Group urges Tinubu to address hunger, hardship

The Delta State Obidient Elders’ Council has advised President Bola Tinubu to address the lingering hunger and hardship crises in the country.

The council also described the nationwide hunger protest as a show of the determination of the Nigerian youths to overcome the intimidation and propaganda of the Federal Government and its agencies.

The protests, tagged, #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria, which started on August 1, 2024, aim to spur the Tinubu-led administration to address hunger, and economic hardship, among others.

The council stated this in a statement signed by its Chairman and Secretary, Chris Biose and Solomon Akeni, respectively; and made available to journalists on Tuesday in Asaba, the state capital.

The statement partly read, “We, the Delta Obidient Elders’ Council hereby respectfully urge President Tinubu to desist from his grandstanding and address realistic issues that affect the masses.

“The fact that the youth population ignored the hypocritical pleas by traditional rulers and religious elite to dissuade them from the protest is abundant evidence of the disconnect between these institutions and the younger generation of Nigerian citizens.

“The charter of demands of the youths is designed to bring about a better, more livable and just Nigerian state. These include a drastic reduction in the cost of fuel, cost of governance, bridging the yawning gap between emoluments of political officeholders and that of other public servants among others.”

The council noted that “it is regrettable that the civil protest degenerated into violence, looting of property and destruction of public facilities in some parts of the country.

“The complaints by government functionaries and police about unruly behaviour of some protesters have their root cause in the political culture and social practices which the Federal Government refused to address,” citing an instance in which the Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum “complained that over 95 per cent of protesters in Maiduguri were under-age.”

The statement added, “On a general note, we find it shocking that President Tinubu failed to address the issue of horrendous killings of crop farmers in many parts of the country by armed Fulani herdsmen,” which it labelled as the “root of the inability of Nigerian farmers to produce sufficient food for local consumption in the past few years.”

The council also said “the president was silent about rampaging oil thieves that run down the economy. Worse still, he made no mention of investigating the brutal killing of Nigerian citizens by his policemen.”