The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, Dr Adetokunbo Pearse, has knocked on the nationwide address on #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria, saying that analysis of some key points made by him showed that he was “both disingenuous and unconcerned about the problems plaguing the country.”
Pearse, who is a former governorship candidate in Lagos State, said this in his reaction in a statement, a copy of which was made available to newsmen, observing that Tinubu’s assurance of his government’s commitment to listening and addressing the concerns of the citizens “is a device to distract the youth’s demand for action.”
This was just as the PDP chieftain, who is also a Public Affairs Analyst and Convener of Reset Lagos PDP, further observed that the threat to protesters made by President Tinubu in his speech, especially the youth, was not subtle at all, declaring that the president’s speech was quite clear that the protesters would have themselves to blame should they “protest and get hurt.”
According to him, the president’s concern is not about the safety of the protesting citizens but about the preservation of his image as a tough enforcer of the law, even as he noted that the discussion of the economy was filled with subterfuge, misrepresentations, and outright lies.
Pearse, while faulting the claim made by Tinubu that his policies, including fuel subsidy removal and devaluing the naira, had improved the economy, said that rather, “these thoughtless policies are the root causes of the country’s economic woes.”
“An analysis of some key points made by the Nigerian President will suffice to expose that he is both disingenuous and unconcerned about the problems plaguing the country. Consider the following:
“The president’s concern is not about the safety of the protesting citizens but about the preservation of his image as a tough enforcer of the law.
“The discussion of the economy is filled with subterfuge, misrepresentations, and outright lies. Here he has the audacity to claim credit for removing fuel subsidies and devaluing the naira, claiming that his policies have improved the economy when in fact these thoughtless policies are the root causes of the country’s economic woes. Contrary to Tinubu’s claim, government revenue has not doubled in the first half of 2024, and productivity in the non-oil sector is not on the increase,” Pearse said.
“Tinubu’s assertion that the country now spends less on debt servicing than before is misleading. It is ‘jankara’ mathematical calculation. The reality is that when we spent 97% on debt servicing, our debt was 100% less than it is now. With the rate at which Tinubu has been borrowing, 68% debt servicing now is actually more than when we were servicing with 97%. Is 68% of 400 billion not more than 97% of 200 billion?
“All the achievements attributed to his administration, from infrastructure to an increase in oil production to an increase in foreign investors, the constitution of New Housing, and the increase of investment in agriculture, are false claims grounded in controversy or nothing close to implementation.
“Tinubu’s appeal to the youth population is insulting. His tone is condescending. As he puts it, ‘Our government is committed to listening and addressing the concerns of our citizens.’
“Telling the youth that he is still listening is a device to distract from the youth’s demand for action. In this speech, the threat to protesters, especially the youth, is not subtle at all. Tinubu’s position is clear: ‘Don’t protest, If you protest and get hurt, you have only yourself to blame,’” he added.
Speaking further, Pearse noted that what President Tinubu had done this time around amounted to what he did when he addressed the nation on May 29th, 2024, the one-year anniversary of his administration, and on June 12th, 2024, on the anniversary celebration of democracy, declaring that he gave no roadmap for progressive change in his nationwide speech to Nigerians.
Besides, he said the president didn’t commit himself to fighting corruption in the oil industry or in any sector for that matter, adding that he neither committed himself to reducing the cost of governance nor “listening to students and their parents and wards who say education grants are preferable to loans.”
“He doesn’t care to listen to labour and others who argue that the increased minimum wage of 70,000 naira is still inadequate, given the rate of inflation and high cost of living. The president has no idea how to increase the country’s revenue in order to finance his grandiose projects. All he knows how to do is borrow and plunge the country into more debt. There is no plan to tackle the food shortage or the consistent rise in the cost of living.
“He claims that the safety of Nigerians is important to him, yet he provides no plans to increase the police force and equip law enforcement agencies with what they need to secure the country and its people to stem the growing rate of insecurity.
“President Tinubu shows no empathy. He doesn’t really care. He appears to be an enemy of his own people. Increasingly, he appears ready for a confrontation with the people. Someone should tell President Tinubu of the admonition of Chinua Achebe’s omniscient voice to the Chief Priest Ezeulu in his novel Arrow of God: ‘No man wins a war against the clan,’” he said.
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