the emancipation of the downtrodden Nigerian people. Participation in peaceful protests should never be criminalised in Nigeria,” he added.
He pointed out that the presidential address did not meet the protesters' primary request, which was to reverse the fuel subsidy withdrawal policy.
The statement read, “If the government takes the fight against corruption to oil dealers and crude oil is processed in government-owned refineries, there will be no basis for fuel subsidy, which is induced by the importation of petroleum products.”
He pointed out that responding positively to the youth's primary demands could make them reconsider their actions, whereas disregarding their demands would likely provoke ongoing protests.
Tinubu did not take protesters' demands into account - NLC
Reacting to the speech, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) criticised it for not addressing the anger of the protesters, especially the youth, and stated that although the President heard their demands, he did not take them into account.
The unnamed NLC leader said, “We are completely disappointed with the President’s speech. There was nothing concrete, as usual, it was all about promises. Yes, the President heard the protesters or the youths loud and clear, but sadly, the president did not listen to their demands or pains,”
“What we found strange was the carefree attitude to the mood of the nation, the loss of irreparable lives, the anger, the hunger and the frustration. No sign of empathy, but threats from the President,”
“How has the speech addressed the hunger in the land? How has the speech addressed the poverty inflicted by the government’s policies? How has the speech solved the immediate needs and demands of the protesters?.”
#EndBadGovernance: DSS arrests protest leader in Abuja
Meanwhile, TheRadar earlier reported that the Department of State Services (DSS) has taken into custody Michael Lenin, a central leader of the nationwide #EndBadGovernance protests in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
According to the report, Lenin took part in a press briefing with other organisers, where they voiced their displeasure with Tinubu’s Sunday broadcast. He was assaulted during the arrest.