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The Northern Elders Forum, on Monday, expressed disappointment and concern over President Bola Tinubu’s Sunday national address.
The forum, led by Prof Ango Abdullahi, criticised the President’s failure to address the severe security situation in the North-West and other northern regions.
This was as hoodlums attacked protesters at Alausa in Lagos on Monday.
Following the ongoing #Endbadgovernance protests across some states of the country, with the North-West states of Kaduna, Katsina and Kano mostly hit, the Northern Elders Forum said it was worried that the President did not speak on issues of banditry, kidnapping, rape and other criminal activities devastating the areas.
In a statement issued on Monday, signed by its Director of Publicity and Advocacy, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, NEF said, “The President’s speech did not acknowledge the struggles of the North-West and other affected regions, nor provide reassurance or concrete plans to alleviate the security challenges.
“The NEF had high hopes for the President’s speech, expecting that he would address the dire humanitarian disaster that criminal activities have brought upon our nation.
“The scale of the crisis is immense, with millions of our fellow citizens displaced internally, and hundreds of thousands of orphans facing hunger and malnourishment. These are new and alarming realities previously unknown in our land.”
“We expected the President to acknowledge the gravity of the situation and outline concrete plans for addressing these critical issues. The focus should have been on finding sustainable solutions to the crisis, prioritising the needs of the affected communities, and ensuring that necessary resources are allocated to support them.
“The NEF calls on President Tinubu to prioritise the security and safety of the people in the northern region and to take decisive action to address the root causes of the escalating violence and criminal activities.”
Meanwhile, Some protesters in Lagos on Monday decried an attack by suspected hoodlums at the Alausa venue of the #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protest.
Protesters gathered at two locations in Lagos on Day 5 of the protest against hardship despite President Tinubu’s address on Sunday urging the protesters to suspend their action and embrace dialogue.
The protest organisers insisted on continuing the action, maintaining that President Tinubu did not address their demands which included the reversal of fuel subsidy removal, reversal of increased electricity tariff, and provision of grants to students as against loans, among others.
Led by the National Coordinator of the Take It Back Movement, Juwon Sanyaolu, and the National Coordinator of the Education Rights Campaign, Hassan Taiwo, the protesters gathered at Gani Fawehinmi Freedom Park and at Alausa to continue their action.
The number of protesters was however reducing compared to previous days.
At Ojota, our correspondent observed the presence of police officers in the early hours of the day, with the Lagos State Police Commissioner, Adegoke Fayoade, also later arriving at the scene.
The protesters called for the sacking of the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, over the arrests, assault and harassment of protesters and journalists nationwide by the police, and the death of some protesters.
In videos recorded at Alausa on Monday, some protesters were seen fleeing the protest grounds after some suspected hoodlums suddenly pushed them from behind.
“They are teaming up with thugs, look at my mouth. They used thugs on us. They are working with the police. Later they will say protesters are the ones attacking, but they have implanted thugs among us,” a protester identified as AyoDaReporter said in a video shared with our correspondent.
“They have sent thugs to chase protesters away at Alausa secretariat. They have disrupted the protest here,” another protester was heard saying as he was running.
When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, said the police were not aware of the attack.
“I have spoken with the Divisional Police Officer in that area, we don’t have that report,” he told The PUNCH in a telephone interview on Monday.
On Monday, the hunger protest continued in Port Harcourt, Rivers State with the youths burning tyres and vowing to complete the 10 days circle.
The protesters, who first converged on the Pleasure Park along Ava Road, Port Harcourt, later blocked a section of the road from the Hotel Presidential junction earlier and set tyres ablaze in the area while chanting and waving the Nigerian flag and singing the old National Anthem with palm fronds
The protesters expressed annoynance that President Tinubu’ broadcast on Sunday morning did not address their demands.
In Osogbo, the Osun State capital, the protest also continued on Monday, with the protesters calling for free education.
They said the Federal Government’s student loan initiative was not the solution to the challenges facing students in the country.
Reading their demands to journalists on behalf of the leadership of the Coalition of Concerned Nigerian Citizens, the organisers of the protest, Kola Ibrahim, said, “Our demands are very clear. We are saying the government should revert the fuel price. We want free education. The student loan they have introduced is nonsense. Everywhere they have implemented student loans in the world has led to monumental suffering. It has led to indebtedness to all youths.
“What the Nigerian youths need is free education at all levels. The government should give students bursaries. Nigeria is capable enough to give all students bursaries. We are demanding that all unemployed youths must be given unemployment allowances. We are saying that Nigeria is abundantly rich to feed itself.”
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