Tinubu’s speech didn’t address demands of protesters, says Ezekwesili

Oby Ezekwesili, a former minister of education, says President Bola Tinubu’s speech did not address the demands of the #EndBadGovernance protesters.

On Sunday, the president addressed Nigerians amid the ongoing 10-day nationwide protest against economic hardship which kicked off on Thursday.

Tinubu asked the protesters to suspend their demonstrations, adding that the efforts of his administration “will soon be visible and concrete for everyone to see, feel, and enjoy”.

In a post on X, Ezekwesili said the speech “reads like a page from your party manifesto”.

She said Tinubu missed an opportunity to explain the immediate actions his administration has taken to address the demands of those on the streets.

“As one of millions of  Nigerians who were at church when you delivered your late-in-coming speech to citizens on the #EndBadGovernancelnNigeria protests, let me loudly say it was terribly underwhelming to read,” she said.

“Your speech reads like a page from your party manifesto and terribly failed to connect to what our citizens on the streets are angry and protesting about.

“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 @NigeriaGov will immediately take to address the priority #BadGovernance concerns.”

She asked Tinubu to accept the responsibility that comes with his position rather than trade blames with some “imaginary enemies”.

“Your speech was sadly again written out of a mindset that is focused on ‘getting back at our enemies’. Imaginary enemies at that! No true Leader has the luxury of having ‘enemies’ among their citizens. Not at all,” she said.

“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.”

Ezekwesili asked the president to call the security forces to order over the attack on protesters.

She urged the president to order an investigation into the killing of protesters by security agents, fish out and punish those found guilty to serve as deterrence to others.