Tinubu’s broadcast: Lagos protesters meet to take decision

By Paul Dada

The #EndBadGovernance protesters in Lagos, say they are not fully satisfied with the Sunday broadcast of President Bola Tinubu but will take a decision on Monday on the next course of action.

In a statement jointly signed on Sunday by Hassan Taiwo Soweto, Ayoyinka Oni and Oloye Adegboyega Adeniji for the #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria Organizing Committee, the protesters said they listened to Tinubu’s broadcast with a rapt attention.

While they criticised the President in the statement, for waiting three days to make the broadcast, they said they considered it an important victory for their movement.

The statement said: “We have listened with rapt attention to President Bola Tinubu’s broadcast earlier today Sunday 4 August 2024 on the ongoing protest by the Nigerian youth and people over the condition of hunger and hardship in the country.

“We consider it rather unfortunate that it took President Tinubu three days of protest during which over 40 Nigerian people were massacred and several others injured across the country by security operatives and state-sponsored thugs before he realized the need to address the country.

“Nevertheless, we consider the decision to address the nation an important victory for our movement. Without our courage and resolve to dare the odds, even this acknowledgement would not have happened. So far, we have demonstrated that a President is not greater than the rest of the country. We have also demonstrated that Nigerians are not slaves who would be told to surrender their fundamental and democratic rights to resist anti-poor policies”.

However, the statement said it was odd that the President who called for dialogue with the protesters, also ordered the suspension of the protests.

“However, while taking note of President Tinubu’s offer of dialogue, we are concerned that in the same breadth, the President has also ordered that our protest be suspended. In our own view, the president cannot be approbating and reprobating at the same time. The President cannot offer an olive branch while at the same time holding a dagger to our throat.

“Indeed, by using his broadcast to call for suspension of the protest, we are worried that President Tinubu has willy-nilly signalled the police, the army and of course the so-called hoodlums to drown our movement in blood just like EndSARS four years ago. This played out earlier today (Sunday) at Gani Fawehinmi Park Ojota, Lagos where thugs attacked protesters who had gathered for Sunday morning worship thereby injuring many. We have on record the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Okafor, telling injured protesters the thugs were justified to have attacked them because they had no right to be there since the President has ordered suspension of protest.

“Therefore, before we consider any offer of dialogue, the President needs to clarify if he wants to dialogue with us as slaves or as freeborn. The choice he makes will determine the future of this struggle. Morseo, the President has largely ignored the demands of the protesters, a deliberate arrogance that makes a well-intentioned dialogue difficult or impossible.

“We hereby urge all our allies, especially the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), the media, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) not to watch with arms folded as President Tinubu uses state terror to chase us out of the streets instead of addressing our demands. As far as we are concerned, the #EndBadGovernance protest emerged from the suffering and frustration of ordinary Nigerian youth and people. Therefore, only the mass of the people can take decisions on their struggle including whether to suspend it or not. Our rights to freedom of assembly and speech are inalienable and fundamental. So, we believe we have a right to converge after the President broadcast to discuss and democratically agree on what to do”.

They called on the members of their movement to converge at the Gani Fawehinmi Park, Ojota, Lagos, on Monday after which they would address a press conference on their resolutions.