By : Ighomuaye Lucky. O
Commercial activities were paralyzed in Benin City, the Edo State capital following a protest by the Edo Civil Society Organizations, (EDOCSO), calling on president Bola Tinubu to address the problem of economic hardship in Nigeria.
The group which took their protest march from the Ring Road down to the Akpakpava Road and other busy roads in the city centre brandished placards with various inscriptions like “Nigerians are starving to death, Tinubu, end hunger and suffering in Nigeria, FG, end the hunger in Nigeria now, Tinubu, let Nigerians breath” and others.
Recall that the group has earlier given president Bola Tinubu and his Vice, Kashim Shettima 14 days ultimatum to quit power or fix the Nigerian economy.
The group made the call in a communique signed by its Interim TEC Chairman, Leftist Austine Enabulele and made available to newsmen in Benin.
Addressing newsmen at the venue of the protest, Interim TEC Chairman, Leftist Austine Enabulele, said the 14 days ultimatum given to president Bola Tinubu to fix the Nigerian economy has since elapsed and nothing has been done to address the issue of hunger in the country.
“If you remember on the 10 of February, we did hold a press briefing and gave the federal government two weeks to fix the problems of Nigeria, to fix the suffering and hunger in Nigeria.
“That two weeks have long expired and nothing has been done. So we have come out today to tell president Bola Tinubu to fix the hunger and suffering in Nigeria, that enough is enough.
“We cannot take the pains anymore. Enough of the hunger, enough of the hardship, enough of bad governance in Nigeria.
“If he can’t fix the problems of Nigeria, he should resign quickly with his voice president, Shettima and let us conduct a fresh election because Nigerians are dying everyday, children are now becoming orphans because their fathers are dying because of the hardship in Nigeria.
“We are saying enough is enough. If he can’t fix the problems of Nigeria, he should resign and go”, Enabulele said.
Leftist Enabulele also decried the dollarization of the Nigerian economy, saying that Nigerians should be used to their currency which is naira.
“He should give value to our naira because Nigerians do not use dollars.
“We can not be living our lives in dollars. You want to buy something in the market they will tell you that, dollars have increased, you want to buy common pumpkin leaves, they will say dollars have increased.
“We are using naira and they must give value to our naira. If he can’t fix the problems, he should resign”, Enabulele insisted.
Also speaking, the pastor of Omega Fire Ministry, Benin, Pastor Azemhe Azena and governorship candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) for the September 21 governorship election in Edo State who joined in the protest against economic hardship in the country, said the situation is getting out of hand and that the government at all levels need to do something to checkmate it.
Pastor Azena said the clergymen are the ones feeling the heat because of the demands placed on them by their members.
He said, sometimes, they have to take up their bills and this is really affecting them.
“Hunger is bitting harder in our country. People are suffering. This is more than suffering this is “sufferer”.
“We are here to draw the attention of the government to the state of the economic in the entire country. That they should do something fast because an hungry man is an angry man.
“To prevent anger, crime, violence in the society, you have to attend to hunger. The prices of things are going up in Nigeria per hour.
“So, we should control, regulate the price of goods so that the poor man can breath, and afford it.
“So, we are here to say, from the local government to the federal level, look into the price and do something about it.
“I am a pastor, I can feel it in the faces of my congregation, the load is becoming too much on the clergy and religious men because they need to pay people’s school fees, some you need to feed them, some you need to transport them, some you need to pay their hospital bills.
“We meet them daily but government does meet them daily.
“Government only meet them during election.
“We are the ones facing it, we are the ones bearing the pains.
“So, we are saying government should do something about the situation”, Azena said .