Nigerians have responded to the information minister’s statement, in which he urged citizens on behalf of the president to refrain from protesting and instead await a response from the presidency. The Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, briefed select State House correspondents on Tuesday after a meeting with the President. He conveyed that President Tinubu had advised the protest organizers to set aside their plan and await the President’s response to their grievances.
“The issue of the planned protest, Mr President does not see any need for that. He’s asked them to shelve that plan. He’s asked them to await the government’s response to all their pleas,” the minister said.
Context of the Protest
Nigeria is currently enduring one of its most challenging periods in history, with the majority of its people unable to provide for their basic needs. This has become the situation of the country “endowed” with wealth, however as the NLC president pointed out a select few are reaping the benefits of the country’s wealth at the expense of the majority. In response, a planned protest spearheaded by anonymous individuals demanding an end to bad governance has gained traction on social media.
A development that the Nigerian authorities have openly condemned. The Federal Government, the National Orientation Agency (NOA), the Nigeria Police Force, and the House of Representatives, have vehemently condemned the planned demonstration, threatening degenerating consequences. Despite these actions, Nigerians remain resolute in their determination to push for change through the protest.
Public Discontent and Presidential Inaction
Nigerians are angry at the presidency’s inability to address the nation. Many Nigerians have reacted to the briefing of the information minister demanding why the president could not address his populace himself. The situation in the country can be said to be critical and in dire need of a presidential address, the lack of response from the president seems to undermine the people’s plight and trivialize the concerns of Nigerians amidst the economic downturn.
The Nigerian government is known and blamed for its unfavorable policies that have jeopardized the country’s economy and plunged the state into this regressive state. Despite the blame and accusations levied on the presidency, President tinubu’s inability to address Nigerians sends the wrong message to Nigerians eliciting a reaction from “an already angry populace”
