Salihu Mohammed Lukman, former national vice chairman (North West) of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), has sounded a dire warning to President Bola Tinubu, urging him not to dismiss the ongoing nationwide protests over the high cost of living.
In a statement released on Wednesday in Abuja, Lukman, a former Director General of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), expressed deep concern over the growing discontent among Nigerians. He cautioned that if the root causes of the protests were not promptly addressed, the entire country could be engulfed in mass demonstrations sooner than later.
Lukman lamented the apparent deviation from the party's "renewed hope agenda," stating, "As it is now, the renewed hope agenda of our party has been floated. Like the Naira exchange rate, Renewed Hope is being exchanged for Renewed Anger. The value is becoming more and more provocative to citizens."
The former APC leader did not mince words in highlighting the prevailing hunger in the country, emphasizing his disappointment that such challenges were unfolding under the leadership of the APC. Lukman criticized a statement from Mr. Felix Morka, the National Publicity Secretary, accusing opposition parties of orchestrating the protests.
"For Mr. Morka to issue such a very dishonest statement points to only one thing: that the leadership of our party has completely lost it, and at this rate, their political utility value is zero. This clearly suggests that even the old pretense about being progressive has been thrown to the dogs," Lukman remarked.
He challenged the notion that opposition parties could mobilize protests in strongholds of the APC, citing Minna and Kano as examples. Both cities, he pointed out, are considered APC strongholds, with Kano being the home state of Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, the APC National Chairman.
"To suggest that any opposition party could mobilize citizens to protest our government is already defeatist. The hard reality is that these protests are logical responses to the realities facing Nigerians. If these realities continue unattended to, these protests will spread like a bushfire across every part of the country within a very short period. No one should be deceived; these are justifiable protests, which test the responsiveness of our party, our leaders, and above all, our democracy. APC and President Asiwaju Tinubu may wish to ignore them at their peril," Lukman warned.
