On this episode of the Mic On podcast, the host, Seun Okinbaloye, his guests Festus Osifo, Trade Union Congress President and Deji Adeyanju Human Rights Activist discussed the recent hunger and inflation rocking the nation since president Tinubu’s assumption of office nine months ago.
From Subsidy removal to the continuous poor form of the Naira to the hike in essential commodities, Nigerians continue to bear the brunt.
The nation has been rocked by a wave of hunger and protests in some parts of the country with ctizens taking to the streets to demand government action to address rising poverty and food insecurity.
Looking deeper, Trade Union Congress President Festus Osifo, spoke on Planned Labor Protests and Agreements the congress has had so far with the federal government in his words “Beyond strike, beyond protest which is legitimate that we will deploy, we are also going to have some conversations with government so that we understand, what are those things that they are doing”. Speaking on the speculation that the NLC and TUC are only looking out for themselves and not for the interest of Nigerians, Mr. Festus says
“For us, any tool that we have to call government to order, we will always do that to call government to look at the plight of Nigerians’’.
On his part, Deji Adeyanju contextualized the Tinubu-led administration as based on political settlement and not working for the interest of Nigerians. In his words,” listen, running a nation is not about politics, it’s not a reward system, you cannot be doing a reward system with finances and the economy of a battered nation like Nigeria. These Lagos boys that have come, have reorganized CBN in such a way that CBN is more like a Lagos Island. Now changed most directors replaced them with Yoruba’s, and they are not doing anything focused on the economy. Speaking on the capacity of the Tinubu-led administration in taming the rising inflation and hardship in the economy, Mr. Deji says that the government have finally lost control.
President Tinubu’s response to this crisis will be closely scrutinized and could define his legacy in office. Can he tame the rising agitation and steer the country towards a more prosperous and equitable future?
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