Words are powerful whether in written or spoken contexts. They decide and have decided the fate of many people, societies, and groups in human history. Mark Anthony in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar swayed the angry plebeians against the conspirators after the brutal murder of Julius Caesar. Various persons, world leaders, and people in different positions of authority have relied on the instrumentality of words to change or affect the minds of other people. Indeed, words are powerful. However, the challenge is to know how and when to deploy the positive apparatus of words to achieve an aim. Many people have unleashed avoidable tragic situations on humanity owing to their ignorance of the application and usage of words. In Ola Rotimi’s The Gods Are Not to Blame when the people of Kutuje gathered at King Odewale’s palace to register their displeasure about the death plague in the land, three things happened. He allowed them to express their grievances even when his chiefs wanted to shout them down. After they expressed their grievances, he spoke to them passionately and identified with their plight. Finally, the people immediately sang his praises and returned to their homes satisfied. Such is the power of words.
Following the current hunger-induced protests across Nigeria, many people called on Bola Tinubu to address the nation in his capacity as the president and commander-in-chief. Nigerians believed that his speech would go a long way to assuage the fury of the protesters across the country. Regrettably, when the president finally agreed to speak, it was better he did not speak. Through flaccid, inchoate excavation of old political rhetoric without passion or commitment, the president floundered on many fronts. Rather than addressing the situations in the country, he embarked on an unnecessary self-eulogy of his achievements in government which do not reflect on the lives of the people. He failed woefully to provide leadership by ignoring all the demands of the protesters but gleefully inflamed already charged polity, warning and threatening the protesters with armed resistance and brutality. Below is what I think would have been a better speech for Mr. President and which would have immediately stopped the protests across the country.
Fellow Nigerians,
I stand before you today with a heavy heart. Yes, I have a heavy heart from confirmed reports reaching me that lives have been lost in the last few days due to the hunger protests across the country. My heart bleeds from these reports because the life of every Nigerian is precious. No one is more important than another person. Today, I speak to you as your servant because I serve you. Therefore, I would advise and plead with you to listen to me. I empathize with you and share your misery of economic hardship since I came to power. I accept full responsibility for all the economic adversities which you all face as a consequence of my economic policies. I would like to assure you that I share in your pains and frustrations.
That you are protesting as a way to demonstrate and announce your anger testifies to your attentiveness towards government policies and politics in Nigeria. To protest is your legitimate constitutional right. But I am pained that bad eggs have infiltrated your peaceful protests across the country to loot, steal, and destroy. These criminal acts are condemnable. Recall that I protested against perceived bad governance as a private citizen. If I were in your shoes, I would have protested too. Therefore, I want to congratulate you for the courage to show your angst against government policies by protesting. But today, I want to plead with you to stop the protest and listen to me. Together, we can arrive at a compromise and amicably advance our country to the dreamland we have all wished and prayed for because Nigeria belongs to every one of us. Democracy is a process and I am glad to accommodate you in the enthronement of democracy in our country.
Recall that before I came to power while campaigning for your votes, I promised to remove fuel subsidy because it provides a haven for a criminal enterprise that impoverished the economy. Today, I still maintain that fuel subsidy is a scam. However, I hurriedly removed the fuel subsidy on my inauguration without properly sitting down to provide a workable prognosis that would not inflict hardship on the people. That was a mistake and no one is above mistake. That decision by me without proper consultation inevitably unleashed hardship on you all. Today, I want to categorically state that I am going to consult widely and return fuel subsidy, then sit down with all stakeholders to gradually remove it. Removing it is the only way to go but we will do it gradually. I promise you that in the next two weeks, a new price regime for petroleum products will be announced. On that score, I have reacted to one of your demands which is to reduce the cost of fuel and other petroleum products. But be sure that the fuel subsidy will be removed as we go along. Also, electricity tariffs will be revisited and reduced accordingly. It is a promise.
I understand that one of your demands is to reduce the cost of governance. I would like to assure you that your concerns in this aspect are valid and essential. No country makes progress with wanton wastage of public funds on frivolities. Please I plead with you to stop the protest immediately and in the next two weeks, I will announce to you a drastic cut in the cost of governance across all government formations. I will also encourage all the governors to do so. I agree that the high cost of governance creates a huge gap between the political class who are the direct beneficiaries and the people they represent. Please trust me on this and I assure you that the cost of governance in the country will be reduced in due course. I will also reduce the number of my ministers, special assistants and aides. It is the right thing to do.
Electoral reform is another important factor that you have mentioned although I have not engaged with leaders of the protests directly. But I read news and visit my social media handles daily. I want to assure you that I will sit down with the relevant persons and critically look into electoral reform. However, I am aware that the present protest is a hunger protest and not a political protest. Therefore, I will specifically address policies that have inflicted hunger and hardship on our people. Please, on my knees, I beg you all to return home and stop the protest. The world has heard you. I have heard you too but I also want you to trust me to deal with the issues that will banish hunger and suffering from your homes. I promise you to deal with saboteurs, those who work with us but undermine our work to enunciate good economic policies in the land. Please I would like to engage and discuss with leaders of the protests. I hereby extend an open invitation to the leaders to come to Aso Rock for a peaceful dialogue that would end the current unrest across the country. As your servant, I am ready to listen and discuss issues for a peaceful, habitable country.
I hereby direct the police and other law enforcement agencies to desist from using lethal or live weapons on protesters. Reports of the death or arrest of protesters will be investigated and perpetrators dealt with. The families of those who lost their lives in the protest will also be compensated although no amount of compensation can equate the life of a loved one. As a country, we must show responsibility to the families. Together, we shall achieve the Nigeria of our dreams which everyone will be proud to call home. I cannot do this alone. I need the support of everyone including those in opposition. I condemn in the strongest terms issues of ethnic or religious profiling. Such divisive attitudes must not be heard or seen among us. As Nigerians, we are all children of the same parents. I congratulate you all for making your voices heard. As you all go home, be assured that in two weeks, I will make official announcements that will reduce the pain in the land. Indeed, power belongs to the people. Go home, stop the protest and pray for the country to succeed. The success of the country is our success, individually and collectively.
God bless you all.
God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
I am sure if Bola Tinubu had read the above speech, the protests in the land would cease immediately. Unfortunately, his bland, indifferent and grandstanding speech has hardened the resolve of the protesters to continue with the protests which inevitably will pitch them against murderous army and police. At the end of this confrontation, no one knows what will happen. The chief of defence staff General Christopher Musa has warned that the army is on standby to “step in” if the situation in the country gets worse. His statement is vague and, therefore gives room for different shades of interpretation. Is Musa saying that the army will step into the streets to stop the protests by using live ammunition or is he saying that the army will step into Aso Rock and overthrow the government? One is not too sure. Perhaps, experts in Discourse Analysis will help us. But Bola Tinubu has missed a golden opportunity to take control, stop the violence in the land and show leadership by example. Nigeria is indeed on a tenterhook.
