The group, which made its position in a statement issued on Thursday and signed by its National coordinator, Adaramoye Michael Lenin, and National secretary, Francis Nwapa, said “you can’t beat a child and expect the child not to cry.”
The Youth Rights Campaign (YRC) has expressed its full support for the planned nationwide #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protest and called on Nigerians who are dissatisfied with the prevailing condition of hunger and hardship in Nigeria to join the protest.
The group, which made its position in a statement issued on Thursday and signed by its National coordinator, Adaramoye Michael Lenin, and National secretary, Francis Nwapa, said “you can’t beat a child and expect the child not to cry.”
The YRC said that President Bola Tinubu’s administration could not subject the Nigerian working people and youths to an unprecedented level of starvation and hardship while expecting them not to react.
According to the group, “Nigerian people are not slaves. To this extent, we warn the police and other security agencies to abort any sinister agenda to thwart the planned peaceful protest through arrest, intimidation and violent crackdown.
“We also urge all those who are preparing to come out for protest in August not to be afraid due to the threat by the security agencies. Protest is a fundamental human right.
“If this right was not conceded during the dark days of military authoritarianism, definitely it will not be conceded now.
“The last one year of the Tinubu administration has been a traumatic period for the working class and poor, including the youth, who have suffered back to back neo-liberal attacks that have further worsened their living conditions.
“Even layers of the middle class are not left out of the mindless attacks on living conditions that have led to horrific levels of starvation. In this desperate condition, only mass struggle can begin to resolve the situation.
“To this extent, we urge all genuine pro-working people organisations, youth groups and trade unions to support the planned protest. Specifically, we task the NLC and TUC leadership not to take a position of neutrality on this protest.
“We take cognizance of a public statement by the NLC President, Joe Ajaero, affirming the right to peaceful protest and urging the Federal Government to meet with protest leaders with a view to meeting the demands. However we say this is not enough.”
The YRC said that as a matter of urgency, the NLC and TUC need to publicly back the protest and begin immediate mobilization of members nationwide to down tools and join.
“We also call for the setting up of democratically constituted protest coordinating committees across states and local governments in the country to ensure proper coordination of the protest.
“This protest has become necessary because we cannot take it anymore. For example, youth unemployment has risen to 35%, with most youths working as casual workers in factories earning less than $1 a day.
“Feeding has become practically difficult, which means many have to depend on family and friends for support or in the worst case resort to crime or prostitution to survive the harsh economic conditions.
“Food inflation jumped to 38% in February 2024, and by April, 2024 it already stood at 40.53%, & by May 2024, the Naira became the worst performing currency globally.
“Poor Nigerians are dying daily due to hunger. In February, 2024, not less than 7 lives were lost and several others hospitalized when a stampede occurred during the sale of "subsidized" 25kg Rice for N10, 000 at the Nigeria Custom Service office, Yaba, Lagos.
“Also, on Sunday 24th March, we had the death of a 14-year old Aisha Usman alongside 6 other women and an 8-year old child in a community in Bauchi State. They died in a stampede during a food sharing event.
“Similarly, 2 days before the Bauchi tragedy was the avoidable death of two female students of Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Rose Michael - Psychology Department 400L and Grace Danladi Enupe - Computer Science Department, 200L, who were trampled to death during a crowd surge when the state government embarked on grain distribution on campus, alongside 22 other Students who were hospitalized.
“These avoidable tragedies were triggered by the anti-poor capitalist policies of the Tinubu APC administration, which have thrown many more Nigerians into poverty.
“These neo-liberal policies include fuel subsidy removal, commercialization of education and floating of Naira, and increase in electricity tariff all of which have led to job losses amidst several other devastating consequences,” the group said.
According to the group, it is bizarre that Nigeria being the largest crude oil producer in Africa does not have working refineries but cast such responsibility on the profit-first driven, Dangote Refinery.
The YRC said “The truth is that if public refineries are working optimally and more were built, there will not be a need for either importation or subsidy.
“Instead of fixing the public refineries and taking the oil and gas industry under public and democratic control so that the problem can be solved once and for all, President Tinubu chose to instead remove the subsidy and devalue the naira thereby opening the valve for mindless increase in pump price of petroleum products to the detriment of the working class and poor.
“Similarly, the devaluation of Naira in an import-dependent economy as Nigeria has contributed to the continuous rising of goods and services.
“It is worrisome that agriculture which used to be the mainstay of Nigeria’s economy in the 50's, 60's and 70's no longer attracts serious public investments.
“For example, the over 20 farm settlements and 5 Agriculture Institutes established in 1960 by the then Western region under Obafemi Awolowo have completely been abandoned or left in ruins, yet Nigeria spends about N7.9 trillion annually on food importation.
“Such a whopping amount and more if invested in democratically controlled public large farms can make it possible for Nigeria to become food self-sufficient especially since our country has the largest arable land in Africa, with 34 Million hectares.
“As a matter of urgency, the YRC call on the youth and working people to demand that Tinubu Government reverse these anti-poor policies, build new refineries and revamp the existing ones, invest heavily in agriculture with the view of creating massive employment through agriculture and surplus food production that will not only cater for Nigeria’s growing population but for export purpose.
“We demand that the price of fuel be reversed to pre-May 29, 2023 price. We also demand that all political office holders be placed on same salary scheme as Nigerian workers.
“By and large, in view of the continuous waste and mismanagement of public funds by the administration most recently is the purchase and rebranding of a presidential jet worth about $150 Million, purchase of SUV's for National assembly members and political office holders, renovation of VP quarters with billions of Naira rather than investing such in establishment of factories to create jobs, it is clear that only a mass movement can force the administration to listen to the people.
“This is why the YRC always argues for the necessity of linking every struggle against attacks on living conditions to the need to build a mass movement to end capitalism and enthrone a Socialist Nigeria.”