Devastating Reality of Poverty and Hunger in Misgoverned Nigeria

Human rights activist and the National Coordinator of the Take It Back movement, Sanyaolu Juwon, has minced no words in his scathing criticism of Nigeria’s government, stating that the Tinubu’s government has failed the people and allowing poverty and hunger to ravage the nation.

Juwon made this statement during a recent interview where he shared his harrowing experiences in detention with EJIKEME OMENAZU of Independent NG. He recounted his arrest prior to the #June12 #EndHunger protest against Tinubu’s neoliberal policies. In his retelling, Juwon revealed the mistreatment and injustices he endured at the hands of the authorities, a firsthand account that not only sheds light on his personal ordeal, but also serves as a powerful indictment of the heavy-handed tactics employed by the current regime to stifle dissent.

Juwon denounced Buhari’s eight-year tenure as a “legacy of sorrow, tears and blood”. He expressed dismay at Tinubu’s promise to continue in Buhari’s footsteps, which he believes has been borne out by his immediate policy changes, including the removal of fuel subsidies, floating of the Naira, and increased electricity tariffs.

He said, “Buhari’s eight-year misrule left behind a legacy of sorrow, tears and blood. However, Tinubu during the campaigns told Nigerians that he was coming to continue in Buhari’s footsteps. From his first day in office, May 29, 2023, Tinubu unveiled this plan, starting with the removal of fuel subsidy. He proceeded to float the Naira and increased tariff on electricity.”

Sanyaolu emphasized that these measures, in tandem with other neoliberal policies, have resulted in a drastic increase in inflation, leading to widespread suffering. Food prices have reached unprecedented highs, poverty and crime have risen dramatically, minimum wage remains woefully inadequate, and educational fees are increasingly unaffordable.

“These policies viz other neoliberal programmes have tripled inflation and led to unprecedented hardship. Food inflation particularly stands at 40.5%, the highest in 28 years. Nigerians everywhere are starving, unable to afford the astronomical cost of food. Insecurity and crime rate has also tripled with increasing poverty and hardship. Minimum wage remained abysmally very low, and tertiary institutions continue to increase fees to as high as four hundred thousand Naira.”

About the minimum wage, Juwon said, “Labour is at the verge of embarking on another strike over minimum wage. The Nigerian economy under Tinubu is a disaster. More and more citizens are becoming disillusioned, and fast losing fate in the regime.”

Concluding his thought on the state of the Nation, Sanyaolu added that the government’s repressive response to the growing poverty and hunger, including abductions, torture, and unlawful surveillance, is only exacerbating the situation. Without taking action to address the root causes of the crisis, Sanyaolu warned, the regime will soon face an uprising from the millions of Nigerians.

“The government knows this too. It is for this reason that the regime has become very repressive and prepared to use extreme means to repress dissent, including abductions, torture and unlawful use of surveillance. But, without addressing the fundamental issues of poverty and hunger affecting the Nigerian people, the regime will at some point have millions of Nigerians to contend with.”, he added.

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