- By Femi Alabi
Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Activists under the auspices of Dialogue 360, Coalition for Revolution, Joint Action Force, Osun Civil Society Coalition and Committee for Defense of Human Rights (CDHR), and other participants took to the streets in Osogbo to demonstrate over the current economic hardship in Nigeria.
The protesters who converged on the popular Nelson Mandela Freedom Park, snaked through Old Garage, MDS, Orisumbare and terminated the demonstration at Olaiya iconic bridge.
They were seen chanting anti-government songs and placards with several inscriptions like, ‘Let the poor breathe’; ‘Stop stealing palliatives meant for the working poor’; ‘End Insecurity’; ‘We reject devaluation of Naira’; ‘Enough is enough’; ‘No to anti-people policies’ among others
Addressing the protesting crowd, the Chairman, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Osun State, Christopher Arapasopo charged the
Federal government to act urgently on the high cost of living in the country, saying Nigerians don’t deserve what they are getting presently.
“What Tinubu promised during his electioneering campaign was reprieve for Nigerians but what we are seeing now is the opposite of that.
“He must immediately come up with solutions. People are hungry and they are angry. We don’t want the situation to go out of hand. There is need for measures that will immediately address the situation.”
Security operatives including men of Nigeria Security Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Police, Department of State Service(DSS) among others were seen monitoring the protesters to prevent it from being hijacked by hoodlums.