Hunger Protest: Tinubu’s speech didn’t address police brutality against protesters– Soyinka
Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, criticized President Bola Tinubu’s national broadcast on Sunday for failing to address the violent crackdown by security forces on #EndBadGovernance protesters.
In his statement, Soyinka expressed concern over the president’s omission of this crucial issue.
He said: “I set my alarm clock this morning to ensure I did not miss President Bola Tinubu’s much-anticipated address to the nation on the ongoing unrest.
“His summary of the government’s remedial actions since taking office, intended to prevent such outbreaks, will undoubtedly be scrutinized for effectiveness and content. My primary concern, predictably, is the persistent deterioration in how the state handles protests, an area glaringly neglected in the presidential address.
“Such neglect empowers the security forces to act with impunity, trapping the nation in a cycle of resentment and retaliation. The use of live bullets in response to civic protests is the core issue. Even the use of tear gas is questionable, especially against clearly peaceful protests.
“Hunger marches are a universal SOS, not unique to Nigeria. They are urgent calls to governance that a breaking point has been reached, testing the government’s awareness of public desperation.
“The tragic response to ongoing hunger marches, for which notice was given, represents a regression beyond the deadly culmination of the ENDSARS protests.
“It evokes pre-independence colonial disdain, akin to Hubert Ogunde’s folk opera BREAD AND BULLETS, which earned him persecution and proscription by the colonial government.
“The nation’s security agencies cannot claim ignorance of alternative, more civilized models of security intervention. Consider the YELLOW VEST movement in France from 2022/23. In all the coverage I saw, not once did I witness a gun aimed at protesters, let alone fired, even during direct confrontations.
“Responding with bullets where bread is pleaded signifies a dangerous regression, often leading to desperate upheavals, even revolutions.
“It is long overdue to permanently abandon lethal means in managing civic protests. No nation is too under-developed or insecure to set an example. All it takes is recalling its history and committing to a lasting transformation, breaking the cycle of lethal responses against civic society.
“Today’s marchers might consider adopting Hubert Ogunde’s key songs from BREAD AND BULLETS, to instill a sense of shame in the ongoing failure to move beyond colonial-era responses. One way or another, this vicious cycle must be broken.”
