The camelback of the nationwide hardships protest in Bauchi was on its set Thursday broken when the Northern Agenda for Good Governance & Allied Groups decided to call off the protest in the state for what it described as the greater interest of peace and stability of Bauchi and Nigeria.
It said, “We decided to call it off in the greater interest of peace and stability of Bauchi State and Nigeria as a whole as we realised that it is better we send the message through the press than to allow some unknown and perhaps irresponsible elements hijack the whole thing with the good intentions into something we all will not like”.
The Coordinator of Northern Agenda for Good Governance & Allied Groups, Comrade Hashim Bala Pali, appreciated the support from their members and fellow citizens across all divides for the initially planned civil protest.
He said, “We are one of the leading civil society organizations that, along with other groups of interest, have engaged relevant stakeholders and security agencies to hold a nationwide peaceful protest over Nigerians’ hard living conditions. These protests will be held from August 1st to August 10th, 2024.”
Comrade Hashim Pali explained that the issues they feel very strongly about included oil exploration in the Kolmani area commissioned by former President Muhammadu Buhari, on which President Bola Tinubu was present about two years ago.
The groups regretted that the exploration site had been abandoned and that work had stopped on this significant project of significant socio-economic and developmental interest to not only the North East but the entire country.
He frowned, “The issue is even more problematic because during his campaign visit to the North East, President Tinubu promised to continue with work in this regard, but that is not happening. As such, we demand an explanation for what is happening and the resumption of work at the site without further delay.”
The Group Coordinator said that, like most Nigerians, they observed that the root cause of our people’s hunger, starvation, and other difficulties is the removal of the subsidy in PMS, as announced by the President in his inaugural address.
“Since then, life has become meaningless to most of our citizens. Hence, we join the popular call by compatriots for the return of the subsidy regime with immediate effect. The survival of our people is better than policy cosmetics and window dressing, which are not achieving any result. So let’s go back to subsidy”.
They also observed that it was insensitive of the Federal government to introduce a high increase in electricity tariffs when most Nigerians struggle to afford a square meal a day, saying the tariff increase is without a human face and not in the country’s best interest.
According to the groups, the electricity tariff increase has to be reversed, as other alternatives to providing electricity at affordable prices should be explored rather than a sheer increase in the tariff.
“It is also our position that the student loan fund introduced to cushion the hike in fees paid by students in tertiary institutions of learning across the country will not address the problems of access to quality education to the average Nigerian in both short and the long run”.
The groups suggested that economic policies that improve the purchasing capacity of the average citizen add value to our currency, and others alike should be preferred to make it possible for most citizens to afford tertiary education without much ado.
“Review of Forex and other macro and micro economic policies of the government. So far, most of the economic policies of the Tinubu administration do not seem to be working, as their direct consequence is an increase in citizens’ suffering. To this end, we demand that rising rate inflation be checked while our land borders should be reopened.”
“We observe that most of our leaders take the people for granted. This is why it is only during national emergencies like this one that some leaders remember to engage citizens in what the government is doing about these problems. It shouldn’t be so.”
They cited the example of none of the ministers in President Tinubu’s cabinet and other appointees returning home to discuss the issues and the way forward with the people. At the same time, representatives in the National Assembly only a handful are in their constituencies at this crucial time.