Ezekwesili, others describe Tinubu's protest broadcast as missed opportunity

Obiageli Ezekwesili, former education minister, has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s Sunday broadcast, saying that it failed to connect to the citizens who are on the streets protesting about hardship.

“Your speech is quite a monumental missed opportunity to placate citizens with sound answers and outline of convincing evidence-based actions that you and your government will immediately take to address the priority #BadGovernance concerns,” she said in her response to President Tinubu’s Sunday broadcast.

Nigerians have been on the streets across the nation since Thursday protesting high cost of living and bad governance. They are asking for an end to hunger and food insecurity, a reversal of petrol subsidy removal and a transparent government.

Due to these concerns, President Tinubu addressed the nation on Sunday, telling the protesters that has heard them loud and clear.

He listed the release of 20 trucks of rice, made up of 1200 bags of 25kg to each state of the federation, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), among several achievements.

But the broadcast did not sit well with several political analysts, who see it is a missed opportunity.

Ezekwesili said Tinubu’s speech was written with a view to ‘getting back at our enemies.’

“A Public Leader becomes the Leader of ALL with a mind that does not think of any as their enemies. This is why it is ever unfortunate to see Nigerian public ‘Leaders’ talk and behave like Losers on matters of public governance where they are expected to rally their ALL Citizens behind the common purpose of nationbuilding. It is nauseating to observe this recurrent innate unwillingness of Nigerian public leaders to admit responsibility for the demands of the same public leadership that they kill and maim citizens to assume,” she said.

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The former vice president of the World Bank’s Africa region noted that citizens know when they are being badly governed and have now realised that they must collectively speak up and take action.

He asked President Tinubu to immediately instruct Kayode Egbetokun, inspector-general of the police, and his men, to stop killing peaceful protesters.

“Also fish out all law enforcement personnel that have killed and maimed citizens and ensure they are sanctioned as a deterrence to their colleagues.”

Chris Mustapha Nwaokobia Jnr, a professor and convener of Country First Movement, said President Tinubu’s speech this morning was below par and flat.

“It was flaccid and an uneventful dance around the issues that brought us to the nadir. He sought to validate the policies that traumatize the people. He sought to decree an end to the protests without addressing the issues. Without making concrete promises. Without announcing some far-reaching reforms. And without saying a thing about cutting the cost of governance, and cutting wastage, wanderlust and profligacy. The person who wrote that speech maybe utterly wicked, mischievous and treacherous, because I do not believe that such is the mind of Mr. President. But what do I know?”

Ugo Egbujo, a public affairs analyst, described the speech as ‘ba la blue baloney.’

“The trumpeted increase in national revenue has favoured the president and his cronies in power. He has a new presidential jet bought with hundreds of billions. But the quality of life of poor families saddled with unbearable food prices has become wretched.”

He said President Tinubu beats his chest about a new minimum wage, which has less purchasing power than the old minimum wages of Buhari, Jonathan and Obasanjo.

“Tinubu’s party has been in power for 9 years. But Tinubu, who for the last ten years appropriated for himself the title of leader of that party now wants to deny to actual responsibility,” he further said.