Prince Adewole Adebayo, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) presidential candidate in the last election, has voiced strong criticism of President Bola Tinubu for adopting policies from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. Adebayo pointed out that these were the same policies that opposition parties, including Tinubu himself, protested against during former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.
In a post on his X account, Adebayo highlighted the irony of the current protests, stating that Tinubu and ex-President Muhammadu Buhari previously lobbied the IMF and World Bank for political support while opposing Jonathan. He labeled the reliance on what he termed “empty-headed IMF drones” as a misguided approach.
“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,” Adebayo asserted.
Adebayo called for the full implementation of Chapter 2 of the Nigerian Constitution, which outlines the fundamental objectives and directive principles of state policy. While expressing his lack of support for the ongoing protests, he emphasized that a four-year tenure should be respected to maintain order and prevent chaos.
Adebayo also criticized the protests for lacking an ideological basis, noting that the sponsors of these protests follow the same neoliberal policies they are protesting against. He urged voters to make more informed decisions in future elections.
“A protest is already a protest if you voice out disagreement in any lawful forum or media. Once you organize a mass protest to challenge pure policy measures and their natural fallouts, you are doing politics, and the other side can originate counter-protests,” Adebayo stated. He concluded by noting that protests in countries like Nigeria and Kenya are unlikely to achieve significant results, given that major political forces on both sides agree on neoliberal economic policies.