Nigerians have taken to the streets to protest hunger and economic hardship as the country celebrates 25 years of uninterrupted return of democracy.
The protesters on Wednesday morning, stormed the Ikeja Underbridge in Lagos amid tight security chanting solidarity songs as they wielded placards and banners.
Some of the placards had inscriptions like: ‘President Tinubu, let the poor breathe’, ‘For another general strike with mass protest now’, ‘Payment of living wage to all Nigerian workers now.”
The protest is being spearheaded by some civil society groups, including the Take It Back Movement, the Education Rights Campaign, the Coalition for Revolution and the Socialist Workers League.
Nigerians have been battling severe economic hardship in recent times as prices of commodities continue to increase.
The country’s unemployment rate surged to 5.0 percent in the third quarter of 2023 from 4.2 percent in the previous quarter, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics.
A litre of petrol costs more than three times what it did nine months ago, while the price of the staple food, rice, has more than doubled in the past year.
These two figures highlight the difficulties that many Nigerians are facing as wages have not kept up with the rising cost of living.
Meanwhile,addressing the country earlier today, President Bola Tinubu raised the alarm over alleged attempts by some people to cash in on the current economic challenges in the country to undermine and destroy democracy.
The President, however, promised to preserve democracy and protect the rights, freedoms, and liberties of Nigerians.
He added that the Federal Government negotiated in good faith and with open arms with organised labour on a new national minimum wage.
He promised to as soon as possible send an executive bill to the National Assembly to enshrine what has been agreed upon as part of the law for the next five years or less.
In his nationwide broadcast, today on Democracy Day, the President noted that some persons sacrificed their lives to ensure that democratic government was put in place about 25 years ago.
His words: “My dear compatriots, Nigeria faced a decision of untold gravity 25 years ago: Whether to veer towards a better destination or continue aimlessly in the fog of dictatorship.
“We made the right choice then. We must continue with that choice now.
“As Nigerians, we must remind ourselves that no matter how complicated democracy may be, it is the best form of governance in the long run. We must also be aware that there are those among us who will try to exploit current challenges to undermine, if not destroy, this democracy for which so much has already been given.
“These people do this not to make things better but to subject all other people and things to their control and dominance until the point that, if you are not counted among their elite, then your life will be small and no longer owned by you.
“This is the great battle of our day and the major reason we specially celebrate this Democracy day.”
The President said that Nigeria’s democracy is more than a historic fact, noting that it is a living, breathing reality.
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