- By Kamil Opeyemi
Protesters using the June 12 anniversary to protest against the economic hardships in the country have taken to the streets of major state capitals on Wednesday.
Their protests held simultaneously as government-led anniversary held to mark the 31 years of the annulment of the June 12 election.
The election was won by the late Moshood Abiola who however died in detention under mysterious circumstances.
In Osun, protesters who matched under the umbrella of the Coalition of Civil Society gathered at the Freedom Park, Orita Olaiya area of the sate capital to register their grievances over the current economic hardships.
They said that it is unfortunate that MKO’s manifestoes which are provision of basic amenities and mass prosperity are still elusive 31 years after. “Besides, the lessons and gains of the June 12 appeared to be missing at the corridor of power at all levels, making the government to persistently take Nigerians for granted. Nigeria’s rulers across the divide appear to “have learned nothing and forgotten everything.” They listed continuous decades of bad governance by those they called “unpatriotic and self-centred elite, military and civilian leadership that cut across all tribes and religions, produced exploitation, oppression; poverty, misery, injustice, hopelessness, insecurity, banditry and violent death as majorly being experienced by the common masses all over the country!
“Currently, Nigerians are going through worsening economic hardship that is creating more poverty and penury. The administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, through its World Bank and IMF teleguided economic policies have continued to unleash hardship on Nigerians. The removal of subsidy, increment in electricity tariff and devaluation of Naira have cast a shadow over the economic stability of Nigeria; and this is hampering productivity and killing Small and Medium Scale Enterprises, taking away the purchasing power of the Nigerian people, creating hunger, starvation and skyrocketing foodstuffs and essential commodities prices, among other woes. The worse of the agonies is the ongoing food crisis where staple foods have been priced out of the reach of the common people.”