South East group urges Tinubu to forestall fresh protest

South East group urges Tinubu to forestall fresh protest

As mixed reactions continue to trail the just concluded nationwide #Endbadgovernance Protest, farmers in the South East geopolitical zone of Nigeria have called on President Bola Tinubu to focus on addressing the grievances of the protesters in order avert a fresh action.

In an open letter addressed to Mr President, the group under the aegis of Indigent Farmers Association of South East, IFAS, urged the president to as a matter of urgency and necessity begin earnest to resolve the issues of widespread hunger, poverty, insecurity, corruption and myriad of other challenges bedevilling the country.

The letter signed by the Executive Chairman, High Chief Levi Vincent, appealed to President Tinubu to see the nationwide hunger protest as a ‘blessing in disguise’ instead of being discouraged or playing to the gallery.

Chief Vincent noted with delight that the protest will surely redefine the nation’s democratic ideals and strengthen the structure for good governance.

While adjudging the protest as peaceful, Vincent added, “It’s good to see Nigerians display high sense of maturity in expressing their grievances over the poor state of our economy that found evidence in hyper inflation, poverty, diseases and excruciating hunger.”

His words, “Nigerians are looking for a country that works for everyone irrespective of tribe or tongue.
I sincerely hope you can seize this historic moment to reshape leadership in Nigeria. This is a duty trust you cannot afford to loose.

“Your administration needs everyone of the protesters. Their fears and grievances is real and founded.”

He drew attention of Mr President to fact that most of the highly commendable socio economic interventions his administration embarked upon since inception hardly get to the grassroots who are supposed to be the actual beneficiaries.

“For example, in the area of agriculture, the real farmers in the South East that I represent, don’t have access to ordinary fertilizer, as against tractors, harvesters, improved seedlings etc etc. This total neglect of agriculture has created very huge economic gap resulting into social security problems ranging from laziness to violent criminal activities.

“Your Excellency, must take advantage of this protest to re-visit most of these anomalies hindering our nation’s growth and prosperity. You must begin to align with registered grassroot based associations for genuine rural development,” he added.

In view of recent threats of a fresh protest on 1st October, Nigeria’s Independence Day, the group appealed for restraint and recourse to dialogue emphasizing that “We cannot get solution to our problems on the streets.”

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