THE TABLE IS BETTER THAN THE STREET

The planners of the impending protest should engage the government, writes Bolaji Adebiyi

Except for the spat between Bayo Onanuga, presidential adviser on Information and Strategy, and the OBIdients, followers of the failed Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, there have been measured and tempered responses to the protest planned for 1-10 August 2024 by yet-to-be-identified persons. Perhaps, to prove that mischief is not the exclusive preserve of the OBIdients, the presidential adviser took to his X handle to tongue-lash them for weaponizing hunger as a tool of disgruntled political elements to foment crisis in the polity.

Of course, the children of Hanger and their leader were quick to deny, with Obi threatening to sue Onanuga for defaming him. The latter has since expressed his desire to meet the former in court. While the epic legal battle is being awaited, the federal government has gone to work to nip in the bud the impending protest which its faceless organisers promised would compete favourably with the ongoing mass action in faraway Kenya.

Locking several ministers in long hours of discussions with multiple civil society and susceptible youth groups, President Bola Tinubu, rather than threatening fire and brimstone, has appealed for understanding, telling the youth to give him more time to address their complaints. On Thursday, he met with the governors of All Progressives Congress-controlled states as well as the National Council of Traditional Rulers led by Saad Abubakar III, the Sultan of Sokoto, and Adeyeye Ogunwusi, the Ooni of Ife. The meetings must have been about the impending protest.

Towing the temperate approach of the President, the security forces have been restrained in their statements to the planners. Kayode Egbetokun, the Inspector-General of Police, said his men would not abuse the rights of citizens to protest peacefully. He said the police would provide cover for them to prevent hoodlums from hijacking the process. E. S. Buba, a major-general and director of Defence Media Operations, speaking for the military, said no protester would be molested if they kept the peace.

The approach may have flowed from the advice of Femi Falana, a senior advocate of Nigeria and human rights activist, that rather than talk tough, the government should listen to the grievances of the protesters and negotiate with them. Joe Ajaero, president of the Nigerian Labour Congress, also spoke along the same line. The challenge though is that no one has owned up to planning the protest. So, who does the government negotiate with?

Not exactly groping in the dark, the federal government has cast its net wide, talking to critical sectors of the polity, including students, youth and women groups, traditional rulers, religious groups, and opinion leaders, urging them to help it calm frayed nerves. The approach has yielded some positive results as the tide appears to be turning with many Nigerians calling for caution and asking the unanimous planners to shelve the protest.

A few commentators have said the approaching whirlwind was the President’s due, having participated in similar agitations against perceived bad governance in the past. Maybe, but for what cause? He was at the barricades during the struggle for the ouster of the military from politics in the 1990s. He was also there during the reign of President Goodluck Jonathan. If there was unanimity about the nobility of the first, the second was debatable, after all, as they said, the indices compared to now were better. The counter to that though, is that it can be argued that the prevailing economic quagmire and its attendant social upheaval has its roots in the past errors of misjudgement.

Although it is tempting to suggest, as Onanuga did, that the impending protest is politically motivated, it is commendable that the Tinubu administration has taken the positive position of owning up to the consequences of its economic reforms which have precipitated the prevailing hardships in the land. The petrol subsidy removal and the unification of forex markets policies combined with the long-term effect of insecurity to foist rising inflation that has spiked prices of commodities, particularly, food.       

Yet, as Abubakar Bagudu, the minister of Budget and Economic Planning, has persistently explained, these were bold measures necessary for the macroeconomic stability the economy needs to reposition for massive injection of domestic and foreign investments. While the positive results might be slow in coming, they have been steady, judging by the ratings of global economic standards agencies. Not only has the injection of foreign investments into the economy been on the upward rise, but the International Monetary Fund has projected that due to the reforms being undertaken by the Tinubu administration, Nigeria will have a 3.1% GDP growth rate this year. This is one of the best projections for an African country in 2024.

However, the paradox is that the economic growth trajectory has not reflected the standard of living of the people hence the discontent and restlessness among the citizens which the planners of the protest now want to utilise to take the federal government to task. Meanwhile, aware of the attendant hardships the federal government had introduced a series of palliative measures designed to alleviate the pains of the reforms.

Tinubu in a nationwide broadcast late in July last year rolled out a series of short-term measures aimed at ameliorating the pains of his economic reforms. It included releasing 200,000 MT of grains for households; 225,000 MT of fertiliser and N200 billion for farmers to cultivate maize, rice, wheat, and cassava; N75 billion for 100,000 MSMEs; N50 billion for Nano businesses; N75 billion for manufacturers; and N100 billion for 3,000 gas-powered buses. More recently, it dispatched 20 truckloads of rice to each of the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory.

The persistent and widespread complaints in the land make it apparent that it is either these measures were not implemented or that they had become largely ineffective. The federal government, therefore, needs to review its strategy and respond appropriately as it is not in its interest that this condition for crisis persists.

While it has become evident that the government needs to double its efforts to stabilise the economy and bring succour to the people, the planners of the protest need to heed the calls for them to suspend their plan, particularly when it has shown good faith by appealing for more time to address the grievances the same way it recently negotiated, and it’s about to implement the new minimum wage of N70,000 for the workers.

Adebiyi is the media assistant to the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Bagudu