Dada Olusegun, the Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Social Media, has come under heavy criticism for his recent statement regarding potential protests in Nigeria. Olusegun’s remarks, seen by many as a threat, have sparked widespread debate about the right to protest amid the country’s ongoing economic struggles.
On Tuesday, Olusegun posted on the social media platform X, “Those who want to burn the country down under whatever guise will meet the strongest resistance of their lives. Not from security agencies, but from the silent majority that gave their mandate to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for four years in the first instance. We are waiting.” This statement followed calls for nationwide protests from August 1-10 in response to the rising cost of living and economic hardship.
In contrast to Olusegun’s stance, President Tinubu, through the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, appealed to citizens to cancel the planned protests and give the administration more time to address their concerns.
The reaction to Olusegun’s comments has been swift and intense. Many social media users pointed out the apparent hypocrisy in his words, recalling that members of the current administration, including Olusegun, had participated in protests during previous governments.
Twitter user #cartermillz noted, “I am sure D.O was on the street with other protesters during the Jonathan government and no one threatened them back then, But today he is dinning with government and do not longer feel the pains of ordinary Nigerians that they felt during Jonathan years.. hypocrisy 2.0.”
Another user, Aremu Ridwan #REALLUCAS20, emphasized the importance of the right to protest, stating, “Those who gave mandate to GEJ didn’t resist Tinubu and co, when they protested against GEJ govt in 2012. Let the individuals willing to register their displeasure against the hardship, carry on without being intimidated. Protest is a fundamental human right.”
The backlash also brought attention to the severe economic challenges many Nigerians are facing. Ben Samuel #flourish007 shared a personal story, “One of my brothers voted for BAT, but today, he can barely feed his family under BAT’s government despite being a businessman. He’s now joining the peaceful protest and comparing it to Buhari’s administration.”
Some users, like Alli Moshood #bigmorsh, called for a balanced approach, acknowledging the right to protest while emphasizing the need to differentiate between peaceful protesters and those who might cause trouble. #bigmorsh wrote, “There is hunger in the land obviously only if we all want deliberately shy away from the truth. Those kind of people have a right to protest. What we must focus on now is how to separate those who want to protest peacefully and those who want to use the avenue that they lost election to cause mayhem.”
Additionally, users dug up old tweets from Olusegun supporting protests, adding fuel to the controversy. On September 2, 2012, Olusegun posted, “Every Nigerian has a right to protest. Its a fundamental right! If u don’t buy the opinion, don’t instill fear into them. That’s evil!” and on January 1, 2012, he wrote, “Special S/0 to dat policeman that will shoot me when I protest, ur corpse and dat of ur kids wil b eaten by Dogs.”
