Reactions trail Nigerian President’s nationwide broadcast as he calls for end to protests

Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu has called for an immediate end to the nationwide protests that have rocked the nation since Thursday.

In a nationwide address on Sunday, he said his government was ready to listen and address the concerns of protesters.

The president also commiserated with the families of Nigerians who died during clashes with security forces and those who lost property to lootings.

“I hereby enjoin protesters and the organisers to suspend any further protest and create room for dialogue, which I have always acceded to at the slightest opportunity,” he said.

He added that the country required all hands on deck and needed all citizens, regardless of age, party, tribe, religion or other divides, to work together in reshaping its common destiny.

The 10-day planned protests against rising cost of living in the country, which began on Thursday, August 1, descended into violence and led to the loss of lives in many parts of the county.

Local media reported between 17 and 22 lives lost on the first day of protests.

While appealing for calm, Tinubu also talked tough, warning “those who have taken undue advantage of this situation to threaten any section of this country” that they would be dealt with by the law. “Our democracy progresses when the constitutional rights of every Nigerian are respected and protected,” he said.

Assuring citizens that the challenges would ease up soon, the president listed a number of successes under his government that would stabilise the economy while insisting that he would not go back on some policies that Nigerians have demanded be scrapped.

According to him, the fuel subsidy removal, which has stirred criticisms among many Nigerians, is necessary and would be maintained. Reeling his economic achievements, the president said the country’s aggregate revenue has doubled to 9.1trillion Naira (about $6 billion) in the first half of 2024. Productivity gradually increasing in the non-oil sector and revenue to debt-service reduced to 68 percent in the last 13months from 97 percent.

Tinubu also said that he Cleared legitimate $5 billion forex backlogs, which resulted in more money spent on Nigerians. Oil production has Increased to 1.6 million barrels/day and $500 million foreign investment have been signed.

The president insisted that a lot of work has gone into stabilising the economy. However, he says the economy remains anaemic.

Criticisms

The president’s nationwide address has been criticised by many for not speaking on the key issues raised by the protesters. One such critic is Nobel laureate Professor Wole Soyinka. He said that the president’s address on Sunday failed to address the attacks on protesters by security agencies.

Beyond that, many say the president’s speech shows insufficient compassion and understanding for the protesters and victims of police brutality. While denouncing violence, they say, the President neglected to recognise the underlying systemic issues that sparked the protests.

One commentator said the speech overly focused on economic accomplishments, which may not align with the protesters’ primary concerns. He added that the President’s tone appeared disconnected from the people’s everyday struggles and frustrations, and that the president failed to offer specific, practical solutions to address the protesters’ demands.

The commentator also noted that infrastructure development was prioritised over addressing the protesters’ concerns. “A clear plan or call to action is missing from the speech,” he says, “leaving uncertainty about how to address the protesters’ demands and move forward.”

Some other commentators said they found it hard to reconcile the president’s claim that the economy is anaemic with what they described as the extravagant spending by the government so far.

For an economy that is struggling, they say, it is unusual that the president and his team found it expedient to spend millions of dollars to renovate the Vice President’s official residence, gave millions to the National Assembly members to purchase vehicles and also gave millions to a Presidential Tax Reforms Committee of less than twenty people.

Over a million dollars Was also given to purchase cars for the First Lady’s official use despite the fact that the office of the First Lady is not recognised constitutionally, they said.

There was also a 300 percent salary increase for Judges, which was speedily passed by the country’s national legislature and over four million dollars budgeted for a presidential jet and fleet of cars.

Pundits say they also find it hard to reconcile the claims of a comatose economy and the government’s decision to commence a multi-billion-dollar coastal road project, a contract that has been described as obscure, questioning also the president’s decision to gather the largest ministerial team ever in the country’s history.

As if countering accusations of huge spending by officials of the government, the president said in his speech that the government had taken steps to address pressing social demands by Nigerians. According to him, millions of dollars have been processed to students as loans and a 200 billion Naira (about $125 million) consumer credit scheme has been established.

He said his government secured $620m for Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises (I-DICE) programme for digital skills and that 600,000 nano businesses have benefitted from nano grants, additional 400,000 businesses are still to benefit.

He directed that tariffs be removed on rice, other foods and medicines and that the government is to cultivate more than 10 million hectares of land to raise food production, among other schemes.

For many, these social programmes have not addressed the core issues at stake, which are rising cost of food and the impact of the falling value of the Naira on the general spending power of Nigerians. Spiralling food costs have had extreme repercussions for many homes.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Police Force said on Saturday that a total of 681 protesters suspected to be hoodlums were arrested for committing various offences in the first two days of the protests.