Lagos — Organisers of the nationwide protest against hardship, former Vice President Abubakar Atiku, Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, and human rights activist, Femi Falana, SAN, have described as the hollow response of President Bola Tinubu to the protest which was on its fourth day yesterday.
Recall that the protesters had asked the President to address the nation and respond to their 15-point demand if they were to call off the protests.
Not satisfied with the President's response to the protest, organisers of the protest continued with their action at the Gani Fawehinmi Park at Ojota in Lagos, Osun, and Kano, among other states, yesterday, saying the nationwide broadcast did not address their demands.
The police, however, barred the protesters from holding a procession beyond the designated ground at Gani Fawehinmi Park, Ojota.
President's broadcast, complete disaster - Adeyanju
One of the main organizers of the nationwide protest, Mr Deji Adeyanju, described the broadcast by President Tinubu as a complete disaster.
Adeyanju said: "President Tinubu failed to address the demands of protesters, not even one, and it is very disappointing and unfortunate because there is no other way to explain it. "Those people at the Villa cannot make the President see or hear what is going on in the country. The President could not order the arrest of people who killed peaceful protesters in the last couple of days and it is really sad.
"The President's broadcast to the nation was just a complete disaster, a very disappointing broadcast indeed.
"Our expectations from the broadcast were so many, that he has spoken with political leaders at all levels, politicians are now willing to make sacrifices for the country because on day one of his administration he asked Nigerians to make sacrifices they are failing and refusing to make sacrifices.
"The issue of fuel subsidy, electricity tariff was on the front burner, and many other things we were expecting to hear from the President, unfortunately, none of these things were dealt with."
Coordinator of the protest in Osun State, Ajala Adetunji, said his group, Coalition of Concerned Nigeria Citizens, would meet to discuss the way forward but was emphatic that the ongoing protest would continued since the President did not address any of their concerns.
"Our protest is not a one-man show, especially as Osun's case is concerned. Regarding President Bola Tinubu's address this morning (yesterday), he did not address any of our concerns.
"The president was not specific on what the government will do to address the demands of the youth. The president's call for dialogue is an open-ended appeal, which does not have a clear indicator of what will be done.
"However, we are still going to meet to deliberate but as it stands, the protest continues in Osun," he said
Similarly, Mr Emmanuel Olowu, Secretary, Osun Coalition of Civil Societies, which is also part of the protest, said the President's appeal for an end to the protest and dialogue would be discussed at a meeting of the various groups later in the day.
'He said: As far as the President's speech is concerned, he has not addressed our worries, but that not withstanding, we will converge later to discuss way forward on the protest."
Protests continue in Kano
In Kano, hundreds of protesters yesterday hit the streets in continuation of the ongoing nationwide protest against hunger and to end bad governance, expressing dissatisfaction over the President's nationwide broadcast.
This is even as the state government yesterday relaxed the 24-hour curfew by six hours (8 am to 2 pm) to ease the toll the curfew was having on on residents.
The protesters, mainly youths, carried out the protest around Bakin Zuwo and Koki in Dala local government area; Sharada in Kano Municipal and Gadon Kaya in Gwale local government areas.
They were seen displaying the Russian flag, saying they would return to Russian President, Vladimir Putin, for help, while in some other places chanting, "koya gyara sai ya sauka", meaning "whether he (Tinubu) adjust or not, he must go".
An eyewitness in Bakin Zuwo, Malam Salisu, said the protesters in their large numbers hit the streets to protest against bad governance.
"I saw the protesters in their numbers around 10am. They were holding the Russian flag. They were protesting against the bad governance, issues of insecurity and hardship among others," Salisu said.
Katsina churches were attacked, valuables stolen, and buildings damaged
In Katsina, hoodlums hijacked the protest, invaded churches, looting and destroying properties under the guise of the ongoing nationwide protest against bad governance.
The protesters earlier stormed the Living Faith Church in Daura local government area, damaging the building and stealing all its valuables.
The newly renovated church, equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, suffered damage to its doors and windows as the hoodlums ransacked the building.
