The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has urged President Bola Tinubu to engage with the leaders of the planned nationwide protest aimed at addressing the economic hardships facing the country.
In a statement issued on Monday by its president, Joe Ajaero, the NLC emphasized the importance of dialogue and empathy from the government.
“As the date for the widely reported national protest looms, the Nigeria Labour Congress urges President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to invite the leadership of the protest movement for discussions on their grievances,” the NLC stated.
Highlighting the urgency of the situation, Ajaero pointed to the rising inflation, which has reached 34.19 percent, and the increases in food and electricity prices.
“It is, therefore, condescending and dismissive to describe the daily brutish ordeal that Nigerians are going through as a sponsored political dissent. Even if it is so, it is still within the confines of citizens’ rights to protest on political grounds. Just that the current unease in the country does not need political motivation to spark and splurge,” he said.
Ajaero stressed that citizens are simply seeking understanding and compassion from their government.
“All that the hurting citizens demand from their government is a listening ear and an empathetic heart. Maybe, that is what the organisers of the protest are looking for given their continued notices on different social media platforms.”
The NLC criticized the government’s approach to the planned protest, describing it as hostile and ineffective in addressing the public’s suffering.
“The hostility of the Nigerian government toward the planned protest does not offer any tangible remedy either to the pain endured by the populace or the frustrations of having so little in a country where a few privileged persons are living in obscene luxury, especially at the expense of the majority. These are dire times. Nigerians are angry,” the statement read.
Emphasizing the need for dialogue over confrontation, Ajaero concluded, “The times require the government to ‘jaw-jaw’ and not ‘war war’ with Nigerians. The truth is that you cannot smack a child and at the same time ask the child not to cry.”