By Michael Ofulue, Osogbo, Victor Akinkuolie, Ado-Ekiti,

Oluwadamilola Akinduro, Akure,  & Jimoh Ahmed, Owo

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Gales of reactions have trailed the early Sunday morning nationwide broadcast by President Bola Tinubu on #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protests in the country.

President Tinubu, among other things, in his broadcast appealed to Nigerians especially the youth protesters to suspend the ongoing protests against economic hardship and high cost of living, and dialogue with the government in the interest of the country.

The protesters had, among their 15 demands, urged the President to reverse the fuel subsidy and naira devaluation which they said were the main causes of inflation and astronomical increase in the prices of food items.

In swift reactions, those interviewed described the President’s speech as rhetorics, saying he should rev up his economic policies and deliver the promises.

Those who spoke with The Hope in separate interviews included an Ado-Ekiti based political analyst, Elder Ayo Arogundade; a senior lecturer at the department of Political Science, Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, Dr Taiwo Balogun; a Financial expert, Mallam Aminullahi Owoputi and a religious leader in Ikare Akoko, Elijah Ademarati.

Others are, the Executive Director, Centre for Responsive Governance (CRG), Dr. Ayodeji Ologun; the Osun State Chairman, Committee for the Defense of Human Rights, Comrade Emanuel Olowu; former National President of Akure Students, Samuel Abiola and public affairs analyst, Henry Olonimoyo.

The analysts argued that the main issue is that Nigerians are hungry and that the prices of food items and other essential products have skyrocketed in the markets, and needed urgent intervention to calm down Nigerians including the hungry protesters.

According to them, the speech fell short of expectations of many Nigerians who were tired of the present economic hardship in the country.

Elder Arogundade, said, “what Nigerians want to hear from him is that the fuel subsidy removal has been suspended.

“Though, he admonished and persuaded the protesters to shun protests and embrace dialogue, but he was unable to persuade them to understand the effects of the protests and this does not mean he has addressed the reasons the protests were organised.

“The President only used the opportunity of the early morning broadcast to shed more light on the effects of the fuel subsidy removal and some of his policies. He equally appealed to the protesters to stop further actions on the protests.

Also, Dr. Balogun, said “though President Tinubu expressed his worry on the pains, losses and frustration the people of the country are going through; he particularly consoled with the families of those who lost their lives and property in some parts of the country, but this is not enough to address the main fundamental issues that led to the national protests.

“Let me just add this, the President mentioned that tariff should be removed from food items and pharmaceutical products, but this is not enough to cushion the effects of the hunger in the land. He only mentioned what his administration wanted to do to positively address the hardship in the country.”

On his part, Mallam Aminullahi posited that what many Nigerians were expecting was pure economic solutions that will address the hunger in the land, adding that the issue of fuel subsidy, importation of food products, especially rice, was uppermost in the mind of the people.

He also called on the president to expedite action on our local refineries so that petrol will be available locally.

Also, Ademarati, called on the president’s information managers to do more in disseminating vital information of government activities to the masses, saying many important things or steps highlighted in his speech were not known to Nigerians.

According to Ademarati, what the president need to address more is the issue of local production of fuel which is the pivot of the country’s economic revival, while importation of essential food items should be given a priority alongside aggressive and massive production at the local level.

“When foods are cheap, when local production of imported products is high, the economy will be boosted and nobody will have time to protest,” he stressed.

 Also speaking, Dr. Ologun, said the President speech was uninspiring and failed to address the key policy issues and the demands of the protesters.

“One would have expected that beyond an appeal to the protesters and the nation at large, the President would be categorical about what policy of government will be changed or modified in the overall interest of the people, but rather than that, the speech was relished with rhetorics of what the people of the nation had been hearing and know,” he said

On his part, Comrade Olowu said, “the President only expressed his effort since May 29, 2023, till date and he further indicted the state governors by informing Nigerians that state governments got more federal allocations now than before.

“The federal government should immediately make a policy statement on at least three of the demands of the #EndBadGovernance protests in Nigeria.”

Similarly, Olonimoyo, also expressed disappointment, saying “The Presidential address this morning was unimpressive as far as I am concerned. I did not hear the president connecting with the youth.. One would have expected him to offer some form of concessions or provide tangible reasons for those protesting to reconsider and call off their actions.

“He merely urged them to call off the protests without offering anything concrete that they could hold on to, as a reason to do so.”

Olonimoyo noted that the speech cleverly dodged key issues raised by the protesters, such as the hike in fuel prices, affordability, and the status of the refineries. “It also failed to address concerns about the bloated nature of the cabinet and the high salaries of elected officials—issues that are causing significant frustration,” he said.