…says proposed protests not built to end in peace.
Former spokesman to Atiku Abubakar, the Presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) at the 2023 Presidential election, Daniel Bwala has prevailed on those planning nationwide protests beginning from August 1st to reconsider their plans because President Bola Tinubu has a full grasp of the situation in the country and could relate to their concerns.
Bwala, who interacted with newsmen after meeting President Bola Tinubu behind closed doors at the Presidential Villa, said the proposed protests were not built to end in peace considering feelers from online postings by the proponents.
The lawyer, turned politician, said the President had already begun to address the concerns raised by the proponents of the protests by addressing the minimum wage issue and distributing food items through the state governors across the country.
He said “What is exciting for me in all of this situation is that the President has a firm grasp of what is going on in the country, the sufferings of the Nigerian people, and he has shown that concern.
“The issue with the protests is everybody has the right to show his dissent; the right to protest is constitutional. But if you look at the situation that we are facing today, and you look at the talking point, even on social media, you will understand that this protest is not built to end in peace.
“And if you go to a protest that turned violent, you are likely to find that the people you claim to be fighting for, you end up destroying their shops, looting their shops, burning infrastructure of government.
If you look at Kenya that is what is happening. Government will continue to run but then we have gone backwards because our people will continue to be in hunger. And I’m glad that the President is making all the effort to meet the needs of the Nigerian people.”
Asked about his opinion on political connotations to the proposed demonstrations, he said “I honestly believe that that there is to a large extent the element of politics and my belief that it even transcends the country there.
“There would have been foreign interest taking advantage of the poor political climate because of the fact of hunger and suffering. We know that everybody in Nigeria acknowledges that there is suffering and the suffering did not start last year. We’ve been dealing with that issue.
But suddenly, the conversation, if you see the mainstream and social media, it’s all about how they want to bring the government down; President Bola Tinubu must resign.
“Once you hear that kind of talk and language, then you don’t need somebody to interpret that there is a political connotation. You must be aware that people have been holding meetings saying they want to unseat the President.
“By our Constitution, he has four years and it’s renewable for another term or four years. And he’s doing everything possible in these four years to deliver on the promise to the Nigerian people.
“The trajectory is going some of you who are knowledgeable in economics, you would have seen as the data are coming in and some of the indices, it shows that there is a redirection that is going on.
Requested to comment on his former boss’ (Atiku) open support for the protests, Bwala said
“Every opposition member will want to support any action of the people that will ridicule, denigrate or show the governing party as not effective. So it is not surprising that he could say that. And again, like we say protest is constitutional.
“Our only concern is if the protests will be peaceful, then no problem. But evidence is showing that this protest is building up to be violent.”
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