Protest: Gov Yusuf charged to further relax curfew in Kano

An association under the auspices of the Nigeria Patriotic Front Movement (NPFM) has called on the Kano state government to further relax the 24-hour curfew imposed in the aftermath of nationwide hunger protests.

It will be recalled that the state governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, had relaxed the curfew from 8 am to 2 pm, but the organization said this was not enough. The body stated that the relaxation of the curfew is necessary so that people can go about their normal business and search for daily bread freely.

The chairman of the NPFM, Comrade Abdulmajid Yakubu Daudu, stated this on Tuesday while addressing a press conference at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Kano State.

However, the association condemned the wanton destruction of properties during the nationwide hunger protests across the country.

He disclosed that President Tinubu himself admitted the protests were carried out largely by the youths. In four states of the North—Borno, Jigawa, Kaduna, and Kano—it degenerated into violence.

He then queried, “What type of impression is Mr. President out to portray about protest violence in the country? This is concerning. Blame game: The president blamed protest organizers for the violence.

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Yet, here too, he was silent about the thuggery, bloodletting, and murderous conduct of those who unleashed mayhem in his name, especially in Kano, where public and private properties were looted, destroyed, and set ablaze.

He, therefore, hinted that the core issues are still untouched: petrol pump price, electricity tariff, CBN and commercial bank interest rates, cost of governance, education as a human right, senior citizens’ pensions and gratuities, grand corruption, food inflation, cross-border trade, re-nationalization of the NNPC and electricity distribution services, and, above all, security.

What is this glaring neglect of our economic and social fundamentals supposed to mean? What does it portend for the country? How will the president’s obstinacy continue to affect the cost of living, living standards, national stability, and national security? Youth Bulge.

We are strongly opposed to authoritarian rule and the growing fascist tendencies in some parts of the country.