Former Director of Strategy and Communication to President Goodluck Jonathan, Mr. Jackson Ude, has picked holes in President Bola Tinubu’s Sunday nationwide broadcast to the nation on the ongoing protest over poor governance and increasing hardship.
The protest which commenced on Thursday, August 1st, 2024, has been poorly managed by security agents as close to 24 persons were reportedly shot dead by armed state agents.
Amid the widespread condemnation of security personnel for their role in the crisis, the President made a broadcast, on Sunday.
Writing from his base in the United States of America, Ude described the President’s broadcast as a pointer to a leader out of tune with the pains of his people.
He said: “President Bola Tinubu’s address to the nation shows he is insensitive, out of touch and not connected with the people. His speech lacked empathy and did not address the issues of his over-bloated government, corruption, hunger, unemployment and insecurity bedeviling the country.
“His handlers have not done him any good by packaging a speech that appears to be a threat to the people who are genuinely fighting for good governance.”
Ude also faulted the manner the Federal Government’s removed petroleum subsidy, arguing that the palliatives deployed to cushion the effect of that policy has so far, failed to assuage the pains being felt across the country.
“The premature removal of oil subsidy has brought untold hardships to many Nigerians. The government resort to palliatives that are mostly hijacked by politicians and middlemen, has not solved the problems or filled the gaps created by subsidy removal.
“The President was too much in a rush during his swearing in when he announced removal of oil subsidies without any plans on how to cushion the effects that would have on Nigerians. The result of that premature announcement, is the hardship on Nigerians that followed.
“This is one of the reasons the protest is staged by Nigerians. And instead of finding a middle ground to address the issue or even returning subsidies for at least one year pending when the necessary strategies are put in place, he instead, addressed the country in the middle of the protest, promising nothing.
Ude also condemned Tinubu’s apparent lack of interest in cutting down the cost of governance, saying, “The President didn’t even bother about the agitation for him to cut down the size of his government. The huge size of his government has taken a chunk of the country’s economy.
“While Nigerians groan in pains of poverty and hunger, the President and his cabinet and aides live large. This is not acceptable.”
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