Varied reactions have continued to trail the broadcast to the nation by President Bola Tinubu on Sunday; some upbraiding it and others commending it, but the protests have continued even with more intensity in the northern states of Kaduna and Kano. Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 general election, carefully chose his words in
Varied reactions have continued to trail the broadcast to the nation by President Bola Tinubu on Sunday; some upbraiding it and others commending it, but the protests have continued even with more intensity in the northern states of Kaduna and Kano.
Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 general election, carefully chose his words in his reaction thanked the President for addressing the people but opined that the President has done not enough as it failed to address critical issues that triggered the protest. In a statement posted on his X handle, Mr. Obi said: “Having led the call for the President to address the nation and respond to the demands of the people, and having listened to the belated speech, I needed to delay my response to see if my understanding of the address was aligned with others. I hesitated to respond immediately, as I felt it could have been perceived as another attempt by Peter Obi to sway public opinion, especially since I was initially accused of sponsoring the protest.
“The President’s address regrettably appeared disconnected from the harsh realities faced by the people and failed to address critical issues that initially triggered the protest. It either reflects a lack of awareness among his advisers regarding the scale of anger, hunger, and hardship in the country, or a deliberate choice to disregard it. At this point, I strongly advise the President to distance himself from sycophants and surround himself with individuals who will present the unvarnished truth.
“While the President’s speech focused on the past, the people are concerned with the present and the future. He should begin by addressing pressing issues such as the exorbitant cost of governance, measures to tackle corruption, the high cost of living, and directing resources effectively towards critical areas like health, education, and poverty alleviation. I respectfully reiterate that the President should declare a war on insecurity, the economy, poverty, unemployment, and the power sector.
“Persistent issues of corruption and mismanagement of public funds must be addressed decisively. As is done in other nations during such times, regular briefings, whether quarterly or biannually, from the President, are essential to communicate the visible and verifiable measures being taken to revive the nation from its current state of hopelessness, restore hope, and rebuild trust in our country. I also humbly request that the President reduce the repetition of how dire the situation is; every Nigerian is already aware of the extent of the problems. Mr President, you and your team were elected not just to witness the protests but to alleviate the suffering of the people.
“Nigerians do not expect the President to solve the nation’s problems overnight, but we do expect a concerted effort to address the mismanagement of public resources, reduce the high cost of governance, and tackle issues like insecurity, corruption, electricity, agriculture, and productivity to set the country on a path to recovery and growth. By doing so, the President can restore hope and rekindle the people’s faith in our dear country Nigeria.
Mr Festus Keyamo, SAN and Minister for Aviation on his part describes the President’s broadcast as a “Great and inspiring speech by Mr. President Tinubu. Compassionate, yet firm; conciliatory, yet not condescending; resolute on our objectives, yet reassuring. Wonderful balance”.
Echoing Mr. Keyamo, Mr. Daniel Bwala, lawyer and newly converted Tinubu’s supporter, said there was no need to protest again as the president had got the demonstrators’ message saying: “Thank you Mr President for laying out what you have been doing to address the concerns raised by the Nigerian people. Thank you also for taking the youth; you have heard them loud and clear and you are committed to further deepening this democracy,”
However, a former Minister for Solid Minerals Mrs Oby Ezekwesili said the President’s speech was underwhelming to read. “Your Speech reads like a page from your party manifesto and terribly failed to connect to what our Citizens on the Streets are angry and protesting about.
“Your speech is quite a monumental, missed opportunity to placate citizens with sound answers and outline of convincing evidence-based actions that you and your @NigeriaGov will immediately take to address the priority #BadGovernance concerns.
“Your Speech was sadly again written out of a mindset that is focused on “getting back at our enemies”. Imaginary enemies at that! No true Leader has the luxury of having “enemies” among their Citizens. Not at all. A Public Leader becomes the Leader of ALL with a mind that does not think of any as their enemies.
“This is why it is ever unfortunate to see Nigerian public “Leaders” talk and behave like Losers on matters of public governance where they are expected to rally their ALL Citizens behind the common purpose of nation-building. It is nauseating to observe this recurrent innate unwillingness of Nigerian public leaders to admit responsibility for the demands of the same public leadership that they kill and maim citizens to assume.
“As we remember and pray for families of all our citizens mauled down or maimed for demanding an End to Bad Governance, let me call on you President Tinubu to immediately instruct the IG of Nigeria Police and his men to “STOP KILLING PEACEFUL PROTESTERS NOW!”
Prof Chris Mustapha Nwaokobia Jnr, the convener of Country First Movement, said President Tinubu’s speech fell short of expectations. “It was flaccid and an uneventful dance around the issues that brought us to the nadir. He sought to validate the policies that traumatize the people. He sought to decree an end to the protests without addressing the issues. Without making concrete promises. Without announcing some far-reaching reforms. And without saying a thing about cutting the cost of governance, and cutting wastage, wanderlust, and profligacy. The person who wrote that speech may be utterly wicked, mischievous, and treacherous because I do not believe that such is the mind of Mr. President. But what do I know?” he asked.
