Traditional rulers have called for calm over the planned nationwide protest to demonstrate against the prevailing economic hardship in Nigeria.
The protest which is billed to begin from August 1st, 2024 has garnered traction on social media, prompting a meeting between traditional and President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Thursday.
We will listen to our youths because they lead the future. The power and the strength of Nigeria are certainly with the young people, the Dein of Agbor, HRM Benjamin Keagborekuzi said after the meeting.
On his part, the Emir of Zazzau Ahmed Bamalli said the countrys leaders are worried about the planned protest but called on our people to exercise patience and to listen to the words of wisdom.
Well, the message we are taking back to our people is to be calm, to exercise patience, and also to listen to the words of wisdom coming from the traditional rulers and from the governors because we have spoken to the President and he has given us the blueprint of what he has been doing over time, he said.
The Ooni of Ife Oba Adeye Enitan Ogunwusi also followed a similar line but called for caution so the protest would not be hijacked.
Thursdays meeting is part of a last-minute push by the President Tinubu administration which has come under severe criticism over its policies to avert the planned protest.
Following the removal of fuel subsidy and the floating of the naira since the inception of the Tinubu government, the cost of living has soared, prompting the administration to reel out a raft of measures including a new minimum wage and the distribution of palliative. He has also called for patience.
