By John Odunayo
The National Leader, Yoruba Leaders of Thought, Prince Tajudeen Olusi, has expressed opposition to the protest organized by some groups which began in some states on Thursday.
Olusi, called on the organisers of the protest who claimed they wanted to fight against hunger and hardship in the country, to instead of sponsoring such action, channel their resources towards supporting government to increase food supply and production.
The Yoruba group’s National Leader, represented by the National Secretary, Mr Bayo Aina, who spoke at a press conference in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, said that the group was against the protest as it would, without doubt, disrupt people’s livelihood.
Olusi said, “We want to state our total aversion and opposition to a protest planned for so many weeks and meant to last for 10 days. From the look of things, you will see that it goes beyond ordinary marching and placards to show displeasure.
“We have no problem with protest as citizens are constitutionally empowered to express their concerns and displeasure, but a protest planned to last for 10 days, will, no doubt, disrupt the livelihood of the people.
“If you are protesting in support of people that are hungry, there is no way you will tell them to go hungry for 10 days and not pursue their daily duties. There is no way you can disrupt civil activities in society for 10 days without it degenerating to violence and destruction.
“This is why we are solidly behind everybody in Nigeria particularly in Yorubaland who have spoken out against the planned protest. We don’t want it, we don’t need it.
“The issue of the hunger in the land is being addressed by governments, what is required now is for all hands to be on deck. The people sponsoring this protest ought to divert their money, into producing food for us, into increasing the supply of food or whatever it is that they can do to boost our economy, not to use it on protest that will be counterproductive.
“Yoruba Leaders of Thought as a body is speaking out against any elaborate protest. I hope that the people will sheathe their swords for people to go about their daily duties,” Olusi stated.
Olusi, who said federal and state governments had been working on increasing food production, however, urged them to step up investment in agriculture with a view to assist in boosting the food resources in the country for food security and affordable food prices.
He said, “The government is already coming out with unprecedented steps. It will take time before we all begin to realize all appropriate steps. A lot of states are already investing in agriculture. When we talk about food security, there are two sides to the idea of food – the farmer and the middlemen.
“Those benefitting from the high prices of food will not want the prices to go down, but the government and those of us that buy food desire cheaper food and great accessibility to food. So, if we leave production in the hands of those who benefit from high prices will not solve the problem.
“Governments are encouraged to assist in boosting the available food resources. The governments at both state and federal levels are already addressing that”.
Olusi hailed the Tinubu administration for ensuring fiscal autonomy for local governments, describing it as “a step in a very good direction because local governments will now be able to address the needs of their localities instead of having those interests determined from state level”.
He lamented that before now, local government funds were not being used to address local issues as anticipated in the constitution, “But with the recent development, we are back to the time when money were going directly to the local governments.
“I expect that as this policy is implemented, problems that are associated with the implementation would be identified and addressed”.
Olusi added that “the issue of selling crude oil in the naira is a revolutionary step because the oil market is priced in dollars throughout the whole world. Even if America is not doing much, the demand for oil will always help the dollar to stabilize.
“We know that very soon now, some people will be able to buy crude in naira and sell fuel to us in naira. So, those are things that show that there is a better future for Nigeria,” the Yoruba Leaders of Thought national leader said.