According to an eyewitness, the hoodlums also attacked two other churches, Deeper Life Church and Anglican Church, though the extent of the damages there was not immediately clear.
He explained that the hoodlums used Keke Napep (tricycle) to transport the stolen items from the church premises.
When contacted, Pastor David Jato, in charge of the Living Faith Church, confirmed the attack on the church premises.
Narrating the ordeal, he said: "It happened around 10;00am on the first day of the protest. The hoodlums, many of whom were in Keke Nappe (Tricycle), chased the church's security guard away, broke the door and windows, and entered the auditorium.
"They packed and destroyed everything inside the church auditorium, including the pulpits.
The list of items reportedly stolen from the church auditorium includes three Plasma TV used for displaying church programmes, musical instruments, over 205 plastic chairs, pastor's chairs, a desktop computer at the reception and a digital clock as well as a scoreboard where the accountant usually kept the church's documents."
Pasto Jato revealed that as a result of the damage, today's (yesterday) service could not hold in the church auditorium. They had to worship in their various home cells instead.
The hoodlums only succeeded in invading the Living Faith Church and Deeper Life, but could not force their way into the Anglican church because of the strong protector at the gate.
Similarly, in Katsina, the state capital, the Power of Resurrection Church was also vandalised by the hoodlums.
Reacting to the development, the former chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Katsina, Rev. Nelson Onyekachuku, condemned the violence.
He emphasised that the government needed to address the demands of protesters and ensure the protection of places of worship.
Tinubu's speech hollow, fails to address hardship among Nigerians -- Atiku
Also reacting to the President's broadcast yesterday, former Vice President and presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the 2023 elections, Atiku Abubakar, dismissed the broadcast as a hollow speech, devoid of solutions to the hardship facing Nigerians.
Atiku, who spoke through his Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, in a statement in Abuja, said the broadcast intended to quell the fervour of public protests against his administration's poor governance, utterly missed the mark.
He said: " 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."
Broadcast didn't address Police brutality against protesters -- Soyinka
On his part, Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, faulted President Tinubu's national broadcast for not addressing the violent crackdown by security forces on protesters.
Soyinka, who in a statement, expressed concern over the president's omission of this critical issue, said: "I set my alarm clock for this morning to ensure that I did not miss President Bola Tinubu's impatiently awaited address to the nation on the current unrest across the nation.
"His outline of government's remedial action since inception, aimed at warding off just such an outbreak, will undoubtedly receive expert and sustained attention both for effectiveness and in content analysis.
"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.
"Hunger marches constitute a universal S.O.S, not peculiar to the Nigerian nation. They belong, indeed, in a class of their own, never mind the collateral claims emblazoned on posters.
"They serve as summons to governance that a breaking point has been reached and thus, a testing ground for governance awareness of public desperation. The tragic response to the ongoing hunger marches in parts of the nation, and for which notice was served, constitutes a retrogression that takes the nation even further back than the deadly culmination of the watershed #EndSARS protests.
"It evokes pre-independence - that is, colonial - acts of disdain, a passage that induced the late stage pioneer, Hubert Ogunde's folk opera BREAD AND BULLETS, earning that nationalist serial persecution and proscription by the colonial government.
"The nation's security agencies cannot pretend unawareness of alternative models for emulation, civilized advances in security intervention.
"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."
Speech insensitive to Nigerians' plight -- PDP
Also reacting to Tinubu's speech, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, yesterday, described it as diversionary and insensitive to the plight of Nigerians.
National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Mr Debo Ologunagba, in a statement, explained that the president failed to address the real issues bothering Nigerians, which is the high cost of living, especially the rising cost of food items and the volatility of the local currency against major currencies which has made planning almost impossible.
Ologunagba said: "PDP asserts that the speech by President Bola Tinubu over the ongoing protests in the country confirms the All Progressives Congress, APC, administration's insensitivity towards Nigerians and the very precarious situation in the country.
"Our party is appalled that even though it took President Tinubu the prodding of the PDP to speak to the nation, it is distressing that the speech failed to offer any concrete measure to address the excruciating hardship in the country.
