Scores of youths, on Monday, hit the streets of Lagos State to protest against the soaring prices of foodstuff and the high cost of living in the country.
The protesters voiced their displeasure over what they described as hardship and suffering under President Bola Tinubu, threatening to go on a nationwide strike if the suffering persists.
The protest monitored by our correspondent was carried out in the Ojuelegba and Maryland areas of the state.
Some youths at Ojuelegba were protesting, singing, and carrying placards with various inscriptions to make their grievances known about the current economic hardship.
Some of the placards read, “Reversal of the hike in fuel prices;” “Palliative is a scam!”; “Reverse all anti-people neo-liberal policies of privatisation.”
Speaking during the protest, the National Coordinator of the Education Right Campaign, Taiwo Soweto, stated that the protest’s goal was to express opposition to the Tinubu’s anti-liberal leadership, and the devastating poverty that Nigerians were enduring, adding that the nation’s riches must be shared by all.
“We are here to protest the anti-liberal governance of Tinubu, the devastating poverty, the removal of fuel subsidy, and the devaluation of the naira. Our people can no longer eat, and they cannot pay for their children to go to school. We need them to provide leadership to ease the suffering.
“The immediate root of the problem was when he removed the fuel subsidy. They told us if they privatised fuel production, it would help the masses, but since last year, Dangote Refinery has not produced anything. The wealth of this country is distributed to a few looters and it must go round.”
One of the protesters, Akintunde Adeji, summoned Nigerians to participate in the protest, noting that the Trade Union Congress and the Nigerian Labour Congress would also participate on Tuesday.
“The protest aims to summon the message to the ruling cabal. Enough is enough because the hardship is terrible. We are summoning all Nigerians to come out tomorrow to register their displeasure about the suffering. This group is a coalition of civil society associations. Tomorrow, the NLC and TUC will join us as well.”
The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Adegoke Fayoade, added that the purpose of the police presence at the protest venue was to prevent hoodlums from taking over the event.
Adegoke said, “The position of the police is very simple. They have the right to protest, and we are here so that the protest will not be hijacked. Constitutionally, they have the right to protest, but they should not disturb the serenity and peace of Lagosians.”
Earlier, The PUNCH had reported that a human rights group identified as the “Take It Back Movement” hit the streets of Lagos State to protest the soaring prices of food and the high cost of living in the country. The protest was against the warning issued by the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Adegoke Fayoade, on Sunday.
SOURCE:PUNCH