Former Education Minister Oby Ezekwesili has issued a stern warning to the Nigerian government, urging them to refrain from inciting fear ahead of the nationwide #EndBadGovernance protest planned for August 1st.
Ezekwesili took to social media platform X to express her strong support for the protest organizers. She criticized the government and its supporters for their alleged fearmongering tactics, stating, “This unrelenting media propaganda all over the country by the @NigeriaGov and their supporters is just because their badly governed and suffering citizens finally got distressed and discomfited enough to collectively raise their voice and ask them to please #EndBadGovernance?”
Ezekwesili further questioned the government’s response to the citizens’ demands, writing, “Your citizens are asking for good governance and instead of seeing this as an opportunity, you are escalating fear in the land? Truly sad to see.”
She highlighted the strength of collective action, emphasizing the influence of the people over their leaders. “At least one good thing from this massive propaganda machinery that has been unleashed is the BIG evidence that The Power of the People is indeed greater than The People in Power. We need no further proof,” she asserted.
In her posts, Ezekwesili affirmed the protest’s legitimacy, describing it as a rightful expression of the people’s demand for better governance. She wrote, “The #EndBadGovernanceProtest is a valid exercise of the right of the people to peacefully say to their public ‘leaders’, ‘Enough is enough!’”
Ezekwesili concluded by commending the resilience of Nigerians amid economic challenges and expressing optimism for the future. “I laud and stand with the Nigerian citizens for the resilience shown in a season of severest economic hardship. May our country experience better days just because the people have discovered their power to set their public leaders aright,” she said.
