#FearlessInOctober protesters in Ibadan have expressed their displeasure with the economic hardship in Nigeria and targeted the “anti-people policies” of Seyi Makinde, the Oyo State governor.
On Tuesday, these protesters told FIJ that Makinde was making decisions similar to those he once criticised former governor Abiola Ajimobi for.
They also announced at Dugbe Market that the current protest would resume on Wednesday. The protesters said, unlike the August demonstrations, there would be no stop date to October’s protest.
The protesters stood under Mokola Bridge in Ibadan to sing songs of protest and encourage onlookers to join in their demonstration.
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FIJ also noted the presence of policemen around the protest venue, with some of them escorting the protesters as they moved from Mokola to Sabo, Adamasingba and then to Dugbe Market.
Credit: Akinjide Adebowale/ FIJ
MAKINDE IS DOING EXACTLY WHAT HE CRITICISED AJIMOBI FOR
One of the protesters said that the state’s internally generated revenue (IGR) has been on the rise, so he does not understand why Makinde has been taking loans.
“How will a state governor who wants to serve the people be taking loans when Oyo State’s IGR has been rising in triple folds? Our IGR increases every quarter,” Solomon Emiola, a protester, told FIJ.
“We pay double taxes in Oyo. There is one they call tenant rate, land use charge. He is now doing everything Ajimobi once wanted to do, that he (Makinde) once spoken against.
“The local government autonomy you said you won’t grant that made you do a kangaroo election. That one is for you. Those you put there will give account because we the indigenes did not vote them.”
Credit: Akinjide Adebowale/ FIJ
‘I CAN’T LEAVE MY BUSINESS TO JOIN THE PROTEST’
While the protesters walked from Mokola through Adamasingba to Dugbe, some of the tricyclists, cab drivers, bike men and petty sellers refused to join the protest. Some of them showed verbal solidarity with the protest but were reluctant to join.
A Micra driver (one of Ibadan’s cab men) said he could not abandon his cab for the protest because he had a family to feed. He also said the protest would yield no result.
Credits: Akinjide Adebowale/ FIJ
“We should spare one day for the protest,” the driver said.
“I have children who need to eat, and you expect me to leave my job to follow some people aimlessly,” another cab driver added.
“There is nothing we can do. We know it is for our own good but what do we do? If we scream today and tomorrow, it doesn’t equate to a change in governance.”
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