Damilola Adenola, director of mobilisation at ‘Take it Back
Movement’, says the nationwide protest against economic hardship may go beyond
10 days if demands are not met. ‘Take it Back Movement’ is one of the organisers of the
protest. Nigerians have taken to the streets since August 1 to rail
against bad governance. The demonstrations have been themed ’10 Days of Rage’. The protesters are demanding for a cut in the size of
government, a return of the petrol subsidy regime, food security, fiscal
discipline among others. Speaking on Channels Television on Friday, Adenola said
Nigerians are dealing with an irresponsible ruling class. “The protest, like we said, was slated for 10 days but it
may go beyond, depending on the response we get from the government. But it
doesn’t seem like we are dealing with a responsible government,” he said. “So, the government should expect it to go beyond 10 days if
our demands are not addressed.”Inibehe Effiong, human rights and public interest lawyer,
who was also on the programme, said the government has taken the protesters for
granted by not listening to their demands. Effiong said President Bola Tinubu should not just address
Nigerians but work towards meeting their demands. “I think Nigerians should no longer be taken for granted. We
cannot continue to live in a country where we have leaders who do not listen to
what the people are saying,” Effiong said. “People claim the president is doing this and he is
listening. This protest has lasted for two days now. Has President Tinubu
spoken to Nigerians? “I personally don’t
want him to address Nigerians, I want him to address the demands of Nigerians.
It is not the same thing. But has he even addressed Nigerians? “Forty eight hours after, over 12 Nigerians have been killed
at a minimum. Has the president spoken? 48 hours after, has the government said
we want to talk or these are our representatives in the dialogue? “People kept saying the protesters should talk to the
government, they say the protesters are faceless, who are the people to
represent the government if the conversation is to take place? What are the
demands of the protesters? “You say people should leave the street but have you
listened to them? You have a president that has 48 ministers, the highest in
the history of our country. At a time that the country does not have money to
run and pay for basic services. “If the president is
serious, it shouldn’t take Tinubu one hour to reduce the number of ministers to
27.”
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