10 things President Tinubu could do to take the heat out of the current nationwide protests

Ayo Akinfe

[1] He should go to one of the protest sites and address the youth, similar to the way President Yar’Adua went to the Niger Delta to address the militants. It was only that which ended the fighting and ushered in the amnesty programme

[2] He must within the next 48 hours announce a raft of anti-inflammatory measures. Nigerians are really feeling the impact of runaway inflation at the moment

[3] He must make it crystal clear that his government will never use violence against the Nigerian youth. A president is a servant of the people, so is obliged to do what they ask of him

[4] He must make a nationwide address offering timelines on when his government will meet the demands of the protesters

[5] He needs to free up money to fund the subsidising of essential food items. It would be making a statement if this money came from the National Assembly. I thus want to see him send a bill to the National Assembly asking lawmakers to at least halve their salaries and allowances, with that money going to subsidise essential food items

[6] He needs to restrict government comments on the protests to just two people. Placing such a ban on his ministers, cronies, appointees, etc, is the only way he can distance himself from those hawks demanding a Tianemem Square-style crackdown

[7] He should ask the youth to form a negotiating team of 20 individuals and invite them to Aso Rock to thrash out a workable deal with the government

[8] As the protests gather pace, all these secessionist and separatist noises will disappear. When Nigerians fight together, nobody talks about phantom republics. President Tinubu must specifically thank our youth for bringing about unity and banishing ethnic divisions from our society

[9] As a goodwill gesture to the youth, the federal government must commit to paying the school fees of every Nigerian in a tertiary institution for a year. Maybe tax private jets to raise the money

[10] Amend the National Minimum Wage Bill to make earnings indexed to inflation. Earnings must be linked to inflation so that when inflation rises by 30%, salaries too will automatically increase by 30%.

Ayoakinfe@gmail.com