…Urges him to engage Nigerian Youth
The New Nigeria People’s Party, NNPP House of Representatives Candidate for Amuwo-Odofin Federal Constituency of Lagos State in the 2023 National Assembly elections, Mr. Ufuoma O. Adievuwhare has advised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu not to wait until the protest starts and escalate before he starts implementing some measures to force the protesters to call of the protest.
Adievuwhare who gave this counsel in an interview with Primetime Reporters in Lagos on Friday wanted the President to begin now to take some decisive step towards stopping the protest from going on as planned in the first place.
He urged him not to toe the path of the Kenyan President who waited until the protest escalated to take some action noting that President Tinubu could do better by not allowing the protest to go on. This, he said he should do by taking some people friendly action that will force the organizers and sponsors of the planned protest to have a rethink and call it off.
His words, “Nigerians are hungry, Nigerians are dying. I am begging President Tinubu, what you will do if the protest go out of hand, what you intend to do if they start protesting, do it now before the protest starts.
“He must not toe the path of the Kenyan President who had to sack some of his Ministers after the youth have protested and forced him to do so. No! Now that you are seeing signals, if this protest starts from the north, it will be hot. EndSARS started from the South and moved to the north and we saw the effect on the economy, but if this one starts from the North to south, it will be hot.
“The only way out for the President, for me, is to open the borders in the south. This is the time the President should take some decisive step, lay off some poorly performing Ministers, call on the Ministers to bring on their score cards. Let them show what they have done in the last one year. Let the people see that you are really doing the right thing.”
Stating that the Minister of Youth and Sports Development was not doing enough at the moment, he said, “If I am the Special Adviser to the President on Youth or even the Minister of Youth, this is the period you hold Townhall Meeting with the youth across the country. What is the National Orientation Agency doing? Nothing! They collect their salaries and every year they retire their budget but what are they doing with it? Nothing. The Presidency even needs to sit up, some heads need to roll and let the people see that heads are rolling.
“Tinubu’s son, Seyi is a youth. Forget the fact that Seyi is his son, if Seyi is appointed as the Minister of Youth today, Seyi would do excellently than that the person that is there as the Minister of Youth presently. People see Ministry of Youth as a political position to settle some people but it’s far more than that, they don’t know the capacity of that office. Even before Tinubu was elected the President, I can tell you how many youth Seyi has empowered.”
He further faulted the President for inviting the Traditional Rulers for a meeting at Aso-Rock as part of the measures to stop the protest describing it as counterproductive, as according to him, Traditional Rulers were the last to be entrusted with such task at the moment as they don’t have their grip and influence on the masses.
“On who does the traditional rulers have influence? Is it in the Southeast where almost all the traditional rulers there don’t command respect? Does the youth and the people obey them? The IPOB, is it not there till today? The only place in Nigeria that I could tell you that traditional rulers can play key role is the North or in the Niger – Delta because till today, in Niger – Delta, we respect our monarch. That’s why you see that the sensitive issue of militancy that happened during the Yar’Adua time.
“Look at our father, E.K Clarke, he will tell the young men, sit down and they do but you can’t do that in the east, even in the West, you can’t do that. Are you telling me that on the 1st of August, the Lagosians won’t come out? They will come out but they might come out peacefully but my fear is hoodlums hijacking the protest.
Adievuwhare, popularly known as Abalaka who declared his support for the protest describing it as the right of the people in a democracy, however, called for a peaceful protest that would be devoid of looting and killing of innocent people.
According to him, “For me, I want protest, peaceful protest even though I know there is nothing like peaceful protest in Nigeria. My heart is bleeding and I am praying that on the 1st of August, things should be done in orderly manner, the military, the police, the youth, the DSS should be careful so that things should not go out of hand.
“They have genuine reasons. Just because I contested an election – House of Representatives seat in Amuwo-Odofin under NNPP, people call me, they come to my office and resident always to seek for assistance. It has never been as worse as it is now. It’s really biting hard. People that are demonstrating are doing so for a cause, they are demonstrating because of hunger in the land, hardship in the land but let the protest be peaceful.”
On whether a national broadcast by the President as being contemplated by Presidency would make any meaningful impact, Adievuwhare who is also the Chief Executive Officer, CEO of Houston Luxury Homes Limited said, “The President making a nationwide broadcast may not achieve much result now. The youth want to see things happen, they want to see things work. Tinubu can do it, he has done it before, he can do it. That’s what people like us that are looking up to him want him to do. Take action, he is trying but some of his Ministers are sleeping.
“When Goodluck Jonathan was the President, Nigerians protested and some of our leaders today were part of the protest. He (Jonathan) increased the pump price of petroleum products, Nigerians protested and he reverted to the old price. Goodluck Jonathan embraced the youth when he was the President. I want President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to embrace the youth, let the youth see him as a father.
He, however, commended the security agencies for their dispositions towards the planned protest saying that they have all been trying to advise the youth to carry out a peaceful protest and not a violent one. “For me, on that day the youth will be protesting, they should walk with them and monitor the protest. Not that you insist that they should not protest, that is their right. They have the right to be protected and secured during the protest because they are Nigerians”, he stated.
Photo: Mr. Ufuoma O. Adievuwhare, CEO of Houston Luxury Homes Limited.
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