. DSS says protest leader not arrested
. Russia denies protesters waving nat’l flag
. Protest continues in Ibadan, other cities
Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 general election, says President Bola Tinubu’s national broadcast on Sunday shows he is disconnected from the harsh economic realities Nigerians are faced with.
President Tinubu had in the address pleaded with the #EndBadGovernance protesters to halt the demonstrations as he had heard them loud and clear, but was adamant on the issues relating to the restoration of fuel subsidy among other demands made by protesters.
Obi in a statement on his X handle on Monday, said he intentionally delayed his reactions to avoid being accused of swaying public opinion against the Tinubu-led government.
“Having led the call for the president to address the nation and respond to the demands of the people, and having listened to the belated speech, I needed to delay my response to see if my understanding of the address aligned with others.
“I hesitated to respond immediately, as I felt it could have been perceived as another attempt by Peter Obi to sway public opinion, especially, since I was initially accused of sponsoring the protest,” he said.
Obi, who appreciated the president for addressing Nigerians through the broadcast, noted, however, that the speech failed to address the pending issues affecting citizens and thus, said it fell short of expectations.
He added that the speech was disconnected from the harsh economic realities Nigerians were facing and too focused on the past rather than the present and the future which Nigerians were concerned about.
“However, I must begin by thanking the president for finally addressing the people, albeit belatedly, which might have prevented the unnecessary loss of innocent lives, including those of our security agents.
“While I had hoped that, in consoling the families of those who lost their loved ones in the protest, he would also show some empathy towards those who were injured, arrested, and detained due to the overzealous and unprofessional conduct of some security operatives, this was unfortunately not the case.
“It is the responsibility of the government to identify criminal elements attempting to disrupt the protest through looting and other unlawful behaviours, and to protect those genuinely exercising their democratic rights.”
The former Anambra State governor added that “Nigeria must embrace all tenets of democracy, including the right to protest, without selective adherence,” stressing, “I also appreciate his condemnation of the ethnic bigotry being propagated by some individuals against other ethnic groups.
“However, I had hoped for more decisive action, such as the immediate arrest and prosecution of those responsible, to demonstrate that such intolerance will not be tolerated in today’s Nigeria.”
He added, “The president’s address regrettably appeared disconnected from the harsh realities faced by the people and failed to address critical issues that initially triggered the protest.
“It either reflects a lack of awareness among his advisers regarding the scale of anger, hunger, and hardship in the country, or a deliberate choice to disregard it.”
Obi’s position comes as the Department of State Services (DSS), in a statement, denied arresting Adaramoye Michael, also known as Michael Lenin, one of the leaders of the protest in Abuja.
Lenin had been reported arrested by the operatives of the agency in their ongoing investigation into the nationwide #EndBadGovernance protests.
According to a post on the DSS X handle on Monday, the agency apprehended tailors in Kano State responsible for producing Russian flags distributed during the protests. It noted that some of the sponsors behind these actions have also been detained, and further investigations are underway.
A notable trend of protesters waving foreign flags during the nationwide #EndBadGovernance protests has continued.
Read also: President Tinubu’s speech falls short: Nigerians demand clear solutions for economic hardship
On Monday, eyewitnesses reported seeing demonstrators holding Russian flags near the Nyanya Bridge, a suburb of Abuja.
This trend was initially observed in Kano, northern Nigeria’s commercial hub, on the third day of the protests.
Meanwhile, the Russian Federation has distanced itself from recent protests in Nigeria, where demonstrators displayed the Russian flag and other symbols to express their discontent with President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
The Russian Embassy in Abuja, in a statement, categorically denied any involvement in the use of these symbols. The embassy emphasised that Russia does not interfere in the internal affairs of other nations.
The statement further clarified that the presence of the Russian flag among the protesters was a personal choice by individuals and did not represent any official stance or policy of the Russian government.
In Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, and Kano State, the protest resumed on Monday, with the protesters saying that the national broadcast addressed by President Tinubu failed to proffer a solution to the problems facing the country.
The protest which held in front of the University of Ibadan was led by Ademola Aremu, chairman, Joint Action Front (JAF) in Oyo State, and Abiodun Bamigboye, acting national chairperson of the Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN), and other activists in the state.
Aremu stated that the national broadcast failed to individually and collectively translate into any meaningful improvement in the lives of the working people across the country. According to him, the broadcast was an indication that Tinubu was not willing to yield to accede and attend to any of the demands of the protesters.
