Dele Momodu, publisher of Ovation Magazine, has expressed disappointment with President Bola Tinubu’s recent nationwide broadcast, stating that the President failed to address the core demands of ongoing protesters. The protests, which began on August 1 under the banner #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria, have raised various issues, including the reinstatement of fuel subsidies, improvements in living standards, reductions in the cost of governance, lower electricity tariffs, and solutions to growing insecurity.
In his Sunday broadcast, President Tinubu addressed the nation amidst these protests. However, Momodu, in a statement on his social media, expressed skepticism about the President’s willingness to make concessions. He noted that he was shocked by the content of the speech and had little expectation that Tinubu would heed the protesters’ demands.
Momodu, a social commentator and politician, further argued that Tinubu’s longstanding approach to governance, which has been consistent since his tenure as Governor of Lagos State, made it unlikely for him to shift his stance. He suggested that it was unrealistic to expect the President to listen to the protesters and act compassionately towards the struggling populace.
He wrote, “Fellow Nigerians, good morning. After the long-awaited speech of President Bola Tinubu eventually came this morning, I’m sure most of you would be as stupefied as me.
“I must confess that I had little hope of Tinubu granting some concessions to the aggrieved Nigerians. As a man who has held an iron grip on Lagos State for the last 25 years, it would be difficult for him to change a winning formula that has worked for him ever since.
“Also, what did we expect his advisers to be telling him when most of them have been his most fanatical cronies from Lagos who have learnt never to challenge the master?
“So it was merely wishful thinking on the part of incurable optimists like me to think he was going to have mercy on hapless and seemingly helpless Nigerians.”
