Hunger protests: National Peace Committee should intervene

On 27th July, 2024, I released a 21-minute audio clip in respect of the 10-day hunger protest, which commenced on August 1, 2024 across the country.

In the said audio clip, I made myself clear about two possibilities: one, the tendency of the protest to turn violent and two, the tendency of the federal government to be recalcitrant and refuse to submit to the demands of the protesters.

As projected, the protest was violent in some states, such as Kaduna, Kano, Jigawa, Yobe, Borno, Zamfara and FCT with incidences of killings, lootings, arson, stealing and destruction of critical infrastructure.

Amazingly, the federal government does not seem to be amenable to submit to the demands of the protesters, in view of the clear wordings of the president vide his speech of Sunday, August 4, 2024.

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To start with, the protest was avoidable. President Tinubu should have averted the protest in the first place, by opening more rooms for dialogue with the protesters for genuine and constructive engagements.

We say, enough of the killings, lootings, arson, stealing and the destruction of properties in Nigeria.

I hereby, most humbly, appeal to the National Peace Committee (NPC), under the able leadership of General Abdul- Salam Abubakar, to swing into action, to save this country from collapse.

The committee should summon the federal government and the protesters, identify the issues, harmonise and resolve them, in the most just and equitable manner.

Our political, traditional and religious leaders would have been the best option to lead the dialogue. Sadly, they lack the moral conscience to intervene because they are part of the problem.

Take the governors, for instance, if they had taken our security and welfare as important as it was recognised under Section 14(2)(b) of the Nigerian constitution, the protest would have been unnecessary.

The president, in his Sunday speech, claimed to have released over N570bn to the state governors within the last seven months.

In my humble view, this amount is reasonable for the governors to address our hardship and hunger, through the provision of subsidised fertilisers and other farm inputs, subsidised commercial transportation, subsidised petroleum products, procure electric vehicles, distribute palliatives and initiate skill acquisition programmes. This will certainly accelerate development at the state level and guarantee food security.

With the substantial monthly allocations at their disposal, the governors can sell subsidised food items at designated centres, even without any support from the federal government. That would have reduced the hardship for an ordinary citizen in significant proportion.

I hereby, most humbly, appeal to the state governors to cultivate the habit of complimenting the efforts of the federal government, as is the case in Borno and few other states.

Take Zamfara State, for instance, I have not seen where the 20 trucks of rice palliatives of the federal government were distributed to the needy. I have also not seen where the 10 trucks of the subsidised rice of N40, 000 of the federal government is being sold.

I stand to be corrected, please.   

Galadi is a former Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Gusau Branch, and can be reached via [email protected]