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Tag: #ENDBADGOVERNANCE

  • Tinubu’s Broadcast: ECOWAS Breaks Silence on Hunger Protests

    The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has broken its silence on the ongoing protests in Nigeria.
    In a statement released on Tuesday, the ECOWAS Commission urged protesters to heed the call for dialogue and peaceful resolution of their grievances.
    The body expressed deep concern over the violence, fatalities, and property destruction that have marred the demonstrations
    The commission extended condolences to the families of those who have lost their lives in the protests and expressed sympathy with the Nigerian government and its people over the losses incurred.
    The statement said, “The ECOWAS Commission has been closely monitoring the ongoing protests by citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and deeply regrets reports of violence in the course of the protests and the unfortunate death of some protesters as well as alleged looting and destruction of public and private properties.
    “The commission extends heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and sympathizes with the Government and people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria over the losses.
    “The ECOWAS Commission recognises the right of citizens to peaceful protests, as guaranteed by the 2001 ECOWAS Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance and enshrined in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended.”
    ECOWAS also welcomed President Bola Tinubu’s recent State of the Nation address on Sunday, in which he called for inclusive dialogue to address the grievances of protesters.
    “The Commission welcomes the State of the Nation address of August 4, 2024 by President Bola Tinubu and urges the protesters and all stakeholders to heed the President’s call for inclusive dialogue for the resolution of all grievances and the preservation of peace and security in Nigeria and the ECOWAS region at large,” it added.
    The hunger protests in Nigeria, which began as a peaceful demonstration against the rising cost of living and food insecurity, took a violent turn last week, resulting in numerous deaths and the burning of properties.

  • #EndBadGovernance Protest: Tinubu Presides Over Crucial FEC Meeting

    President Bola Tinubu is scheduled to preside over a critical Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting on Monday afternoon at the Presidential Villa’s Council Chambers in Abuja.
    The meeting comes on the heels of the President’s national broadcast on Sunday, where he urged Nigerians to end the ongoing #EndBadGovernance protests and engage in dialogue.
    The Council is expected to assess the current situation and explore strategies to address the economic challenges fueling the protests.
    In his Sunday broadcast, President Tinubu called for public order and reiterated his commitment to protecting the lives and property of all citizens.
    He said, “As President of this country, I must ensure public order. In line with my constitutional oath to protect the lives and property of every citizen, our government will not stand idly by and allow a few with a clear political agenda to tear this nation apart.
    “Under the circumstances, I hereby enjoin protesters and the organisers to suspend any further protest and create room for dialogue, which I have always acceded to at the slightest opportunity. Nigeria requires all hands on deck and needs us all – regardless of age, party, tribe, religion or other divides, to work together in reshaping our destiny as a nation. To those who have taken undue advantage of this situation to threaten any section of this country, be warned: The law will catch up with you. There is no place for ethnic bigotry or such threats in the Nigeria we seek to build.”

  • Organisers Continue Protest against Hunger and Bad Governance

    “In our view, the president cannot be approbating and reprobating at the same time. The President cannot offer an olive branch while at the same time holding a dagger to our throat,”
    The Lagos State organisers of the protest against hardship and bad governance in the country have announced plans to resume their demonstration at Gani Fawehinmi Freedom Park, Ojota, on Monday, August 5, 2024, despite recent comments from President Bola Tinubu.
    This is contained in a statement issued on Sunday, by Hassan Taiwo, Ayoyinka Oni, and Adegboyega Adeniji on behalf of the #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria Organising Committee, saying that the group expressed disappointment that it took President Tinubu three days of protests to address the nation.
    The statement is coming after the President’s broadcast earlier on Sunday, where Tinubu acknowledged the protesters’ concerns and urged them to suspend their demonstrations in favour of dialogue.
    “We consider the President’s decision to address the nation an important victory for our movement,” the organizers said.
    “Without our courage and resolve to dare the odds, even this acknowledgement would not have happened. So far, we have demonstrated that a President is not greater than the rest of the country,” the statement read.
    The group faulted the President for what they described as a dual approach: offering dialogue while also demanding an end to the protests.
    They also condemned recent violence against protesters, including attacks by thugs during a Sunday morning worship session and an incident where a protester was struck on live television.
    “In our view, the president cannot be approbating and reprobating at the same time. The President cannot offer an olive branch while at the same time holding a dagger to our throat,” the trio said.
    The organizers then called on Nigerian youth and the general public to join them at 7 a.m. on Monday at Gani Fawehinmi Park for the fifth day of protests.

  • A critical analysis of President Tinubu’s Post-Protest Speech to the Nation

     

    …the crafters of the speech made a fundamental mistake of relying on the president assuaging the pain of the citizens by regurgitating and enumerating the different policies his government has enacted to ease the pain his reform polices especially the removal of oil subsidy and floating of the forex has caused, when in fact empathy was needed.

     

     

    Compared to what happened recently in Kenya and the bombastic prediction by the planners of the “EndBadGovernance” protest, President Tinubu and our dear country just dogged a huge bullet. We are very fortunate to have averted what could have been catastrophic conflagration. Our country is still standing, thank God. So it was totally appropriate and expected that the president would address the nation. I listened to the president’s much anticipated speech, this morning as I was heading out to the airport relieved that my flight had not been cancelled by the protest.

