*Says, Tinubu’s speech justified nationwide protests
By Fracesca Hangeior
Human rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong has knocked President Bola Tinubu’s presidential broadcast on nationwide protest, describing it as ignoring real demands of protesters.
Inibehe stated that despite what Nigerians have witnessed across the country in the last three days,
Recall that President Tinubu on Sunday morning while reacting to the ongoing hunger protests in a national broadcast, urged protesters to suspend their demonstrations to prevent further violence and bloodshed.
The protest entered its fourth day on Sunday, with demonstrators demanding an end to hardship and poor governance.
Protesters are demanding the reinstatement of fuel subsidy to ease the burden of soaring prices and alleviate widespread suffering, but President Tinubu remains resolute in his stance, maintaining that the policy is correct despite the public outcry.
But, Inibehe Effiong in a post on his X account on Sunday said those who wrote President Tinubu’s speech have succeeded in justifying the reasons for the nationwide protest.
He described President Tinubu’s administration as anti-people, asserting that the government is only useful if it serves the interest of the governed.
He wrote, “It is a confirmation of my long-held view, that we are dealing with a fatalistic political class that is intentionally deaf and willfully blind to the sufferings and yearnings of Nigerians.
“This President is disconnected from the reality of the everyday Nigerian. He’s living in an imaginary Nigeria that only exists in his head. The speech couldn’t have been more meaningless and aimless.
“Those who wrote it, and Mr. Tinubu who read it out, have succeeded in justifying the reasons for the nationwide protest.
“It is appalling that despite what we have witnessed across the country in the last three days, the President did not deem it necessary to speak to the specific demands of the protesters.
“A government is only useful if it serves the interest of the governed. This government is anti-people.
“Tinubu made no mention of electoral reform, no reversal of his horrible and devastating economic policies, he did not attempt to cut down the over bloated size of his government.
“Tinubu made no concessions. This President only did what despots do; ignore the agitations of the masses.
“Great leaders make sacrifices for their country, but terrible leaders like Tinubu only know how to sacrifice the country for their interest.
“It is not his voice that people wanted to hear, people wanted him to speak directly to their demands. His call for dialogue is in bad faith. He did not address the mindless killing of protesters by security agencies in any meaningful way. He also did not set up any credible machinery for a purposeful dialogue.
“Tinubu is preoccupied with the ridiculous idea that the protest is being sponsored by his political adversaries. This provocative arrogance by Nigerian politicians will be ended one day by Nigerians, one way or the other