A former National Working Committee (NWC) member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Malam Salihu Moh Lukman, has blamed arrogance by President Bola Tinubu led administration for the forthcoming nationwide protest slated for August in Nigeria.
Lukman said within one year, the government has not only pushed Nigerians to the wall, everything also crashed under the former Lagos State governor.
Lukman was reacting to the well-publicised nationwide protest.
In a statement released to newsmen on Sunday, Lukman said all those who are in the forefront of the campaign against the protest have never been associated with any popular campaign in the country.
According to the former Director General of the Progressives Governors Forum (PGF), every time, Nigerians try to engage government through protests or other modes of contestations, these same groups are always there with the same messages and warnings against so-called violence.
“They always uncover plots by opposition, criminal elements, etc. to hijack protests and campaigns against governments. If anything, it would have been news if they say anything contrary. The reality is that, often the response of the security agencies through attempts to forcefully disperse protesters is the source of violence.
“In all past experiences, irrespective of these so-called appeals, which threatened organisers of the protests, protests still take place and in varying degrees recorded success. As someone who is privileged to have organised protests in the country, one can say without any fear of contradiction that Nigerians, across every part of the country, have never been pushed to the wall like they are today. Within one year, virtually everything has crashed, all due to the impatience and arrogance of President Asiwaju Tinubu. If President Asiwaju Tinubu has turned out to be an impatient leader who is in a hurry to implement policies that has impoverish citizens, why should citizens be patient with him?
“Here is a President Asiwaju Tinubu who even before settling down to resume work as President of the Federal Republic, declared an end to petroleum subsidy without any plan. At the same time, he proceeded to float the exchange rate of the Naira against other international currency.
“For an import dependent nation, why should any leaders be in a hurry to implement such policies without having any plan to boost local production? In the case of withdrawal of subsidy, does it require any counselling to time such policy with ensuring capacity for local refining? With all the talk of fixing the four refineries in the country and the beginning of production activity by the Dangote refinery, why is President Asiwaju Tinubu in a mad rush and unable to align his policy initiatives with these expectations? Instead, needlessly, Nigerians watch the shameless criminal dispute between NNPC and Dangote Refinery.
“And having push the nation to a hopeless trajectory, which has worsened living conditions of all Nigerians, what plan has President Asiwaju Tinubu put in place to fix the problem? Even in terms of ameliorating the challenge facing Nigerians, the government has demonstrated lack of capacity to manage initiatives resulting in compounding the allegations of embezzlement surrounding initiatives to ameliorate worsening conditions of citizens. For more than one year, it’s been one explanation after the other, with hardly any clear blueprint or timeline when the downward slide of the Nigerian economy will end. Every day, the hopelessness of the government gets more exposed.”
He expressed regret for campaigning and associated with Tinubu to become the President.
“For those of us who were associated with President Asiwaju Tinubu and campaigned for him to become President, it is a big disappointment. We did campaigned for him with the conviction that he is a strategic politician who is an excellent talent hunter. The magic of how Lagos State was transformed under his leadership was our reference point.
“Sadly, more than one year at the helm of affairs as the President of Nigeria, it is a different Asiwaju Tinubu we have who is becoming an excellent hunter for political mercenaries. He has become more strategic in taking decision without looking at the problem, which could be why he promised Nigerian workers living wage, but his negotiation skills could only retain the old starvation minimum wage.
“Terribly, President Asiwaju Tinubu has turned out to be a brash politician who is resistant to accountability and would destroy all the democratic structures that enforces accountability. If anyone doubt this, just check the state of the All Progressive Congress (APC) as a political party. When last did any of the organs meet? Being a brash politician, for the first time in the political history of Nigeria, we have a government that marginalises the people of North-Central. And with the way APC has been completely demobilised under his leadership, democracy is reduced to a mockery in Nigeria.
“So far, President Asiwaju Tinubu is turning out to be the most inaccessible President in Nigeria’s political history. Even Gen. Sani Abacha wasn’t as much inaccessible. Beyond the APC, all the leading opposition parties, Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party (LP) and New Nigeria Peoples’ Party (NNPC) have been manipulated into leadership crisis. As it is, with the way things are happening, even the remote hope of using election to register citizens’ opposition against the reckless disposition of President Asiwaju Tinubu is fading away.”
Lukman said, having reduced the National Assembly to a rubber stamp and made it incapable of checking the excesses of the executive, President Asiwaju Tinubu has crashed all available democratic structures capable of enabling Nigerians to influence decisions of his government.
While acknowledging that he is not in any way related with the organisers of the August 1 protest, the Kaduna born politician said they must be commended for summoning the courage to mobilise Nigerians and confront the administration of President Asiwaju Tinubu to change the way it is managing affairs of the country.
“The government must recognise that within one year, it has created more problems for Nigerians so much so that the hunger in the land has threatened virtually all citizens. If President Asiwaju Tinubu want to recover whatever is left of his democratic credentials, he should listen to the cries of Nigerians and respond by way of review his policy decisions especially withdrawal of subsidy and floating the Naira exchange rate.”
