Hunger protest: Tinubu's speech brought no succour - Nigerians

Last Sunday, President Bola Ahmed Tinbu addressed Nigerians as part of measures to end the nationwide EndBadGovernance protest.

Thousands of Nigerians have been protesting across the nation since August 1 against the high cost of living.

Prices of staples such as rice, bread, beans, and yam have jumped by more than 100 percent in one year.

In the nationwide broadcast, President Tinubu said he was working hard for Nigerians, and the results will soon be visible and concrete for everyone to see, feel, and enjoy.

The President said he had heard the yearnings and concerns of Nigerians loud and clear and that he understands the pain and frustration that drive the protests, assuring that his administration is committed to listening and addressing the concerns of the citizens.

However, there is the feeling that he did not address the specific demands of the protesters, a reason attributed to the refusal of the organizers to end the action.

Ordinary Nigerians, who spoke to Newsmen, expressed divergent views about the broadcast.

Peter Owoicho from Lagos said the President sounded threatening in his address.

He said, "Did anyone else sense he issued a threat in his address?

"Imagine the President saying during his broadcast that '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.' This kind of statement is not right at all.

"He just talked about abstract achievements that won't materialize anytime soon.

"It's frustrating to hear promises without any concrete plans or timelines for implementation. Such statements only serve to increase skepticism and erode public trust."

According to Michael Divine Akor from Abuja, the President's speech came very late after the protesters had given him enough time.

He said he expected the President to have been proactive enough to address the salient issues the youths had raised before the commencement of the protest.

"The speech given by the President; His Excellency Ahmed Bola Tinubu came very late.

"The protesters gave him an adequate time frame before the commencement of the protest.

"In a sane society, it's expected that Mr President should have addressed the salient issues raised by the protesters, cum citizens to discourage them from proceeding with the protest, but he kept mute until the protest had kicked off and wrecked some damage on the nation," he said.

Another youth, Anthony Ameh from Abuja said the speech failed to provide solutions to the yearnings and aspirations of the masses, who before now have been in abject penury since the coming on board of the present administration in May 29, 2023.

He said, "To me, the speech didn't convey solutions to the real yearning and pains of the masses who have been gripped by excruciating pains and hunger since Tinubu took over the baton.

"The protesters are agitating for immediate measures to ameliorate the unbearable pains and high cost of living by reversing some strangulating policies introduced by His Excellency, but the speech only conveyed solutions that will take decades to yield results if at all they will.

"This has further dampened the hope of Nigerians as they now have to live in the harsh reality that the current suffering isn't ending soon.

"The President boasted about how huge revenue has been amassed under his administration but failed to pacify the citizens on how the revenue could be deployed to bring immediate relief to the groaning masses."

Uchechi Emeka from Onitsha, Anambra State, faulted the President for describing the protest as a politically masterminded exercise sponsored by his political enemies.

"The President in his speech christened the protest as a politically masterminded exercise sponsored by his political foes.

"That's the least expected from our President in the trying time of our nationhood. This posits that His Excellency was merely displaying pretense when he said that he is aware of the pains Nigerians are going through.

"If he's truly aware of the effect of the current economic situation on the citizens, he should have understood that such hazardous economic reality is more than enough to trigger great protest.

"Tagging it as an exercise borne out of political interest is a clear indication that the President is not aware that Nigerians have been eclipsed by unbearable hunger and despicable economic situations," he noted.

Prince Archibong from Akwa-ibom berated the President for hailing his effort to increase the national minimum wage, arguing that only a small segment of Nigeria, who are government employees, are beneficiaries.

"President Tinubu in his speech praised his effort in augmenting the minimum wage to N70 000.

"This is a measure that will have infinitesimal benefit to a very small fraction of the Nigerian population. How many Nigerians are government workers?

"It's on record that most State Governors have not even acquiesced to the N70,000 benchmark, as most of them will pay lower at the state level.

"The implication is that only the federal government workers are sure of benefitting from the N70,000 benchmark.

"What becomes the fate of the average income earners in the private sector? What is the fate of the unemployed who are even the ones at the worst receiving end of the current economic policies of the government?

"This decision is just a favor to the few opportune individuals and by extension, a negligence of the majority of Nigerians who have no access to jobs at the federal level, hence it shouldn't be seen as a favor to the hungry Nigerians," he added.

Eche Peter from Benue said he expected the President to speak against the high price of commodities in the market and proffer a lasting solution to ease the pains of the ordinary Nigerians, but he never did that.

He said, "The protesters complained of a skyrocketing price of food items.

"The President was expected to assure Nigerians of his modalities to tackle such hyper-inflation, but he didn't.

"All he reeled out were measures that may not materialize before the end of his administration which has been the culture of every administration in Nigeria; an action that has kept Nigeria leaping economically till today."

Nafisat Abubakar from Nasarawa slammed the speech, saying the writer did not learn anything but pushing propaganda.

"His scriptwriters don't learn at all, pushing propaganda instead of addressing issues.

"They're so out of touch with reality. I wonder when things will go right in this country. When it's favoring you, you call it connection but when the other way around, you call it corruption. May God help us in this country," she prayed.