A former national vice chairman (North-west) All Progressives Congress Salihu Lukman, has expressed that what was once renewed hope is now transforming into renewed anger.
In Abuja, Lukman stated that the occurrence of this situation within a year of President Tinubu’s administration necessitates a prompt government response, highlighting the need for immediate attention.
He emphasised that any response must absolutely focus on the current situation, taking into account the alarming increase in prices of goods and services, particularly food items, which seem to rise almost every hour.
“There are gory tales of Nigerians going to the same markets within short intervals of less than 24 hours encountering higher prices for the same quantity of products. These are predictable realities triggered by conscious decisions taken by the government of President Asiwaju Tinubu.
“Recall that as far back as August 2023, about four months into the tenure of the current government, I had cause to draw attention to some disturbing signals in an open letter to President Asiwaju Tinubu.
“The protests in Minna and Kano confirms the validity of the concerns raised as far back as August 2023. Sadly, six months after those concerns were raised, the situation is only getting worse as prices of food items are beyond reach of most Nigerians. If the truth must be told, there is hunger in the land! As a committed member of APC, it is very depressing that this is happening under the leadership of our party.
“As it is now, the renewed hope agenda of our party has been floated. Like the Naira exchange rate, Renewed Hope is being exchanged for Renewed Anger. The value is becoming more and more provocative to citizens.
At this rate, all appeals for patience may be simple waste of time given the challenge of survival,” he said.
The ex-chief of the Progressive Governors Forum kindly urges the leaders of the APC, particularly President Tinubu, to resist the inclination to classify the valid concerns of Nigerians as criminal behavior.
“Under no circumstances must our leaders imagine that because they are today’s rulers, unacceptably harsh living conditions caused by clear policy choices of our government should be tolerated.
“These were the same issues we rose against under the military and during the tenure of PDP between 1999 and 2015. Perhaps, if the truth must be told, if it were during the tenure of former President Muhammadu Buhari, many would rationalise it given his military background,” he added.
