Last Monday, the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), and its affiliates held a peaceful demonstration against the unfavourable effects of President Bola Tinubu’s elimination of the fuel subsidy.
The Social Democratic Party’s (SDP) presidential candidate for the February election, Barr Adewole Ebenezer Adebayo, discusses the demonstration and Nigerians’ next course of action in this interview. Reporting by Subair Mohammed.
Public concern is raised by the issues at hand. Regardless of your opinion of their current leadership and decisions, the labour unions continue to play a vital role in society. The labour unions used the protest to draw the federal government’s attention to the negative consequences that the elimination of the subsidy was having on their members and, in fact, Nigerians.
Even so, there are times when the concerns of the general public and the interests of their members may coincide. As a result, the general public may desire to join them and inform the government of their opinions. I believe the protest was appropriate. They also gave the impression that they were pleased about it by meeting with the president after the demonstration. When it comes to venting issues, the NLC/TUC tried to ventilate their issues to the president through the demonstration.
The fact that these are economic issues makes it irrelevant whether the protest brought up these issues or not. They relate to concerns with democratically elected governments. When you choose a government, you do so together with the policies that are promoted by that government. If those policies have any consequences that you find objectionable, you can voice your concerns to that government and continue the conversation.
But after the protest, what we do is more crucial than the protest itself. The way the government has responded, in my opinion, indicates that it is aware of the problem. Less time is being spent on them. You are aware that in the past a protest would drag on for days on end before junior officials in the government would step in.
On the eve of the protest, there had been a nationwide broadcast when the president attempted to make his point. The government intervened at the highest level. It is therefore a democratic activity. I believe that everyone was effective in their respective capacities. Reminding the administration that they only represent a portion of the population is the responsibility of the Labour leader. The government also demonstrated its understanding of the options available to the labour leaders. Even if they both concur, they might be able to see it more clearly if they consider it together.
I believe Nigerians haven’t demonstrated in a very long time. Since many Nigerians have been waiting for the protest for a while, they now have the opportunity to exercise a right that, occasionally, could be in jeopardy if it were not exercised. As a citizen, you have the right to demonstrate in opposition to your government. I believe that the people are suffering, and I believe that if the government adjusts its policies as quickly as it did in response to the demonstration, they will likely make more progress than they would otherwise.
Do you believe the conclusion of the president’s meeting with Labour leaders, which took place after the protest, was comforting enough to justify the Labour Party calling off the protest?
There wasn’t supposed to be any protest in the first place. This is due to the fact that every adult Nigerian during the election campaign was aware of the direction that each candidate was taking. It is only normal if someone runs for office and implements everything they promised when running, including ending fuel subsidies, unifying the foreign exchange, and doing this and that.
