David Umahi, the Minister of Works, has dismissed the idea of protests from the Southeast against President Bola Tinubu’s administration, citing resolved farmers/herders clashes as a pivotal factor.
Speaking to reporters in his Uburu hometown, Umahi highlighted Tinubu’s efforts in quelling the incessant clashes, attributing their resolution to improved security and enhanced food production, mitigating hunger in the region.
The former Ebonyi state governor underscored Tinubu’s administration’s favoritism towards the Southeast, citing key appointments and infrastructural projects as evidence.
As the first Minister of Works from the Southeast, he stressed the region’s moral obligation to refrain from protests against the President amidst economic challenges.
In Umahi’s words, “The present hunger that everybody is talking about didn’t start today. It’s a built-up to a number of factors. Before the past administration and present administration, we had been having a build-up of insecurity. We had farmers/herders clashes over a number of years.
“At a time, I was the Chairman of NEC committee on resolving farmers/herders clashes. So, I went through a number of states, especially the northern states, settling the farmers/herders clashes, and it yielded a number of fruits.
“That problem dealt a huge blow to food production. The issue of kidnapping and the issue of insecurity prevented farmers from going to their farms because here we are talking about hunger.
“And so, you expect the administration of President Tinubu to fix all those things within nine months? It’s not possible. It’s a cumulative effect of the past, like I have mentioned. We should be asking ourselves: how do we solve these problems? That’s what the President has started doing. When something has got to the climax, you don’t expect to resolve it overnight.
“If you check very well, especially in the Southeast, you will know that we no longer have incessant farmers/herders clashes. So, why should we join the protest when the President has solved our major problem? The problem we now have in the Southeast is self-inflicted. That is the issue of unknown but known gunmen.
“So, if we are protesting, who are we protesting against? We are protesting against a President that has solved herders/farmers clashes. If you remove the issue of unknown gunmen, the Southeast will be completely safe and farmers can work. So, we can’t go and join anybody to protest.”
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