Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma, has advocated constant dialogue by the government with relevant Nigerian stakeholders as a veritable means of averting any future disenchantment or protests.
He said if the organisers and participants of the recent protests were fully engaged and informed of the gains of the economic reforms by President Bola Tinubu, there would not have been any need for the protests.
Uzodimma, who was speaking with Arise Television in an extensive interview, blamed lack of information on the real cause of the temporary economic hardship and efforts being made to address them as the main reasons the protests took place.
“I sincerely believe that there was no need for the protests. If Nigerians were better informed of the efforts made by the president to address the issues they were protesting, they would have stayed home,” he said.
The governor noted that it was not just the duty of the president to offer such an explanation but all officials of the government at all tiers.
He said: “We have the vice president, the senate president, and 360 house of representatives members who should have their constituency offices and attract constituency projects and we have 109 senators and governors and commissioners who collectively should offer explanation to Nigerians on what is happening in government.”
According to Uzodimma, such a dialogue with Nigerians would help clear confusion and suspicion as well as engender trust in government.
He said that given the country’s culture and tradition, there were means of exhaustively addressing grievances before they snowballed into violence and protests.
He said that going forward, all the tiers of the government should activate regular communication between them and ordinary Nigerians on what the Federal Government is doing in terms of reviving the economy and ameliorating hardships.
Uzodimma noted that the economic reforms embarked on by President Tinubu have temporary consequential impacts, which will progressively ease off to a robust living condition for Nigerians.
“I have always said it that what we are experiencing is like the pangs of labour which will soon bring joy as soon as the child is born,” he said
He blamed what he described as leadership failure on the part of past administrations as being responsible for the economic quagmire Nigerians found themselves in, saying that it was only Tinubu that had the courage to stop the slide into anarchy.
He pleaded with Nigerians to have faith in Tinubu and the government, saying that a country without a stable government was an open invitation to anarchy.
On why the people of the South East did not participate in the nationwide protests, Uzodimma attributed it to the grace of God, which opened the eyes of the people to the futility of the action.
He lamented that Igbo people had often borne the brunt of any kind of crisis in Nigeria, leading to their killing and property being destroyed.
He said the leaders in the South East had also carried out enlightenment programmes, sensitising the youths on why they should shun the protests.
He noted that within the 14 months in the office of President Tinubu, the people of the South East have felt his impact, therefore, would continue to offer him the necessary support to succeed.