By: Monday Danladi, Bauchi
In Bauchi, the speech delivered by President Bola Tinubu in his nationwide broadcast was greeted with mixed reactions as those who spoke described the speech as “empty and lacking in the renewed hope he is profesing.”
They all agreed that the speech only outlined that the administration claimed to be achievements rather than addressing the demands of the agitators and organisers of the nationwide protest.
The respondents differently observed that a few pronouncements by the President would have been enough to douse tension and persuade the protesters to go back home.
Barr Jibrin S. Jibrin Esq. immediate past Chairman, Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Bauchi and Member, NBA Human Rights Institute, Abuja in his reaction said that, “Like most NIgerians and other discerning minds, President Bola Tinubu’s speech has not measured up to expectations, especially considering the level of hardship and suffering in the land.”
According to him, “To my mind, the President merely outlined the measures his administration has taken so far to address the problems being faced by majority of the citizens which are direct consequences of his policies in the financial and economic sectors without answering the question if the people can endure the situation any longer.”
He stressed that,”In essence, I would like to think that the speech did little to inspire hope in the people and to put it bluntly, it is like he has not said anything at all.”
“The point I am making is that, unless government listens to the voice of the people by conceding to reverse some of these policies and engage in proper dialogue on the way forward, then one can certainly say that the end may not be in sight as far as the serious agitations, concerns and feelings about the difficult times we are passing through as a country are concerned,” he concluded.
Also reacting, a Social Analyst and Senior Lecturer in Abubakar Tatari Ali Polytechnic (ATAP) Abdullahi Yalwa said that,”The speech, to me, is only good, because the President has spoken at a time when the silence is not golden.”
Abdullahi Yalwa stressed that, “However, to a large extent, the broadcast is empty and may provoke more protest instead of resolving the same as was expected of it.”
According to him, “The core of the protest peacefully or otherwise has not been addressed as it is full of pride and success stories known only or understood by the government.”
He also said that, “The justification of fuel subsidy removal is the worst part of the speech with still no concrete plan to handle its consequences.”
The Don added that, “The speech summarily exposes that Nigerians are not carried along in either policy formulation or execution. This suggests that the Government and the Governed are operating in parallel direction.”
He added that, “No measures to tackle corruption in the Government and no efforts to cut cost of governance as evident in the number of Ministries and the obvious contradictions between implementing the Orosanye report and the opposing actions thereafter. The usual empty promises seems the President is in a different planet with Nigerians.”
As for Rev Ezekiel Oyebode, Chairman, North-East Baptist Conference,”What we need in this country is complete turnaround, divine intervention from God because our situation is actually out of hand.”
On the speech, he opined that it did not really address the situation, Nigerians according to him had expected to hear positive pronouncement from the President on the demands by the agitators and organisers of the nationwide protest against bad governance tagged #EndBadGovernmentinNigeria.