"Mr. President's speech failed to respond to the demand by the citizens for immediate measures to reduce the price of petroleum products, halt the fall of the Naira and urgent intervention in the provision of food items to starving Nigerians.
"It is equally shocking that the speech did not order an investigation into the brutal killing of unarmed Nigerians by certain unscrupulous operatives of the APC-controlled security agencies while demanding good governance, protection, security and welfare, which are the primary purposes of government.
"Instead, the speech dwelt on APC's counter-productive action of disregarding the feelings and pains of the people by focusing on self-praise, claims of imaginary achievements and empty projections in the face of the apparent and obvious failure of the APC in every aspect of governance.
"It is clear that the APC administration is overwhelmed and has no answers to the myriads of problems occasioned by its anti-people policies that are suffocating life in the country."
Protesters' demands not addressed -- Falana
Reacting to the broadcast, the chairman of the Alliance on Surviving COVID-19 and Beyond, ASCAB, Mr Femi Falana, SAN, charged President Tinubu to address the demands of the peaceful protesters.
He noted that the presidential speech delivered fell short of addressing the key demand of the protesters - a reversal of the policy of withdrawal of fuel subsidies.
Falana in a statement, also condemned the repression of the peaceful protesters, while commiserating with all those who lost loved ones in the protest.
He called on the government to set up commissions of inquiry to bring to justice to those responsible for the reckless killings.
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.
"A positive response to the key demands of the youths to review the protesters could make them review their actions. Insensitivity to their demands can only provoke continued action.
"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."
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Tinubu didn't listen to protesters -- NLC
Reacting, Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, lamented that the President's speech did not address the anger of the protesters, especially the youths, saying the President heard the youths loud and clear but did not listen to them.
One of the leaders of NLC, who spoke to Vanguard, 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 care-free 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? "
Address economic contractions, NECA urges govt
Similarly, Nigeria Employers' Consultative Association, NECA, urged the federal government to urgently address the myriads of economic contradictions strangulating the private sector to enable the economy open up and return to the path of rapid growth.
Reacting to the President's nationwide address in response to the ongoing protest, the Director-General/Chief Executive of NECA, Mr. Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, said: "With the current rate at which businesses are declaring losses, especially in the real sector, the nation might be in for another round of business shutdown.
"A combined loss of over N533 billion by just four businesses in the sector in the first quarter, H1, 2024 calls for urgent action.
"Following the protests and the national address by President Bola Tinubu, urging protesters to sheath their swords, the Nigeria Employers' Consultative Association, NECA, has joined the President to urge the protesters to embrace dialogue, while also requesting the government to urgently address the seeming economic contradictions that are strangulating the organized private sector and stopping it from fulfilling its role as the engine of development."
Truckers rubbish Tinubu's protest speech, says President bereft of ideas
Also, the National Association of Maritime Transport Operators, NAMTOP, condemned the president's broadcast, saying the quality of his team cannot win the nation's battle against hardship.
President of NAMTOP, Mr. Yinka Aroyewun, said that from Tinubu's message to Nigerians, it was obvious that the President was disturbed by the protest and called on him to ensure that protesters killed by security operatives got justice.
He also said the authors of the President's speech were oblivious to the reality of the situation in Nigeria, adding that the President did not talk about the unprofessional conduct of its security operatives that led to the loss of lives during the protest.
He said: "The president is disturbed by the protest, he recognizes the right to genuine protest. He condemned violence in the protests and pleaded for the withdrawal of the protest
"He ordered security operatives to be more active in protecting lives and properties. He listed his achievements, and pleaded for more time. We are in trouble. Honestly, the author of this is oblivious to the real situation in the country.
"Who killed people during the protest? Everybody that died during the protest was killed by the actions or inactions of the law enforcement agents.
"One wonders why no aspect of the president's speech mentioned the unprofessional conduct of some of the security operatives or the group or individuals whose alterrances and actions have the capability of fueling crises. While the President has not denied the right to a peaceful protest."
