Dr. Salihu Lukman, a former National Vice Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has cautioned President Bola Ahmed Tinubu against ignoring the legitimate grievances of Nigerians protesting harsh living and economic conditions.
Lukman’s statement comes in the wake of recent protests in Minna, Niger State, and Kano, where citizens demonstrated against the rising cost of food and challenging economic circumstances.
In his address titled “Renewed Hope Exchanging for Renewed Anger,” Lukman emphasized the need for an urgent government response to the protests, highlighting the substantial and rapid increase in the prices of essential goods and services, particularly food items.
He expressed concern over the recurring instances of Nigerians encountering higher prices for the same products within short intervals, attributing these challenges to deliberate policy decisions made by the government.
Lukman also urged leaders, including President Tinubu, not to overlook the severe living conditions caused by the government’s policy choices. He emphasized that the protests are a logical response to the hardships faced by Nigerians and warned that if these issues are not addressed, they could escalate across the country.
The former APC chairman further appealed to President Tinubu to adopt a more receptive approach to citizen engagement and influence on policy directions.
Lukman stated: “How can we be talking of opposition sponsoring protests in the strongholds of the APC? Both Minna and Kano are strong holds of APC. In the case of Minna, Niger State, APC is the ruling party. Kano is the home state of Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, the APC National Chairman.
“To suggest that any opposition party could mobilise citizens to protests, our government is already defeatist. The hard reality is that these protests are logical responses to the realities facing Nigerians. If these realities continue unattended to, these protests will spread like bush fire across every part of the country within a very short period,” he said.
Lukman added: “We must appeal to our leaders, especially President Asiwaju Tinubu not to submit to the temptation of criminalising the legitimate grievances of Nigerians.
“Under no circumstances must our leaders imagine that because they are today’s rulers, unacceptably harsh living conditions caused by clear policy choices of our government should be tolerated.
“These were the same issues we rose against under the military and during the tenure of PDP between 1999 and 2015. Perhaps, if the truth must be told, if it were during the tenure of former President Muhammadu Buhari, many would rationalise it given his military background.
“But coming during the tenure of President Asiwaju Tinubu who was indisputably a committed democrat, makes it even more compelling for Nigerians to protest. Maybe it is only the loud protests of citizens that will compel President Asiwaju Tinubu to have more listening ears and opens his government for citizens to engage it and influence its policy directions.”
