Renowned Professor of History and African Studies, Toyin Falola, has criticized President Bola Tinubu’s administration for failing to address the key issues that sparked the #EndBadGovernance protests across Nigeria earlier in August.
Professor Falola, a septuagenarian from the University of Texas, expressed his views during an appearance on *Inside Sources* with Laolu Akande, a socio-political program broadcast on Channels Television on Friday.
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He noted that the protesters had been considerate by announcing their rallies weeks in advance, which provided the government with ample time to prepare strategies to mitigate the impact of the demonstrations.
Falola warned that the Tinubu administration should be wary of spontaneous and uncontrollable protests, similar to those seen in Bangladesh, where young people have rallied against the policies of the departing Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
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Between August 1 and 10, young Nigerians took to the streets in numerous cities to protest the high cost of living and soaring food prices. They also called on Tinubu to reinstate the petrol subsidy to lower the prices of essential commodities.
On August 4, 2024, President Tinubu addressed the nation and rejected the call to reinstate petrol subsidies, a key demand of the #EndBadGovernance campaigners.
During the program, Professor Falola criticized the President’s response to the protests, arguing that Tinubu’s address failed to address the core issues raised by the demonstrators, including hunger, rising energy costs, the high cost of living, and insecurity.
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“When the President issues his own, no issue around fuel subsidy, no issue around infrastructure, no talk about electricity, no talk about security – – all the elements that drove the protests.
“Aṣọ Rock’s fundamental reaction was: ‘we don’t want anyone to destabilise the government’. Nobody wants to destabilise the government.
“Of course, some elements took advantage of protests with the Russian flags, calls for coup, but the protest was not about destabilising the government; the protesters were not calling for a coup. Of course, in Kaduna, they did but that was not the original intention which was to say, ‘we are very hungry’. Are they not hungry? They are.”
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He noted that it is inconceivable for Tinubu to be unaware of the rising cost of living in Nigeria, which is being driven by ongoing inflationary pressures in the country.
Falola said, “He (Tinubu) knows, and making excuses is not the way to govern but at the end of the day, we are lucky that there were no damages. People were expecting Igbo-Yoruba warfare in Lagos (but) it didn’t happen.
“The fundamental things that produced the protest are still there. What the government should pay attention to is that undated or unannounced or unplanned protest that is more dangerous. Because you cannot control that one. This one that there was notice and you can put your police or bullies on the streets. But the protest to fear is like that of Bangladesh.”
