Of governance and grievance – A PERSPECTIVE

O’TEGA OGRA

O’tega Ogra, FCIM, is most senior aide to the Nigerian President on Digital Communications, Engagement and New Media Strategy. In this role, he also heads the Presidential Office of Digital Engagement. In almost two decades, Otega has worked across various industries including international development, financial services, agribusiness and manufacturing. He is on X @otegaogra

It is disheartening to see various discourses on the proposed demonstrations turn into ugly narratives that should never have a place in our national space. Here are my thoughts, and feel free to engage respectfully.

1. It is the constitutional right every Nigerian to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression

2. The Nigerian State also has a constitutional obligation to guarantee every constitutional right of every Nigerian, including free movement, safety, and security.

It is also the right of hundreds of millions of Nigerians to choose not to join any protests as many have chosen – and all parties must respect this. Asserting one’s rights should not lead to the denial of another’s.

3. If you claim you want to have a peaceful demonstration yet have allowed some actively involved in your protest to use your platform to mobilise people publicly in the name of causing destruction and chaos, you are also responsible for whatever chaos they cause.

4. To the protest leaders, can you confidently say you have a grip on the behaviour of those you have sought to join you in the protests? To those who have chosen to join the protests, can you confidently say you are fully aware of the plans—seen and unseen—of those mobilising you to demonstrate?

5. Even worse, if you haven’t come out to openly condemn and dissociate your protest platform from calls for the destruction of regular Nigerians’ livelihood and violence against the Nigerian people and state, it could mean you consent to your protest platform to be used for chaos – directly or indirectly.

6. President Bola Tinubu @officialasiwajubat is aware of the pains Nigerians are facing due to global economic shocks and local policies that have been put in place to secure a prosperous future for Nigeria.

7. Mr President listens — just as he has been listening since Day 1 of his presidency. He has shown a willingness, never seen at this level before, to return to the drawing board where policies may have been unpopular.

7. Today, the numbers speak for themselves — foreign reserves have not been depleted despite paying off over USD7.5 billion in outstanding obligations/backlogs. The frivolous and sometimes unconstitutional use of the CBN’s Ways and Means to borrow money from the CBN and mortgage our meagre revenues while putting the nation further into penury is no longer the case. Now, spending is mainly tied to earnings.

8. We are also seeing the rate of inflation slowing considerably.

Families can now breathe a sigh of relief and enjoy more disposable income, thanks to initiatives such as the student loans scheme and credicorp. These programmes alleviate the pressure of making immediate bulk payments for everyday expenses. Additionally, the P-CNG Initiative is driving down commercial transportation costs by providing free conversion kits, enabling the use of more affordable CNG fuel for commercial vehicles. These are all in addition to other programmes like I-DICE, NIYA, and various MSME support programmes/interventions. The number of taxes is being reduced by at least one-fifth, with some out of the way already. Imports of critical food items have been exempt from levies for a period of time. What more?

On the security front, we have successfully reduced incidents of internal insurrection and kidnappings. Over 5,000 of our fellow Nigerians have secured their freedom, and an impressive number of terrorists and insurgents (over 11,000) have been either neutralised or captured. Our tactical operations will persist until Nigeria is entirely safe. We trust in the protection of our brave men and women in uniform who courageously risk their lives daily, even leaving their loved ones for extended periods, to secure our freedoms. Institutions like the EFCC actively pursue those exploiting gaps in our system to undermine the country. Whether it’s the former CBN governor facing charges of misappropriation, customs officials arrested for accepting bribes to sabotage the economy, or fraudulent individuals tarnishing the image of hardworking young Nigerians worldwide, rest assured, your day in court is approaching. Justice will prevail.

10. The country is experiencing a resurgence in FDI, particularly in the energy/oil & gas sector, thanks to the new presidential directives (40, 41, 42), which plug some of the gaps in the PIA. As you may already know, NNPCL now operates as a fully commercial enterprise whilst regulatory functions have been removed and clearly defined under crucial regulatory agencies – NUPRC and NMDPRA, who regulate the petroleum value chain and all local and international players, including NNPCL. Total Energies/NNPCL JV has signed the Final Investment Decision on the USD550 million Ubeta Gas Development project on the back of executive directives 40, 41, & 42. More are to be announced in due course. The international scene is more confident than they have been in recent years about coming back to Nigeria.

11. Foreign companies leaving? Yes, some are, but we must not ignore that many of those leaving failed for years to invest in the value chain of their businesses or did not adopt suitable approaches to the local markets. Others were following a global trend to cut down their scale in markets such as Africa. However, for every company that leaves, their businesses have been taken over by other foreign investors who see the opportunities in Nigeria or local investors who have built the capacity to operate in this environment. The high exchange rate may not be ideal, but what about the opportunities presented? Countries like Indonesia and Vietnam, with exchange rates between 12,000 to 25,000 in their local currencies to the dollar, have used similar opportunities to push their countries to become two of the fastest growing in the world spurred by increased productivity, value addition, and exports, which a weaker currency provides. Nigerian companies that add value and are export-focused are already taking advantage of this.

12. President Bola Tinubu is unwavering in his commitment to bringing governance to the grassroots. President Tinubu’s administration has secured local government financial autonomy through the successful Supreme Court case brought by the AGF, implemented policies to support unemployed youth like the out-of-job social safety stipends, and increased FAAC allocations to states for further development investments. His focus is firmly on stabilising the economy to ensure a secure future for all our children. President Bola Tinubu is resolute, focused on his job, and won’t be swayed. Every eligible Nigerian will have the opportunity to judge his performance at the ballot box in three years. This hard-fought democracy gives every Nigerian the power to hold all leaders accountable.

Know This: President Bola Tinubu is not beholden to any special interests, and despite expected resistance by some ‘Hands of Esau’ who cannot get their way, and trying to rile up the polity, he will always put the interests of Nigerians first.

13. Again, it is your constitutionally guaranteed right to peaceful assembly, but in this case, where some mobilisers have come out on various platforms to say they aim for destruction and chaos, how do you guarantee your objectives are aligned? How do you now convince or guarantee the hundreds of millions of non-protesting Nigerians that those of you who choose to protest are simply out to air your voices and not to cause violence or destruction as has been pushed by many within your midst?

The choice is yours. Think about it and decide if you are in support of violence against our communities or for us to join hands in moving the country forward. Where do you stand?

God Bless Nigeria. #NigeriaWillSucceed. #FreedomOfAssembly#RespectEngagement