Dele Momodu tells Tinubu what he should have done to douse agitation
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Dele Momodu, the journalist/publisher, has reminded Bola Tinubu the anger of hunger protesters doubled down and spilled over with their provocation by the lavish lifestyles of leaders, including the President himself – who are deceiving them – and he made it worse by failing to assuage such feelings in his broadcast as he did not address the demands of the agitators.
Momodu, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), made the points in two separate tweets in response to Tinubu’s broadcast in which he merely rehashed what he claimed his administration has achieved but ignored to make any concession to the demands of the protesters.
Below are the tweets:
Tinubu intentional about his tone deafness
“I must confess that I had little hope of Tinubu granting some concessions to the aggrieved Nigerians.
“As a man who has held iron grip on Lagos State in the last 25 years, it would be difficult for him to change a winning formula that has worked for him ever since. Also, what did we expect his advisers to be telling him when most of them have been his most fanatical cronies from Lagos who have learnt never to challenge the Master.
“So it was mere wishful thinking on the part of incurable optimists like me to think he was going to have mercy on hapless and seemingly helpless Nigerians. Just for academic purposes, let’s reel out what a sensitive leader, who craves the rightful position in posterity, would have done and said:
1. “In view of the unprecedented suffering being experienced by Nigerians, we have decided to cut the cost of governance drastically… Some Ministries will be scrapped and some Ministers, Permanent Secretaries and all redundant personnel would be eased out…No official cars would be procured anytime soon.
2. “The number of aircrafts on our Presidential fleet will be reduced to maximum two. I offer sincere apologies that we went ahead to invest in luxury items at this bad times. We shall place immediate embargo on subsequent purchases.
3. “Subsidy of petroleum products will be reviewed thoroughly to ascertain the genuine costs and true billing of the controversial payments. While we hope to achieve this in maximum of three months, we shall revert to old prices within this period in order to reduce the heavy burden on our people.
“We shall also escalate work on our existing refineries without which we shall be throwing away loads of resources. Nothing has stalled our refineries other than reckless corruption. This we are blocking immediately.
4. “Instead of tasking civil servants and politicians to handle students loans and vocational grants, we shall engage reputable accounting firms and banks to set up modalities for credits and activate the disbursements…”
Protesters united by hunger, not by ethnicity, religion or bribe
“These protesters are united by HUNGER and not by ETHNICITY, RELIGION or FINANCIAL INDUCEMENT… They were provoked by the extravagant lifestyles of their leaders who keep telling them to be patient from one government to another.
“They’ve been largely peaceful despite attacks from physical and online bullies who pretend never to have participated in street protests before. There is no country in the world where protests are absolutely peaceful…
“I pray the government will do what is right by addressing their grievances instead of attacking them… Protest is an integral part of DEMOCRACY & CIVILISATION… CHIEF MOSHOOD & KUDIRAT ABIOLA, PA ALFRED REWANE and others died for what some people are toying with today.
“They can never be brought back but we shall always remember their uncommon sacrifices…”
_________________________________________________________________
Related articles:
Woman escalates hunger protest in Lagos, puts empty cooking pot on head to dramatise her desperation
RULAAC calls Tinubu’s govt despotic in reaction to clampdown on #EndBadGovernance protesters
“You can’t stop protest of hungry Nigerians,” Tinubu’s prophet, Ayodele, cautions him
Here are ways protest participants can protect themselves as Tinubu’s forces hover around
__________________________________________________________________