Hunger/EndBadGovernance Protest: Tinubu’s intention good, protesters should accept dialogue – Senator Ani

Senator representing Ebonyi South Senatorial District, Prof. Anthony Ani, has appealed to Nigerians protesting the economic hardship in the country, to end the protest and allow the President Bola Tinubu-led government to address their grievances.

Prof. Ani made this appeal while fielding questions from journalists in Abuja, on the ongoing protest in parts of the country, stating that President Tinubu has good intentions for Nigeria and that the present situation of things would definitely get better.

The lawmaker, who is a chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), however, urged the protesters to always use the media and present their grievances to the government, assuring that government would always listen and attend to their demands.

This was even as he blamed the worsening economic hardship in the country on the activities of saboteurs within the polity, lamenting that such bad eggs were the ones frustrating the efforts of government.

“This government is very sensitive, working day and night to see that all the issues raised are being addressed. Of course, they have been doing a lot, but you see, there are saboteurs in the country. The ordinary people could sabotage the situation. But for government, they are doing their best.

“I have never seen any government that is out there to do things that will harm the people or come up with policies that will be dangerous or that will hurt the masses. I have never seen such government. This government has a lot of good plans for the citizenry. It is left for everybody’s hand to be on deck to see that we actualise what will be good for all of us.

“We have huge human resources in this country. We have well educated people who understand the problems of this country and the solution to the problems, but the problem we are having is acts of sabotage by people in the midst of people with good intentions. They are sabotaging the efforts that the government and good spirited individuals are making to ensure that this country is better,” Senator Ani stated.

Commenting on the #EndBadGovernance Protest, the former university lecturer, said that he was not in support of the protest because he knew that the action would end in violence, looting and destruction of lives and property due to involvement of miscreants.

He suggested that the best approach to take by those aggrieved by policies and programmes of government was to address their grievances through the media, expressing optimism that government would listen to them and address the issues.

The politician explained that he was opposed to street protest because some unscrupulous elements in the society would take advantage of that to execute their evil intensions, stressing that he had never seen any protest in Nigeria that ended without violence.

His words: “Protesting by demonstration is destructive. You can protest by saying your mind through the media of mass communication. Am sure that if the aggrieved Nigerians who are protesting the present economic hardship in the country do so via the media, government will hear them and take appropriate actions to address their grievances.

“Going to the street to protest is to destroy both private and public property because many people have been waiting for the opportunity to loot and destroy both government owned and individual property. So, I don’t support the protest at all.

“I spoke at length on the matter at Abakaliki few days ago, when we had stakeholders’ meeting. We agreed that we should not protest. You also remember that, in the South East, the youths and indeed everybody resolved that they should not protest because they realized that it is better to be patient with government as they make efforts to tackle the problems for which other people are protesting.”

Ani noted that the current economic hardship in the country was a wake-up call for people to be productive, stating that one of the major reasons Igbos did not participate in the protest was because they are productive and not dependent on government for survival.

“Igbos are proud of their creativity and resourcefulness. So, no matter how difficult the situation is, we must survive. This situation calls for people to be productive. They should use their hand to produce and do things that will earn them their living.

“It is no longer fashionable for the people to sit down and expect government to do everything for them. It is not done. It is the lazy ones who have nothing doing that are protesting. If you are meaningfully engaged, you will not have the time for protest,” he said.

Speaking further on better ways to carry out protest, the politician said: “There are many ways you can protest against government policies and programmes, if they are not people-oriented, and not by violent physical demonstrations that can lead to destruction.

“You can create awareness by organizing a forum, where you are going to make a pronouncement on areas that government is not getting it right. That is the modern way to do it, and not walking through the streets because this demonstration they call protest is always destructive.

“I have never seen any peaceful demonstration in this country. It is because of the antecedents of protests that made me to say that I don’t want physical demonstration or walking round the streets, because many people, especially the vagabonds have been waiting for such opportunity to destroy other people’s or government property.

“That is where you see envy playing out; those who are envious of other people’s progress want to use the opportunity to express their envy. That is why I don’t support Nigerian brand of protest. Sitting down in a forum and voicing out what you want and allow government to take action on the issues raised is a better way to do it.”