POLITICAL ACTIONS MUST ACCOMPANY PROTESTS, OSINBAJO

Former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, on Thursday, said for Nigeria to achieve transformative reforms across all sectors of the economy, it needs more than protest.

Speaking at the 6th edition of the Technology New Media, Citizens and Governance Conference, (TNCG) Osinbajo said protest must be accompanied by political actions.

The event was themed “Technology as a Catalyst for Political Action in Africa.”

Nigeria has been faced with a series of protests in recent times due to displeasure to policies that inflict hardship on her citizens.

It will be recalled that there was a protest by the Nigeria Labour Congress in February 2024 to demand a new minimum wage.

Also in August 2024, a ten-day protest tagged End bad governsnce across all 36 states of the federation and Federal Capital Territory was held over hardship and an unfavourable economic environment for businesses.

Speaking on the effect of protest, Osinbajo said, “Political action today must go beyond protests. We must see activities that directly catalyse development as important features of political action.

“And I want to emphasise that protests, of course, are crucial. They are important, but we must use our resources also for direct action that has development objectives.

“We can instigate official action in various ways, for example, intervening in important areas of human capital development, such as education or healthcare.”