Aisha Yesufu, a prominent activist and supporter of the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has openly disagreed with Obi’s recent remarks about the 2012 Occupy Nigeria protest against the fuel subsidy removal.
In a YouTube video posted on Thursday, Yesufu criticised Obi’s statement that there was no need for protests during former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration when fuel prices increased from N87 to N120.
She began by stating, “First of all, I’m going to start with where Mr Peter Obi said there was no need to protest during Jonathan’s time. I think that’s a very wrong allusion to have like there’s no need to protest.”
Yesufu underscored that protesting is a fundamental right in a democracy, irrespective of who holds power.
She elaborated, “Let’s look at Nigeria for example and let’s look at countries in the other parts of the world where they are doing very well. People are protesting every day, there’s never a time where there’s no need to protest.”
She warned that if Obi assumed he would not face protests during his time in office, he was mistaken. “And if Mr Obi thinks he’s gonna get into office and think people will not protest no matter how good he is, then he should drop that.”
Yesufu made it clear that if Obi were to become Nigeria’s President, she would not hesitate to join protests when necessary.
She further countered Obi’s point, arguing that the N120 per litre during Jonathan’s time was a better time to protest, as the current fuel prices had not yet reached their current levels. “What Peter Obi needs to understand, and what everybody needs to understand is that, at that time, people were protesting against N120. The N900 of today was in the future. Nobody protests for the future,” she said.
In closing, Yesufu stressed, “If there was any time a protest should have happened, it was during Jonathan.”
