The “#FearlessInOctober” protest witnessed a low turnout in the Federal Capital Territory and various states despite a significant presence of security forces. Organised by the Take It Back Movement, the protest came in response to President Bola Tinubu’s announcement of a 30-day National Youth Conference earlier that day, which the organisers have rejected.
The group described the initiative as ‘’a jamboree” designed to reward the President’s supporters.
In his Independence Day speech, President Tinubu revealed plans to host a youth conference aimed at addressing the challenges confronting Nigerian youth. He stated that the conference would take place over a span of 30 days, highlighting that young people make up over 60 percent of Nigeria’s population.
“I am pleased to announce the gathering of a National Youth Conference. This conference will be a platform to address the diverse challenges and opportunities confronting our young people, who constitute more than 60 per cent of our population.
‘’The 30-day confab will unite young people nationwide to collaboratively develop solutions to issues such as education, employment, innovation, security, and social justice. The modalities of this Confab and selection of delegates will be designed in close consultation with our young people through their representatives. Through this confab, it will be our job as leaders to ensure that their aspirations are at the heart of the conference’s deliberations,” the President said.
In response to the announcement, Juwon Sanyaolu, the National Coordinator of the Take It Back Movement, pointed out that the President had not convened any conferences prior to implementing his policies.
He said, ‘’I think President Tinubu wants to lavish taxpayers’ money to organise a jamboree for his supporters. We saw some of them that were paid, NANS (National Association of Nigerian Students), singing his praises in Abuja, so I think that is simply what the President wants to do.
“What confab did he organise before he awarded a private jet to himself costing billions? Did we hold any confab before he decided to use billions of naira to construct an apartment for the Vice President? Or which confab did we hold before they started paying themselves huge allowances, budgeting billions for kitchen utensils?’’
Continuing, Sanyaolu added, “As a matter of fact, what confab did the President hold before increasing the price of fuel, even between August and now, to over N1,000? Even, some are buying at N1,500. Nigerians don’t need a confab.
“We don’t need our money to be wasted on organizing a jamboree for his supporters in APC or wherever they come from. Nigerians need good governance, and it is not a confab that will fix that.”
Asked whether the protest will continue, Sanyaolu said “The protest continues, but the new date will be announced because I am aware that there are still people in different states who want to protest. But we are going to announce the next days, which we will definitely not be far from now.”
In an interview with a major news network, Ayodele Olawande, the Minister of State for Youth Development, revealed that the Federal Government plans to establish an implementation task force to lead the execution of recommendations from the forthcoming youth conference. He emphasized that the preparation process would involve forming this task force to address various issues outlined in the agenda.
“We are going to roll it out very soon, and we are going to have the terms and conditions, the areas, the views and all that. And we are still going to plead with the President to give us what we call an implementation task force so that immediately, where we need to do an Executive Order, we put it up.
“Those (recommendations) that need to go to the National Assembly, we take it off and we start having this as quickly as possible. So, it’s a done deal,” the minister noted.
Olawande stated that the process leading up to Tuesday’s announcement was the result of extensive consultations with stakeholders. While the initial plan suggested a dialogue lasting four days, the President proposed extending the conference to one month.
He explained, “I was very happy because I’ve been telling the young people in my constituency that the President is a listening President. Last month, we brought many young people together and talked to ourselves. After the strategy meeting, we told ourselves that we needed to get all the youths from all the parties to come and talk, strategise together and present something to the President.
“We called it a Youth Dialogue. We consulted with all the stakeholders. After consulting with the stakeholders, the President listened to us and said, ‘Fine, you want to dialogue within four days, right? But for me, I want to expand it, and let’s see how you can come together as young people of this country.
“We believe in this country and know that it belongs to us. This is what you’ve seen today, and we are very happy with it. It’s a very good development, and we are preparing to roll out things very soon with all stakeholders involved, which the President has consulted.”
Senate Majority Leader Mr. Opeyemi Bamidele pledged his support for the recommendations that will arise from the youth conference, asserting that such an initiative was long overdue.
He stated, “The need for a youth confab at this point cannot be overemphasised. The youth, like the President, who is also duly recognised, constitute over 60 per cent of our population or demography. And I believe that the time to listen to the youth is not just when they are on the streets protesting.
“If we can hear them loud and clear when they are protesting, we should be able even to hear them louder when we are all seated through a confab to discuss in a very articulate manner.
“So it would be a welcome development. We all look forward to that. And as elected representatives of the people, we also will ensure that we join in creating a conducive amosphere and environment for the youth confab.”
The lawmaker further stated that the National Assembly would carefully consider the Economic Stabilization Bills that were approved during the most recent Federal Executive Council meeting.
In contrast, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Coalition for United Political Parties expressed dissatisfaction with the President’s decision to convene a youth conference, labeling it as a “misallocation of priorities.” PDP Deputy National Youth Leader Timothy Osadolor contended that this initiative underscores the President’s lack of ideas regarding governance.
