Social Democratic Party’s (SDP) presidential candidate for 2023, Prince Adewole Adebayo, has criticized the Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led Federal Government for adopting International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank policies they had protested against during Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.
Adebayo remarks came amidst planned nationwide protests on August 1 organised by youths and groups via social media campaigns. Adebayo expressed scepticism towards the protests, suggesting preemptively identifying and preventing what he referred to as “empty-headed IMF drones” from gaining power through elections would be more effective than attempting to remove them through riots.
In a post on his X account, he said the protests are similar to the sheer political gimmicks of Buhari, Tinubu, etc, protesting against Jonathan for the same policies that they are now pursuing, even with less humanity.
He wrote, “I opposed the Buhari-Tinubu farce that time, and I oppose the same thing now. As Buhari and Tinubu, and others were opposing Jonathan in 2014, they too were lobbying the same IMF, World Bank, etc for political support based on the same policies Jonathan was already implementating against his own wish, just to please the same IMF.
“As SDP presidential candidate, it is common knowledge that I opposed subsidy removal, floating of the naira, and many of the policies adopted by Tinubu, Atiku and Obi. Instead I called for the full implementation of Chapter 2 of the Constitution fundamental objectives and directive principles of state policy.”
His reservation about the protests, according to him, was hinged on the fact that elections have consequences and the winner must use his mandate: “four year tenure is sacred if we must avoid chaos, protests have no ideological basis for the protest sponsors follow the same neolibéral policies and you must vote wisely next time,” he said.
He further added that African youths, particularly, must prioritise ideological politics and listen to what politicians say, have said, do and have done instead of fanning up after them as celebrities.
“A protest is already a protest if you voice out disagreement in any lawful forum or media. Once you organise a mass protest to challenge pure policy measures and their natural fallouts, you are doing politics, and the other side can originate counter protests. In the case of Nigeria and Kenya, you won’t achieve anything substantial because the major political forces on both sides of the protests agree on neolibéral economic policies whose inevitable consequences are what they are protesting against.
“It is more sustainable to organise alternative policies to use to bring other ideological politics into power and change bad policies of the Neolibéral economic policies, whose inevitable consequences are what they are protesting against.”
Rather than go on a rampage in protest, Adebayo said voicing out alternative policies with better outcomes than IMF-inspired neolibéral experiments, organizing the voters to vote in their socioeconomic best interests, avoiding chaos by foreign and domestic enemies of Nigeria, and debunking APC government lies.
