The Executive Director of YIAGA Africa, Samson Itodo, has faulted President Bola Tinubu’s speech to Nigerians, saying the broadcast failed to address the demands of the protesters.
In the wake of the #EndBadGovernance protests against hunger and poverty in the country, Tinubu had a nationwide broadcast on Sunday, calling for calm. He said there was no going back on his policies, especially the removal of fuel subsidy.
But reacting to the broadcast on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, Itodo said the President missed an opportunity to yield to what the protesters were agitating for.
“There was jubilation when it was announced that the President was going to speak to the Nigerian people for whom he holds power on trust,” he said.
“But his speech was a missed opportunity for the President to directly respond to the demands that the protesters have made, principally among them is the issue around cutting the cost of governance, constitutional reforms and the cost of living.”
In a similar vein, the 2023 presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Dumebi Kachikwu, criticised the President’s speech.
To Kachikwu, the speech did not reflect the current realities where no fewer than 19 Nigerians died during the protest with many businesses shut down.
“It’s obvious his speech writers write a speech that they believe will evoke emotions. They don’t particularly speak to the realities of our situation as Nigerians,” Kachikwu said.
“There is a difference between a speech that has been written and a speech that has been delivered. I didn’t see in the body language of the President today a man who was agitated about what happened in the last week.
“A President of a country has lost 19 of the citizenry to the bloody protests where businesses have been shuttered. I didn’t see in that body language. I just saw a man reading a prepared speech.” (Channels)