President Buhari made a national broadcast on Thursday, October 22, 2020 in respect of #EndSars protest in some parts of Nigeria . In my assessment, which is based on his public persona and the pattern of his past prepared speeches ; President’s speech has not disappointed me . To me , the speech is Buhari-like and uniquely fair except for the subtle reprimand to the Nigeria’s neighbours, foreign leaders and international organisations to get their facts right before forming an opinion about Nigeria. For one , there have been cases of insecurity such as armed banditry , kidnappings, killings, etc in Nigeria under his administration. But his concern and commiseration has hardly gone beyond occasional press releases by his spokespersons . So I was not expecting anything beyond that in the speech.
Lest we forget, the governor of Borno State twice escaped assassination attempts on his life recently. I am not aware of his speech or public show of sympathy by the President for the people of the state . From Katsina to Sokoto and Zamfara states the trend is the same . And quietness is the response.
The president’s acknowledges the right of Nigerian youths to protest and also the right of others not to be disturbed as enshrined in the Constitution of Nigeria . He mentions the initiatives his administration has done and outlined for the Nigerian youths
The President says is deeply pained that innocent lives have been lost and also concerned with misinformation through the cyberspace. Categorically, the President Buhari says the youths to discontinue the street protests.
However, the President did say any reference to Lekki shooting which is the main attraction of the negative headline from Nigerians. Understandably, some Nigerians are saddened by this omission. And this scores him very low on the both sympathy and empathy scales . Personally however, I am not disappointed because just as I outlined above, that has been typical of him in some instances of similar incidents in the North. Clearly my expectations of him in this regard are met.
The President nevertheless ignores the temptation to declare the State of Emergency in Lagos State . This is fair enough in my view . I understand there might be several political plots and undercurrents that would make such calls tempting . The fact that the President shunned it may be a good political move for the time being.
Finally, I don’t think the President gives a proper demonstration of the importance of Lagos economic activities to the Nigeria economy in particular. The foundational strength of Lagos economy has been touched. More than sixty percent of its economy is informal but the riotous seige and looting have dealt these important segments a huge blow . It will take a long time before the State recovers from this . The investors confidence has been shaken. The capacity of the law enforcement agents to address the security situation is strained. I did not see much inclinations towards a confidence rebuilding in the President’s speech. Could this be the fault of his speech writers ?
All said , for Nigeria, the carnage is still on both, spiritually and emotionally. President Buhari has given a speech that is characteristically his. Nigerians need to reflect about the happenings in the country, remain strong , and look to the future with hope.
Fantastic article post. Really looking forward to read more. Denna Roderick Fabe