Hunger protest: This is beyond Asiwaju coming to do a miracle

Former Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, on Monday, warned that there is a perception that some political elements are striving to use the anticipated August 1, to 10, #EndBadGovernance nationwide protest as a subtle coup d’etat to provoke the military into overthrowing President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

This was even as the chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party expressed conviction that no political leader could revive Nigeria’s ailing economy in one year.

Fayose disclosed this when he was featured as a guest on Monday’s edition of Channels Television’s Politics Today.

He said, “There is a perception out there that it (protest) is a coup. That is the perception everywhere. Now they are giving the impression that they want to use this coup for the military to come in. If you are not hearing anything, you have to put your ears to the ground.

“There is no leader that will allow them to come and topple his government. It is good that Asiwaju himself has admitted that protest is good. But the people protesting should remember the consequences of politicising it.

“No man can turn this country around in one year? Let us leave all these talks about APC and PDP. I am not here to hold brief for anybody. The moment your finances are so bad, it is difficult. Today, it is not easy to turn Nigeria into the original state or turn around the situation so easily. And I mean what I’m saying.”

The demonstration, scheduled to run from August 1 to 15, has continued to generate tension and elicit mixed reactions from Nigerians

Several groups who indicated interest in championing the campaign said the call for protest was provoked by the soaring cost of living and economic hardship in the country.

Speaking further, the former governor warned that both the government and protesters need to exercise a lot of restraint and not allow the issue to get out of hand.

He also stressed that stakeholders and political leaders would not sit back and watch the country go up in flames.

“Both the government and protesters need to exercise a lot of restraint. During my time as governor of Ekiti, I was one of the vocal people who put the (federal) government in check. But at no time did I call out people to go and do things that can bring the country down. We need to be very careful. We are in a critical stage of our life.

“It doesn’t matter if we protest. When you protest, you will come back to still find that the situation is the same. If Jonathan is not good, Buhari is not good and Asiwaju is not good. Then there is a fundamental problem we all have to address. This is beyond Asiwaju coming to do a miracle.

“We will not look away and allow this country to go down. Already we are in a critical situation, very critical. Let me give you an illustration. When an aircraft is about to land and, at some point, there is an emergency, there are certain levels that the aircraft would have gone for it to land. Otherwise, the aircraft will crash. I pray Nigeria will not crash,” he stated.