Sir: A Yoruba adage says it is the beginning of war that we know; nobody can tell how it would end. It’s therefore in this foregoing and a sense of responsibility that I fervently I appeal to President Bola Tinubu to quickly step in to calm the nerves of restive Nigerians to avert the planned nationwide protests.
Undisputedly, every citizen has the constitutional rights to peaceful assembly and protest. Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution as well as Section 39 (1) unequivocally reinforces these fundamental rights. The rights of citizens to protest is an integral democratic instrument with which the people, who feel oppressed, deploy to pressurize the government to deliver equitable governance for the people. It is also an avenue to cause change by voicing out grievances to the government on any unsatisfactory policy.
That some Nigerians are planning to embark on a 10-day protest is not unjustifiable considering the current economic realities which have plunged many into severe poverty and rendered many hopeless. Nigerian people have really endured and have also been patient. They should not be denied the opportunity to express themselves within the instrumentality of the law and for the government to hear them out.
The demands of the aggrieved Nigerian youths are certainly meritorious and deserving of government’s attention. They want the current hardship mitigated and desire good governance. It would be an act of hypocrisy for anyone to feign ignorance of the economic quagmire in the land.
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Even the president himself has several times acknowledged and lamented the unpalatable situation with promises to mitigate the sufferings. However, despite various economic policies and measures to bring down the inflationary trends, and perhaps relief the pain and agony of the people, the results have not effectively yielded the much-needed impact on the masses. The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) recently cried out that many Nigerians are barely able to afford basic meals as a result of their low purchasing power in view of the rising cost of food items. The government must re-strategise to change the narrative.
President Tinubu should listen to those dissenting citizens, who do not only mean well for the country, but also desirous to see Nigeria work for anyone regardless of social or political status. As for the seemingly political undertone and agenda behind the planned protests; that should not deter the president from taking pragmatic steps to defuse the tension. It is unhelpful to describe the angry youths as mere political jobbers or criminal elements. It would also be hasty for the government to conclude that the ultimate motive of such demonstration was to tarnish and destabilize the country.
Certainly, we cannot afford to allow our already unstable economy to crumble or be crippled again. We should not allow things to degenerate like the ENDSARS did. Also, we cannot afford to lose the gains we have achieved so far in the security and infrastructure sectors. The planned protests must be curtailed by all means necessary. The president needs to talk to Nigerians and promptly walk the talk.
It is time for his administration to take proactive steps to curb the acute hunger and abject suffering in the land.
I am certainly not calling for more food or cash palliatives as these interventions do not really get to the needy but to the hands of corrupt state officials who only divert them for their greed.
The president needs to come up with immediate actions to douse of the tension and to renew the hope of Nigerians in the possibilities for good governance. Remember, it is always better go for the clam before the storm.