Dapo Abiodun pushes back on protest, says inflation global, not in Nigeria alone

Ogun State governor Dapo Abiodun has urged Nigerian youths to shun the 10-day long nationwide protest billed for August 1, as inflation bites globally and not in Nigeria alone.

Abiodun, who spoke at the 22nd undergraduate and 13th postgraduate convocation ceremonies of Babcock University, Ilishan, Ikenne this weekend said that Nigeria did not gain anything meaningful from previous protests.

The governor stated that the country does not need another round of protest, saying “we must not gamble with our democracy” while pushing for dialogue.
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Abiodun added that the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had to take the bull by the horn to put the economy back on track, adding that the government has been in office for just one year.

He further said that the economic headwinds confronting Nigeria, especially inflation which hammers spending power, is not peculiar to the country alone, noting that the Tinubu-led government has rolled out plans to ease the burden on the people.

“Inflation is worldwide. Our president, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, had very little choices when he came into office. He had to take the bull by the horn; he had to remove the subsidy. He had to float the Naira. Otherwise, it would have been worse, trust me.

“This administration has initiated a lot of interventions to cushion the effect of inflation. Recently, we’ve had the introduction of minimum wage.

“We’ve had a lot of empowerments. Student loans are in place. Agric and fertilizer input are being given to our farmers. Food palliatives have also been provided, amongst others,” he added.

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Nigeria’s headline inflation accelerated to a now three-decade high of 34.19 percent in June with food prices rising to 40.87 percent, mounting hunger and malnutrition in many households.

But the Ogun State governor said protest usually lead to loss of lives and properties, pushing would-be investors away from a country starving for foreign direct investment.

“What have we ever gained from protests, except losses in productivity. Loss of lives, loss of private and government properties, looting and vandalisation of assets,” he said.

“Which investor will be attracted to a nation that is under siege by protesters? Please, do not allow yourselves to be used by a so-called leaderless movement, sponsored by frustrated politicians who tried in the past and lost,” the Ogun governor added.

Abiodun however appealed to the youths to engage with the government in order to find solutions to the many challenges confronting the country rather than protesting which, according to him, “may start peacefully but usually get hijacked and may lead to anarchy”.

Many Nigerians, especially the youths, are planning to protest the lingering hunger and increasing poverty pervading the country with inflation jumping up, hitting the roof and food prices becoming unaffordable.

The protest, which has now been labeled with the hashtag #EndBadGovernance seeks to call the attention of the government to the myriad of economic woes confronting the people.

But the government has been pushing back on protest as the last major one – #EndSARS – which occurred in 2020 led to violence with many people killed and properties destroyed.