Nigerian socialist and activist Hassan Soweto has said that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is no different from past presidents.
Soweto said this on News Central’s show, Jasiri, while discussing the potential impact of President Tinubu’s announcement of the Youth Conference in light of ongoing protests against governance issues.
He emphasised the lack of trust between the Nigerian youth and the government, assessed the consequences of recent treason charges against protesters, and underscored the significance of continuous activism.
He said, ” It’s diversionary, really. Let’s be honest with ourselves. President Tinubu is demonstrating very clearly that he’s not different from past presidents who throw some glipping to the public just to give them the impression that they are going to be heard without necessarily wanting to actually create a space for people’s voices to be really heard.
“He’s talking about the National Youth Conference, but don’t forget that since the mid-90s, national conference or national confab has been utilised by different governments, whether civilian, president, or military, at a period of national dissonance, protest, and controversies to try and give the impression that we don’t want to listen to you.
“We have to say it very clearly that we are not interested in another very expensive conference to pack people into some air-conditioned conference rooms and give the impression that they are talking when they are actually not talking. The protests that we have had since early this year, but particularly since August, are very clear demands.”
He underscored the need to address the issues of hunger, the economic downturn and its toll on the mental health of Nigerians.
“What we are saying is that Nigeria is drifting. People are in desperate conditions. People are dying of hunger. Many families are suffering. People are committing suicide. Young people, but not just young people. You also have workers, civil servants; you have middle-class people, and owners of small businesses. Their businesses are collapsing.
“Farmers are not able to go to the farm. We are saying that there must be immediate measures to put an end to this and that’s why we are asking for reversals of certain policies. If you want to have a conference, a conference is to discuss long-term measures and policy initiatives.
He questioned Tinubu’s proposal for a youth conference, suggesting that it indicates a lack of attentiveness because costly conferences are not appealing to anyone. He directly expressed that Nigerians desire a transparent conversation about the issues being raised.
Watch the full interview below:
