THE presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in last year’s general elections, Prince Adewole Adebayo, has criticised President Bola Tinubu for implementing the same policies from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank that the opposition parties, including himself, rallied against during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Adebayo said using “empty-headed IMF drones” to prevent leaders from gaining power through elections would be more effective than attempting to remove them through riots.
In a post on his X handle, Adebayo noted the irony of the current protests, saying it was the same political tactics of former President Muhammadu Buhari and Tinubu, who protested against Jonathan for the same policies they are now implementing, albeit with less humanity.
He wrote: “I opposed the Buhari-Tinubu farce at that time, and I oppose the same thing now. As Buhari and Tinubu, and others were opposing Jonathan in 2014, they too were lobbying the same IMF, World Bank for political support based on the same policies Jonathan was already implementing against his own wish, just to please the same IMF.”
While advocating for the full implementation of Chapter 2 of the Constitution, which outlines the fundamental objectives and directive principles of state policy, the former SDP flag-bearer expressed his lack of support for the protest, noting that “a four-year tenure is sacred, if we must avoid chaos.”
He argued that the protests lack an ideological basis, as the sponsors followed the same neo-liberal policies, urging voters to choose wisely in future elections.
He added: “A protest is already a protest if you voice out disagreement in any lawful forum or media. Once you organise a mass protest to challenge pure policy measures and their natural fallout, you are doing politics, and the other side can originate counter-protests.
“In the case of Nigeria and Kenya, you won’t achieve anything substantial, because the major political forces on both sides of the protests agree on neo-liberal economic policies whose inevitable consequences are what they are protesting against.”
