Amidst showers, the widely anticipated nationwide hunger protest kickstarted on Thursday, in Osogbo, the Osun State Capital with youths, okada riders, and market women hitting the streets to register their displeasure against the economic hardship ravaging the nation.
The ongoing protest which commenced at the Freedom Park, Old Garage, Osogbo moved to Olaiya, Aregbe, Ogo-Oluwa, Onward, Africa to the State Secretariat, Abeere.
The protesters also marched to the State House of Assembly on Gbongan/Ibadan road chanting solidarity songs in protest to the state of the nation.
Top on their demands is that the Federal Government led by President Bola Tinubu restore the nation’s economy to shape, combat insecurity, stabilise fuel prices, provide jobs for the youths, empower businesses to thrive, tackle food inflation and the myriads of challenges plaguing the country.
Some of the inscriptions on the placards include, “We Are Hungry”, “We Are Suffering”, “Say No to Bad Governance”, “Return The Economy To How You Met It,” “EndBadGovernance”, “Put Food On Our Table”, among others.
The protesters who defied the rain lamented the continuous rise in the cost of living, noting that the situation is hampering the daily lives of the people.
Addressing the crowd of protesters, one of the organisers of the protest, Alfred Adegoke said the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government has not done enough to improve the lives of the people.
Adegoke carpeted the nation’s political leaders, accusing them of putting the country in its present state with policies targeted at empowering a few at the detriment of the majority.
His words, “We demand that fuel subsidy be scrapped completely. We are aware that there is nothing like subsidy. They are only enriching themselves under the guise of the subsidy. Therefore, we don’t want to hear anything like subsidy anymore. We can’t afford to buy Garri anymore. We are tired.”
Also addressing the crowd, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) Southwest Public Relations Officer, Peter Bamigboye said the student body is massively in support of the protest.
Bamigboye explained that, “Students are tired. Before the coming of the APC-led government, we know what we pay as school fees and our parents also know what they pay as school fees on their children.
“But when this government came on board, the fees have been multiplied. For this reason, we are not in support of the government of the day. We are against tuition increase. They also introduced student loan, they want students to borrow loan, that is very wrong.
“All Osun state students are against the government of the day. We also demand the free education which they enjoyed during their days. All Osun students are in support of the pretest and we say no to student loan”.
Corroborating the speakers, a leader of the association of commercial motorcyclists in the state noted that life has been challenging for Nigerians, urging people to come out and demand a better deal from the authorities.
“Things are tight. We cannot even afford to buy motorcycles again. There is no security for us. Okada riders are being killed gruesomely daily without recourse to getting the perpetrators to book. We want the government to do the right thing.”
The protesters pledged to continue to demand good governance, transparency, and accountability as well as policies that will make life more abundant for the citizenry.
The 10-day #EndBadGovernance protest is expected to continue tomorrow.
Watch videos from the Osogbo Protest below:
Hafsoh Isiaq is a graduate of Linguistics. An avid writer committed to creative, high-quality research and news reportage. She has considerable experience in writing and reporting across a variety of platforms including print and online.
