Radio silence from Aso rock
President Tinubu remains silent as Nigerians plan protest
Good morning, Big Brains. I heard some relatively wise words from TikTok yesterday – “Everyone hates their job, you might as well hate your job and be rich”. It’s totally unrelated but it just hit me hard and I felt like sharing.
Word count: ~ 1,000
Reading time ~ 3 mins
Let’s get into today’s edition:
Labour and lawmakers call on President Tinubu to address planned protest
First Lady encourages Nigerian women to participate more in politics
Kamala Harris secures enough backing to secure Democratic nomination
The Big Deal
Labour and lawmakers call on President Tinubu to address planned protest
Remember the planned #EndBadGovernance protest we talked about on Monday? Well, there’s a small chance that it may not hold. The National Labour Congress (NLC) and some lawmakers are currently appealing to the president to prevent the events of the #EndSARS protest of 2020 from happening again.
The Labour union is specifically asking President Tinubu to sit down with the leaders of this protest and listen to their concerns. The president of the union, Joe Ajaero, added that it’s lowkey crazy that they even have to tell the government to listen to the concerns of citizens, especially when the inflation rate just hit 34.19%.
Ajaero said, it’s “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.”
Senator Ali Ndume, who represents Borno South, also agrees that President Tinubu should address the planned protest using dialogue. Even though the president himself has remained silent, Information Minister Mohammed Idris, who spoke to a group of State House reporters after a meeting with the President yesterday, said Tinubu has asked the protest organisers to postpone their plans and wait for his response to their concerns.
Why is this a big deal?
Protests in Africa and literally every other part of the world have a history of becoming violent. The protests in Kenya, which likely inspired the #EndBadGovernance protest, have claimed the lives of at least 50 young Kenyans. Young protesters in Uganda are also getting detained by the military for exercising their rights.
What Labour is suggesting is a more peaceful approach to addressing the current hardships of Nigerian citizens. If President Tinubu takes this route, he might reverse some reforms, like the removal of the fuel subsidy. But if he continues to ignore the public's concerns, the planned protests may proceed and could turn violent. Let's hope it doesn't come to that.
First Lady encourages Nigerian women to participate more in politics
One thing about the First Lady of Nigeria, she’s going to encourage women to break into male-dominated spaces. Earlier this month, she asked Nigerian women to control the country’s food insecurity by becoming farmers. Now, she’s encouraging women to “learn how to obtain power”. She said this while encouraging women to participate in politics.
She also mentioned how important it is to raise more awareness about women’s participation in government. She suggested using public campaigns, media coverage, and community programmes to change how society views women and break down old stereotypes. The real question is, who exactly is this suggestion for?
The Tinubu-led administration hasn’t been the most gender-inclusive administration.
The last time we checked, the president’s cabinet wasn’t exactly giving “up FEMCO”. His cabinet is only 18.75% women even though he promised to allocate 35% of ministerial positions to women. The closest a Nigerian president has come to the 35% threshold was in 2011 when former President Goodluck Jonathan allocated 31% of ministerial seats to women.
That being said, we’ll assume that the suggestions are for President Tinubu’s ears only. We hope they discuss more elaborately on the subject at home.
Kamala Harris secures enough backing to secure Democratic nomination
Speaking of women in politics, Kamala Harris has now obtained enough endorsements from a Democratic delegates to become the party’s presidential nominee. Walking in the stead of Hilary Clinton who has recently shown her support, Kamala is on course to play in the big boys club and run against Republican’s Donald Trump.
A survey by the Associated Press revealed that she has secured endorsements from over the 1,976 delegates needed to win the nomination in the first round of voting.
So far, it's been all love for Ms Harris. Since President Joe Biden dropped out of the race on Sunday, no one has publicly challenged her. Kamala’s campaign has also received millions of dollars in donations. If this support continues until delegates vote from August 1-7, she will officially secure the party's nomination.
President Biden has also encouraged his aides to "embrace" Ms. Harris, saying, "She's the best." Time will definitely tell if she’s the best fit for the Democrats and America.
This Week’s Big Question
“If you could witness any event in history, what would it be and why?”
Tonye’s response - “The apocalypse is what I’m anticipating right now. We need to wrap this world up.”
You can also share your response here and if it’s as interesting as Tonye’s response, we’ll feature it in the next edition.
The Big Picks
Nigeria raises benchmark rates by 50 basis points: Nigeria's Central Bank has increased its key interest rate by 0.50% to 26.75%.
Reps Adjust 2024 Budget From ₦28.7tn To ₦35.5tn: The House of Representatives has approved the revised 2024 budget at ₦35.5 trillion, up from the original ₦28.7 trillion.
If you enjoyed this edition of the newsletter, don’t forget to subscribe and share. You can also leave feedback for us in the comments or by filling out this form.