TINUBU’S ADDRESS: “A Beautifully Crafted and well Delivered Speech ” But — Dewale Alonge

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A critical analysis of President Tinubu’s Post-Protest Speech to the Nation

By Wale Alonge Ph.D

Compared to what happened recently in Kenya and the bombastic prediction by the planners of the “EndBadGovernance” protest, President Tinubu and our dear country just dogged a huge bullet. We are very fortunate to have averted what could have been catastrophic conflagration. Our country is still standing, thank God. So it was totally appropriate and expected that the president would address the nation. I listened to the president’s much anticipated speech, this morning as I was heading out to the airport relieved that my flight had not been cancelled by the protest.

It was a beautifully crafted and well delivered speech with the right cadence. It included a laundry list of various policies that have been taken by the president’s government to reposition the economy for sustainable growth and to ease the the pain of some of his critically needed but painful reform policy like the oil subsidy removal. The president also provided the contextual underpinning for some of the painful policies he has had to implement

However, the crafters of the speech made a fundamental mistake of relying on the president assuaging the pain of the citizens by regurgitating and enumerating the different policies his government has enacted to ease the pain his reform polices especially the removal of oil subsidy and floating of the forex has caused, when in fact empathy was needed. As great as some of those policies might be, their impact are probably longer term ame will not address the immediate needs of the populace for relief from the economic Armageddon that confronts them daily as they try to eke a living and survival in an economy that is close to comatose. Presidential speeches are usually not the best forum to discuss arcane complex policies that might not be understood by most citizens especially those who are hurting. What good does a government credit policy for nano and micro-enterprises do for a hungry man?

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The president’a speech was ended on the usual empathy, “I feel your pain” piece when it should have been front center from the onset.

The president would have been better served had he started with the “I feel your pain” piece rather than at the end. It would have been great had the president stated the speech with “I heard your message loud and clear”. As your your president, I feel your pain and know daily struggles. While we have done so much to ease your pain, your protest tells us, we need to do more.

The other missing piece in the president’s speech, was the failure of the president to tell the citizens, what he will do differently in response to protest! It would have been great has the president talked about what he would do to reduce the cost of governance, to make his administrative bureaucracy lighter, more nimble and more aligned to the the country’s economic reality and the sacrifice that the citizens have been called up to make. That was a big and regrettable omission in the speech.

Yes, as commander in chief and the chief security officer, it was important that President communicated his commitment to maintaining law and order as mandated by the constitution. But his role as empathizer in chief could have been given more prominence than it was in the speech.

Overall, it was a good speech, timely, much needed and well delivered.