ABUJA (Sundiata Post) – The nationwide broadcast by President Bola Tinubu on the #EndBadGovernance protests across the country has drawn condemnation. A former Director of Strategy and Communication to President Goodluck Jonathan, Jackson Ude, has criticised the President.
Ude, in a statement yesterday, described the President’s broadcast as a pointer to a leader out of touch with the pains of his people.
He said: “President Bola Tinubu’s address to the nation shows he is insensitive, out of touch, and not connected with the people. His speech lacked empathy and did not address the issues of his over-bloated government, corruption, hunger, unemployment, and insecurity bedevilling the country.
“His handlers have not done him any good by packaging a speech that appears to be a threat to the people who are genuinely fighting for good governance.”
He also faulted the Federal Government’s removal of the petroleum subsidy, arguing that the palliatives deployed to cushion the effect of that policy have so far failed to assuage the pain being felt across the country.
“The premature removal of oil subsidies has brought untold hardships to many Nigerians. The government’s resort to palliatives, which are mostly hijacked by politicians and middlemen, have not solved the problems or filled the gaps created by subsidy removal.
“The President was too hasty during his swearing-in when he announced the removal of oil subsidies without any plans on how to cushion the effects that would have on Nigerians. The result of that premature announcement is the hardship on Nigerians that followed.
“This is one of the reasons the protest is being staged by Nigerians. And instead of finding a middle ground to address the issue or even returning subsidies for at least one year pending when the necessary strategies are put in place, he instead addressed the country in the middle of the protest, promising nothing.
“While Nigerians groan in pain from poverty and hunger, the President and his cabinet and aides live large. This is not acceptable.”
Ude further reminded the President that as good as his achievements are in the past year, they will only be meaningful if they impact positively on the lives of Nigerians.
His words: “Nigerians appreciate all the President listed as his achievements. But if those so-called achievements have not translated into better living conditions for Nigerians, then it is safe to say the President has failed or is lying about his achievements in the last year.
“Dishing out palliatives is not good governance. Nigerians are not beggars. What they want are opportunities created by good governance. Nigerians deserve a government that understands how to drive the economy, secure lives and property, and guarantee citizens equality, justice, and prosperity.
“This government has, in the last year, failed to guarantee that.”
According to him: “Cutting down the size of government, ending corruption, returning fuel subsidies, sacking the cabinet, giving the people good governance, ending insecurity in the country, and many more are the simple demands,” of the protesters, “not that lengthy, boring piece of speech that was threatening the people on one hand and reeling out unverifiable achievements.”
