Protesters rate Tinubu low as police officer laments hunger

Protesters have scored President Bola Tinubu low and said his years in government put him in the best position to be the best person that ever ruled Nigeria.

The protesters who ended the day one of the End Bad Governance protest in Ojota, Lagos State exactly at 3:54pm on Thursday vowed to continue the protest today (Friday).

Speaking with The Guardian, Adewale Kunle, said the government’s failure necessitated the protest and said he would rate president Tinubu 2/10 and asked him to restrategise.

“A far as I am concerned, and from when President Bola Tinubu came on board and what he has done, I will rate him 2/10,” Kunle said.

“We were buying a loaf of bread N700 when Tinubu became the president but the same size is N1,500. If you see the statistics of people that can afford N1,500 bread, it is not up to 30 per cent.

“Tinubu has been in government for over 20 years and he has garnered enough experience and information, so coming to government as President should not be an issue because by his pedigree, he should do better than every other person before him.

“Tinubu was active during the post June 12, 1993 election and he has been outside Nigeria, so he should not be doing anything lower than what is expected of him, however, he has so far disappointed.”

Speaking on the president asking for more time, he said: “When he is asking for time, he should tell us what he is planning. He has no plan.

“He is like someone that went to school and boasts that he is going to score well without attending any lecture, so there is no template and giving time is a waste of time. From what I have seen, there is nothing to expect.”

In his demand, Kunle said: “Nigerians need education, good healthcare but so many things are not in place which makes us an institution of people together without a defined destination.

“There is a difference between living and existing. We are just existing and not living. Nigerians are just counting the days, there is no future and that is why doctors and other professionals are leaving the country. Many people cannot eat three square meals per day. Bola Tinubu is a failure.”

A police man who spoke with The Guardian on condition of anonymity said: “My wife and children are hungry and I got food on credit today. Nigerians should protest, I wish we can protest too. The protesters are fighting for us because we cannot fight for ourselves.”

Convener, Citizen Action and Accountable Leadership Initiative, Joseph Amadi, said: “We are here to protest against bad governance in Nigeria. There is bad governance at every level of government in Nigeria and Nigerian people are facing unprecedented hardship.

“We cannot take it anymore, so we need the government at all levels to address poverty, food insecurity, insecurity in the country, electoral reform and others.”

Speaking on the federal government asking for more time in office, Amadi said: “Bola Tinubu has been in office for more than a year and the All Progressive Congress (APC) has been in power for more than one year but what do they have to show for it?

“The economy is collapsing, the price of a litre of fuel is almost N1,000. We need the government to act to avoid citizens rising up against them.”

In his demands, he said: “We want the executive to sponsor an executive bill to the National Assembly for the amendment of the Electoral Act, to make it mandatory for results to be offloaded from the polling units to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) portal and to make it mandatory for coalition to be done.

“We want the government to tackle the power crises. At this time, in the 21st century, Nigeria should be able to have 24/7 electricity because if we have constant electricity, small businesses can thrive.

“The wastage in the government must end, cut down the cost of governance at all level. From the presidency to the National Assembly, we need to see a significant slash in the benefits and emoluments of members of the House of Representatives and Senators, as well as a reduction in the number of ministries and unnecessary parastatals.

“We also need to see visible changes in the federal government otherwise, this protests will continue until we see those changes.”

Scoring the government, Amadi said: “While the government has made some gains in the area of student loans, there are lots of issues that are yet to be addressed.

“Nigerians are yet to see the dividends of democracy more than one year after electing the president. Tinubu has scored 3/10.”