The apex socio-cultural organization of Igbos, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has commended the peoples of the South-East and South-South geopolitical zones of Nigeria for refraining from joining in the series of protests across the country against President Bola Tinubu’s economic policies.
Tinubu’s economic reforms have created runaway inflation, worsening poverty in the world’s poverty capital.
In a statement provided to journalists and signed by the Secretary-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Okechukwu Isiguzoro, Ohaneze praised the citizens of the Old Eastern region for their “exceptional acumen and sagacity in abstaining” from the protests despite the region bearing the “brunt of governmental neglect and discrimination, the wanton demolition of Igbo properties in Lagos without federal intervention, the systematic burning of Igbo markets in the South-West, minimal federal ministerial appointments, or the unjust incarceration of Nnamdi Kanu juxtaposed with the favoured treatment of figures like Sowore and Igboho”.
The “injustices meted out to the South-East are glaring”, he said.
“In the wake of nationwide uproar and agitation sparked by escalating living costs, economic distress, and famine, a resolute calmness emanates from the Old Eastern Nigeria, comprising the South-East and South-South region,” Isiguzoro remarked.
Amid protests in various parts of the country, Ohaneze notes the absence of the usual confrontation of protesters by armed security forces in contrast to the bruitsh force with which similar protests in the past in the South-East and South-South were crushed.
He expressed Ohanaeze’s admiration for the Southeast populace’s undaunted bravery and rare insight in navigating the challenging times.
In solidarity with suffering Nigerians, Isiguzoro urged the Federal Government to revamp President Tinubu’s “floundering economic team with competent hands to salvage the crumbling economy before it collapses completely”. He also demanded the implementation of the recommendations from the 2014 Constitutional Conference as a means to quell mounting dissent.
The Ohanaeze statement comes against the backdrop of protests in Niger, Kano, Lagos, and Osun states, and the capital city of Abuja in recent times where citizens poured out into the streets to express discontent with rising living costs and hardships.
The economy took a nose dive following President Tinubu’s abrupt removal of fuel subsidy in May 2023 and the floating of the local currency – the Naira, both of which escalated the cost of goods and services beyond the reach of many Nigerians in a country with 133 million multidimensionally poor citizens.
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