The presidency has challenged former Labour Party presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, to take the lead in the nationwide protest scheduled for August 1, which he endorsed on Sunday.
This protest aims to address issues of hunger and economic hardship faced by Nigerians.
Bayo Onanuga, spokesperson for President Bola Tinubu, threw down the gauntlet to Obi, who had previously endorsed the protest during a visit to Abia State Governor Alex Otti.
Obi argued that there was nothing wrong with Nigerians staging a protest to voice their grievances, and emphasized that such actions should be conducted peacefully and within the law.
Historically, both President Tinubu and his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, have led significant protests in Nigeria.
Notably, in 2012, they spearheaded the ‘Occupy Nigeria’ movement against fuel subsidy removal during President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, leading to a reversal of the decision.
Tinubu’s government ended the fuel subsidy on May 29, 2023, prompting the current protests aimed at highlighting the dire economic conditions.
Despite government appeals for patience, the protest is set to proceed.
As of the latest updates, no political party leaders or former presidential candidates have expressed a willingness to lead the protests.
During a visit to Abia State Governor Alex Otti on Sunday, Peter Obi urged protesters to remain peaceful, emphasizing that protesting is a democratic right.
He also called on security agencies to protect protesters and avoid provoking violence.
He said, “Protest is allowed within the Nigerian Constitution. All I plead for is for those who are protesting to do so within the law and in a civil manner that allows us as a nation to show that we live within the law.
“Everybody knows that things are difficult and I always say that when they talk about the sponsors of protests, the sponsors are very simple, it is hunger, it is hopelessness among the youths. So, we all have to listen to what Nigerians are going through and I thank our Governor (Otti) for doing so. It is critical and important,” Obi stated.
He added, “What I have to say to the security agencies is to ensure that they manage the situation within the law. We should not try to be overbearing. It should be something that we do within the law.”
“Protest is allowed globally. And, I also say that people protest in my house and it is for us to listen to those who are protesting and why they are protesting and engage them. That is what governance is all about, you talk with them, and there is nothing wrong in that.
“I was governor for years and people protested and we kept dialoguing and deliberating about it.”
Onanuga, in response to Obi’s endorsement of the protest, urged him to follow the example set by Tinubu and Buhari by publicly leading the protest rather than merely supporting it from behind the scenes.
Onanuga criticized Obi for allegedly orchestrating the protest without taking a visible leadership role, stating on his X handle, “Now that Peter Obi has come out to endorse the planned protest by his supporters, he should do what President Tinubu and former President Buhari did in the past, by coming out openly to lead the protesters. That is what leadership is about. Not playing the master puppeteer behind the scene.”
