NLC to Tinubu: Dialogue with leaders of planned protest… Nigerians have right to complain

Joe Ajaero, president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), says President Bola Tinubu should invite the leaders of the planned protest for a dialogue.

There have been reports that some youths are planning a nationwide protest in August against the country’s rising cost of living and economic hardship.

In a statement on Monday, Ajaero said millions of Nigerians have had it tough since Tinubu was sworn into office on May 29, 2023.

Ajaero said some families now eat “miserable meals,” while many Nigerians are unsure of their next meal.

He said the federal government cannot deny Nigerians their right to protest, adding that it is guaranteed by the constitution.

“As the date for the widely reported national protest looms, the Nigeria Labour Congress urges President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to invite the leadership of the protest movement for discussions on their grievances,” the statement reads.

“A situation where most Nigerian families are forced to eat one miserable meal a day and eating from the dustbin is now seen as a luxury beckons for serious intervention by the government.

“Corroborating a recent country living standards index assessment by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), which established that about 133 million Nigerians live below extreme poverty lines, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) posits that in the first three quarters of 2024, about 32 million Nigerians will have been exposed to acute hunger.

“All that the hurting citizens demand from their government is a listening ear and an empathetic heart.

“Maybe that is what the organisers of the protest are looking for, given their continued notices on different social media platforms.”

Ajaero said it would be hard to prevent Nigerians from expressing their dissatisfaction with the government’s policies.

“It is very difficult to tell a Nigerian who has lost his or her job due to the current economic downturn to maintain their cool,” he said.

“It is very tough to advise a nursing mother who is unsure where the next meal for her suckling child to be at ease.

“It is a herculean task to demand patience from a youth who has been out of school for the past six years without a job and is burdened with aged parents to cater for.

“During this very difficult times, the right of Nigerians to complain must be fully respected.

“It is the well-considered position of the Congress that bellicosity and hostility towards the protesters and other aggrieved Nigerians do not offer any tangible remedy either to the pain endured by the populace or the frustrations of having so little in a country where a few privileged persons are living in obscene luxury, especially at the expense of the majority. These are dire times. Nigerians are angry.

“The times require the government to “jaw jaw” and not “war war” with Nigerians. The truth is that you cannot smack a child and at the same time ask the child not to cry.”