Shun protests, develop alternative policies, SDP’s Adebayo urges youths

Ahead of the proposed August 1 nationwide protests over the state of the nation, the presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party, (SDP) in the 2023 general election, Prince Adewole Adebayo, has advised Nigerian youths and protesters to shun protest and organise better alternative policies to bring about positive change.

Adebayo also accused the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led Federal Government of implementing the International Monetary Fund, IMF and the World Bank policies on the Nigerian economy, the same economic policies under former President Goodluck Jonathan, Tinubu and others protested against.

He described the protests as sheer political gimmicks of former President Buhari and Tinubu, protesting against Jonathan for the same policies that they are now pursuing even with less humanity.

He said, “I opposed the Buhari-Tinubu farce that time, and I oppose the same thing now. As Buhari and Tinubu and others were opposing Jonathan in 2014, they too were lobbying the same IMF, World Bank etc for political support based on the same policies Jonathan was already implementing against his own wish, just to please the same IMF.

As SDP presidential candidate, its a common knowledge that I opposed subsidy removal, floating of the Naira and many of the policies adopted by Tinubu, Atiku and Obi. Instead, I called for the full implementation of Chapter 2 of the Constitution’s fundamental objectives and directive principles of state policy.”

Expressing his reservation about the protests, he said, “It was hinged on the fact that elections have consequences and the winner must use his mandate, “year tenure is sacred if we must avoid chaos, protests have no ideological basis for the protest sponsors follow the same neo-liberal policies and you must vote wisely next time”.

He advised the youths to prioritize ideological politics and listen to what politicians say, have said; do and have done instead of fanning up celebrities.

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He added, “A protest is already a protest if you voice out disagreement in any lawful forum or media. Once you organise a mass protest to challenge pure policy measures and their natural fallouts, you are doing politics, and the other side can originate counter-protests. In the case of Nigeria and Kenya, you won’t achieve anything substantial because the major political forces on both sides of the protests agree on neo-liberal economic policies whose inevitable consequences are what they are protesting against.

It is more sustainable to organise alternative policies to use to bring other ideological politics into power and change bad policies of the neo-liberal economic policies whose inevitable consequences are what they are protesting against.”

Rather than go on rampage in protest, he urged the youths to voice out alternative policies with better outcomes than IMF inspired neolibéral experiments, organising the voters to vote in their socio-economic best interests, avoid chaos by foreign and domestic enemies of Nigeria and debunk APC government lies.

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE