'Suspend further protests and create room for dialogue' - Tinubu tell protesters

Nigeria President Bola Ahmed Tinubu don urge Nigerians wey don hit di streets to call for an end to bad governance to "suspend dia protests and create room for dialogue".

Tinubu make dis comments during e nationwide broadcast on Sunday 4 August 2024. Di president also ask security operatives to "continue to maintain peace, law, and order in our country by following di necessary conventions on human rights, which Nigeria sign to dey part of.

"Di safety and security of all Nigerians dey paramount," di president tok.

President Tinubu removal of di controversial fuel subsidy wen e enter office for May 2023 don throw many Nigerians into a struggle to survive due to inflation wey don reach di kontri highest figure in three decades.

For three days now, many youths across Nigeria hold demonstrations and ask di govment to address concerns around rising cost of living, corruption and unemployment.

Di protests wey dey peaceful for some states don also witness alleged extra-judicial killings by security operatives especially for Nigerian northern states of - Borno, Jigawa, Kaduna, Niger and Kano.

Looting, teargas, mark day one of End bad governance protest

Human rights group Amnesty International put di number of protesters wey don die so far at 13, but di Nigeria police don deny dat number. Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun for statement say na seven pipo so far don die for di protests.

Tinubu wey send condolences to di families and relations of dose wey die during di protests for some states say di destruction of public and private assets go set di nation back “as scarce resources go again dey needed to restore dem”.

“We must stop further bloodshed, violence and destruction,” Tinubu tok.

Oga Tinubu also use di broadcast to highlight some of di tins wey e govment dey do to address di concerns of di Nigerians like:

- Di implementation of new minimum wage - from 30,000 ($18) to 70,000 naira ($43)

- Student loan scheme

- Di clearing of outstanding foreign exchange obligations of about $5billion etc.

- Tins President Tinubu tok say im administration don do

- President Tinubu for im speech on Sunday point out some of di tins im administration don do and dey work on to make di kontri no too hard for pipo.

Goment Revenue

E tok say dem don increase money wey goment dey make. Tinubu tok say, “aggregate goment revenues don double, as e pass 9.1 trillion naira for di first half of 2024, wey pass wetin dem make for di first half of 2023.”

E also reveal say di kontri reduce di amount of revenue dem bin dey use service gbese in di last 13 months from 97% to 68%. Dis don make, “our state and local goments to collect di highest allocation wey dem don ever get from di Federation account for di kontri history.”

Infrastructure

On di mata of infrastructure, e tok about di new and inherited projects wey im inherit as e list out dia benefits, “notably na di Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and Sokoto-Badagry Highway projects, wey go open 16 connecting states, and create thousands of jobs.”

Oil and Gas

According to Tinubu, di kontri don increase oil production to 1.61 million barrels per day, e say foreign investors don drop around half a billion dollars.

E also reveal say dem launch di Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (CNG) wey e claim “go save ova two trillion naira a month wey dem dey carry import fuel.

Di plan na to share one million conversion kits to reduce transport costs wey go help fight inflation.”

Student Loans and Consumer Credit Corporation

On di student loan mata, di kontri leader say, “45.6 billion don already dey processed for payment to students and dia schools.”

“We establish di Consumer Credit Corporation wit ova 200 billion naira to help Nigerians fit buy essential products wit gbese.”

E add say “dis week, I order make dem add 50 billion naira each for di NELFUND, wey be di student loan and di credit corporation. Dis money comot from di crime money wey EFCC hold.”

Job Opportunities

Tinubu respond to di vandalization of one digital centre for Kano state say na part of programme wey dem call di Digital and Creative Enterprises (IDiCE) wey suppose give young pipo millions of IT and technical work.

Business Opportunities

On di mata of business to blow for di kontri, Tinubu say reveal say dem give ova 570 billion naira to all di states to expand support of livelihood.

E add say 75,000 businesses don dey processed to collect “our N1million million micro and small-business single-digit interest loans wey go start dis month.”

Dem dey plan to give large manufacturers one billion naira under di loan programme to increase manufacturing output.

E speak on di minimum wage wey bin dey signed into law last week.

Housing

And for housing e reveal say, “six months ago, I inaugurate di first phase of our housing project, di Renewed Hope City and Estate” for Kastina and Abuja. Di plan na to build at least 1,000 housing units for six geo-political zones. Plus anoda plan to get Renewed Hope Estates for every state wey go get 500 housing units.

Food prices

As for food wey don cost for market so, Tinubu also lay out plans say, “I don direct make dem comot tax and import duties for rice wheat, maize, sorghum, drugs, and oda medica supplies for six months.”

E add say e don dey follow key ministers and govnors tok to hit target to plant on ova 10 million hectares of land wetin pipo go chop.

“In di last months, we don also order mechanized farming equipment like tractors and planters wey dey worth billions of naira from United States, Belarus and Brazil and I fit tell you say dem dey come.”

Why Nigerians dey protest

End bad governance protester wave flag during protest

“We dey protest because we dey hungry,” Nigerian activist Banwo Olagokun tell BBC.

Im dey part of di Take It Back Movement, one of di groups wey call for 10 days of protest from dis Thursday – even though goment don beg dem to stand down.

“We dey protest becos di inflation rate don affect us to di point wey we no fit afford di simple tins of life - food, water, clothes, medicals,” Oga Olagokun, 36, add put.

Nigeria dey experience dia worst economic crisis in a generation. Annual inflation dey at 34.19% - dia highest in almost three decades. Food prices dey rise even faster - for example, for di commercial capital, Lagos, yams na almost four times more expensive dan last year.

For recent months some pipo dey buy tomatoes wey don nearly rotten, cheaper, lower-grade rice and fewer meals to survive. But e no dey clear wetin go be di breaking point.

Di Take It Back Movement want di goment to tackle di cost-of-living crisis, and also to offer free education at all levels.

“We just dey demand for di reversal of di tins wey dey make tins expensive,” Oga Olagokun tok.

Some of Take It Back Movement oda demands include to scrap di kontri 1999 constitution, to allow Nigerians wey dey live abroad to vote for elections and release di Biafran separatist leader Nnamdi Kanu from prison.

Di national co-ordinator of di movement, Juwon Sanyaolu, wey be 31 years, say dem partly draw dia inspiration from recent events for Kenya, wia youth ginger I no go gree protest to force President William Ruto to scrap one controversial tax-rise plan.

Im say di demands of di Nigerians wey dey plan to demonstrate dey realistic and e fit lead to similar change.

“If Kenyans dey call for di dissolution of [President William] Ruto cabinet, I dey sure pipo go dey tok say, ‘Your goals dey unrealistic’. But today, dem don dissolve di entire cabinet," Oga Sanyaolu tok

"Dem only exercise democracy,” Im add put.