Victor Ezeja
Former Nigeria’s Minister of Education, Dr Oby Ezekwesili, has faulted President Bola Tinubu’s Sunday morning address, saying he failed to address the real issues behind the #EndBadGovernancelnNigeria protests by the citizens.
Dr Ezekwesili said the president missed the opportunity to use the nationwide address to placate the citizens who are angry about harsh economic conditions, widespread hunger, and the high cost of living in the country.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelShe said the speech was “terribly underwhelming to read,” adding that it is like a page from Tinubu’s party manifesto.
“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,” she stated.
Ezekwesili said the President failed to state “convincing evidence-based actions” his government will immediately take to address the concerns of #BadGovernance protesters.
The former minister further observed that Tinubu’s speech was focused on tackling his perceived enemies. According to her, a leader is not supposed to have enemies among the citizens he is leading.
READ ALSO: #EndBadGovernance: Tinubu Regrets Deaths In Kano, Kaduna, Jigawa, Borno States
“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 nation building. 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.”
She said citizens know when they are badly governed and have decided to collectively speak up and take action against such.
While commiserating with families of citizens that lost their lives in the protests, Ezekwesili called on the president to instruct the inspector general of police to direct his officers to “Stop Killing Peaceful Protesters Now!”
“Also fish out all law enforcement personnel that have killed and maimed citizens and ensure they are sanctioned as a deterrence to their colleagues,” Ezekwesili further stated.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with seven years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Master's degree in Mass Communication.
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