     

    It was a beautifully crafted and well delivered speech with the right cadence. It included a laundry list of various policies that have been taken by the president’s government to reposition the economy for sustainable growth and to ease the the pain of some of his critically needed but painful reform policy like the oil subsidy removal. The president also provided the contextual underpinning for some of the painful policies he has had to implement

     

    However, the crafters of the speech made a fundamental mistake of relying on the president assuaging the pain of the citizens by regurgitating and enumerating the different policies his government has enacted to ease the pain his reform polices especially the removal of oil subsidy and floating of the forex has caused, when in fact empathy was needed. As great as some of those policies might be, their impact are probably longer term ame will not address the immediate needs of the populace for relief from the economic Armageddon that confronts them daily as they try to eke a living and survival in an economy that is close to comatose. Presidential speeches are usually not the best forum to discuss arcane complex policies that might not be understood by most citizens especially those who are hurting. What good does a government credit policy for nano and micro-enterprises do for a hungry man?

     

    The president’a speech was ended on the usual empathy, “I feel your pain” piece when it should have been front center from the onset.

     

    The president would have been better served had he started with the “I feel your pain” piece rather than at the end. It would have been great had the president stated the speech with “I heard your message loud and clear”. As your your president, I feel your pain and know daily struggles. While we have done so much to ease your pain, your protest tells us, we need to do more.

     

    The other missing piece in the president’s speech, was the failure of the president to tell the citizens, what he will do differently in response to protest! It would have been great has the president talked about what he would do to reduce the cost of governance, to make his administrative bureaucracy lighter, more nimble and more aligned to the the country’s economic reality and the sacrifice that the citizens have been called up to make. That was a big and regrettable omission in the speech.

     

    Yes, as commander in chief and the chief security officer, it was important that President communicated his commitment to maintaining law and order as mandated by the constitution. But his role as empathizer in chief could have been given more prominence than it was in the speech.

     

    Overall, it was a good speech, timely, much needed and well delivered.

  • Hunger Protest: President Tinubu to Address the Nation

    After much ado, President Bola Tinubu has finally agreed to address the nation following a nationwide protest christened #ENDBADGOVERNANCE by Nigerian youth.
    Now on the fourth day, the protest was kicked off, August 1, and expected to last till the 10th of August.
    A statement pushed out by the Special Adviser to the President, Mr. Ajuri Ngelale indicated that President Bola Tinubu will address the nation in a broadcast on Sunday, August 4, 2024, at 7:00 am.
    Television, radio, and other electronic media outlets are enjoined to plug into the network services of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) and the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) for the broadcast.
    The broadcast will be repeated on the network services of the NTA and the FRCN at 3:00 pm and 7:00 pm on the same day, it was further stated.

  • #EndBadGovernance: Please Protect Our Lives And Properties – APC Begs Security Operatives

    APC Begs Security Operatives As Protesters Target Matawalle’s Residence

    The Zamfara State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has condemned the attempt by some protesters to attack the residence of the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, in Gusau, Zamfara State.
    The party shared its concerns on Thursday via a statement by its Zamfara Publicity Secretary, Yusuf Idris.
    Idris said the party was disturbed by the nationwide supposed peaceful protests in the state.
    He claimed that many thugs were deployed to attack the personalities and properties of the APC members.
    Idris subsequently urged the security operatives to protect their lives and properties.
    “We observed that many thugs were strategically deployed to attack and destroy personalities and properties of the APC members.
    “It is very unfortunate that on the first day of the protests, the protesters attempted to attack the former Governor BelloMatawalle’s personal residence,” he claimed.
    Idris recalled that Matawalle’s residence was burgled in 2023 by some thugs, adding that security operatives should not allow such an ugly act to recur.
    “Luckily, the quick intervention of the security personnel who blocked the protesters from destroying the minister’s house saved the situation
    “We commend the security agencies in the state for being proactive.
    “Those political thugs, most likely implementing the directives of their leaders, would have razed down the minister’s house and property,” he explained.
    Idris claimed that the thugs also attacked the residence of Senator Sahabi Yau at his hometown of Kaura Namoda, where they destroyed many valuables and damaged his Toyota Hilux van in the name of peaceful protests.
    “We have earlier forecast the possible hijacking of the protests by the hoodlums and other miscreants in the state, which they actualised.
    “We wish to implore security agencies in the state to give our members and all well-meaning citizens the desired protection of lives and property.
    “We are calling on youths not to allow themselves to be used by bad politicians, especially as the nationwide protest is supposed to be peaceful and address concerns in the country.
    “The protest, which is a constitutional right of Nigerians, should be peaceful and without any threat to life and property,” the APC scribe added.
  • Hunger Protest: Don’t bother to continue

    Hunger Protest: Don’t bother to continue

    The Inspector General of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), Mr. Kayode Egbetokun has warned protesters to discontinue the ongoing national protest against hunger and bad governance or have the police and other armed forces to contend with.

     

    Briefing the press in Abuja this evening, Mr. Egbetokun said the NPF shall not hesitate to call in other members of the Nigerian armed forces to help quell the uprising should they be overwhelmed.

     

    Giving his view about the way the protest panned out on the first day, he insisted that what happened today was, “Mass uprising and looting, not protest”. He regretted that even “those who claimed to be the protest leaders were nowhere to be found when things got out of hand”.

     

    Advising the protesters to be law abiding he said, “groups who claim to exercise right to protest must also know they are duty bound to obey laws of the land.

     

    Know your rights but do not neglect your responsibilities or duties,” he cautioned the protesting youth.

     

    He warned that the police was on the red alert and determined to ensure that law and order was maintained in the country.

     

    Concluding, the Police chief said, “I advise that they should not bother to continue with this.”