This post has already been read at least 11264 times!

A US based good governance frontline, Big Thumb Network, and its Nigeria partners, Indigenous Food Allied Processors Association Network (IFAPAN) and Save Democracy Mega Alliance (SDMA) have come together in incisive campaigns for democratic emancipation of Nigeria through electoral reforms as a bedrock for producing people responsive leadership, inclusive national food sufficiency policies, farmers protection, agro security and green revolution in the fight against hunger in Nigeria.

The advocacy triune which has an ambitious plan to propagate their mission nationwide, beginning with a six-stop summit in the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria, launched its maiden policy roundtable in Lagos, Southwest Nigeria, on May 29 ex-Democracy Day at Excellence Hotel, Ikeja.

The convener of Big Thumb Network, Mr. Jeremy Osezua, monitored and participated in the event virtually from the US while IFAPAN’s convener, Mr. Okhaimon Omonhinmin, and Comrade Tony Akeni Le Moin, convener of Save Democracy Mega Alliance (SDMA) who was also one of the speakers at the roundtable, attended with other notable civil society and political leaders from across the country.

Other speakers and dignitaries at the Big Thumb media event included Dr. Bolaji Akinyemi, renowned writer and apostolic activist, Barr. Affiong Affiong, a democracy campaigner and labour activist, Dr. Kehinde Sogunle, a former commissioner in Ogun state and Dr. Dayo Kayode. Others were Rev. Eliashib Ime James, Mr. Olaolu Samuel Apagun, a Labour Party chieftain in Ogun state, Chief Oloye Adeniji, Mr. Biodun Adewuni who presented a paper, “State of the Nation Food Report,” and Mr. Salvation Alibor who represented the Big Tent forum of Prof. Pat Utomi led coalition for good governance. Barr. Joe Ikhelia served as the special rapporteur of the event.

Speaking from the US, Big Thumb convener, Mr. Jeremy Osezua told the media, “The symbolic theme of today’s event, ‘We Must Comot Suffer’27,’ captures the essence of our mission and imagination of our nation as Nigeria wades through the multiple tribulations and trauma of increasing hunger, insecurity and derailment of our country’s democracy towards one-party tyranny through Machiavellian repression of opposition parties by the President Bola Tinubu Administration just two years after coming to power on May 29, 2023.”

At the end of the essence loaded roundtable, the organizers issued a charged communique which boldly addressed virtually all facets of Nigeria’s troubled democracy, x-raying challenges and providing solutions.

Below is the full text of the communiqué:

COMMINIQUE OF POLICY ROUNDTABLE ORGANIZED BY BIG THUMB NETWORK (BtN), IN COLLABORATION WITH SAVE DEMOCRACY MEGA ALLIANCE (SDMA) & INDIGENOUS FOOD ALLIED PROCESSORS ASSOCIATION NETWORK (IFAPAN) HELD AT EXCELLENCE HOTEL OGBA-IKEJA LAGOS NIGERIA On 29TH MAY, 2025

Roundtable Theme: We Must Comot Suffer’27; Our Big Thumbs Go Do Am!

1. After an exhaustive debate and rigorious examination of Tinubu’s government socioeconomic and political policy thrust in the first two years, the Big Thumb roundtable expressed profound appreciation to Mr. Jeremy Osezua,the convener of Big Thumb Network and Chief Host of the roundtable, represented by Mrs. Eniola Ajayi; Comrade Tony Akeni (Save Democracy Mega Alliance), and Okhaimon Aiyegbeni AA Omonhinmin (Indigenous Food & Allied Processors Association Network) for organizing the timely policy discourse.
2. The Roundtable demands an immediate and comprehensive axis-symmetry policy framework as a social contract between Nigerians and the Tinubu government, because absence of such articulate policy framework is accountable for the afterthought actions which is now a pattern and norm of the much trumpeted reforms of Tinubu’s government.
3. Describes Tinubu’s reform as “nebulous, headless, heartless, elitist and fiendish,” with their most prominent achievement being the pauperization of Nigerians and plunging of Nigerians’ life expectancy to the lowest ebb ever recorded by concerned rating institutions across Africa and the globe.
4. Roundtable notes with sadness Tinubu’s obsession and preoccupation with 2027 re-election politics has overshadowed realistically addressing socioeconomic issues that turned Nigerians into scanvegers in their country as a result of his voodoo economic policy.
5. In light of Tinubu’s insensitivity to the sufferings of Nigerians the Roundtable urges organizers to join forces with patriotic actors to form a broad-based coalition to rescue Nigeria from the current insensitive and experimental policies of the Tinubu Administration, which have reduced Nigerians from citizens to laboratory rodents.
6. Regardless of Tinubu strategy to lure opposition members into APC, complimented with the accelerated cyberpunk war in propaganda stunts unleashed by his emilokan ululationists, the Big Thumb Roundtable and partners assured that those against Tinubu are more than those with him. In addition, despite Tinubu’s perceived capture of state institutions and deliberate fragmentation of the opposition trenches, Roundtable expresses certainty that Nigerians will decide the outcome of the 2027 general elections and not the spurious algebraic conspiracy between the federal electoral body and the judiciary contrary to what prevailed and was imposed on Nigerians in 2023.
7. Big Thumb and her partners stand with the people and opposition forces to recalibrate the political binary for an undeniable and historical people’s victory in 2027.
8. The partners note Nigeria’s largest spike in acute food insecurity worldwide in 2024, plunging 31.8 million Nigerians into near famine conundrum.
9. The Roundtable attributes the food crises to armed conflicts, terrorism, accentuated corruption, insensitive wastage by state and non-state actors, capped by gross economic mismanagement. The Roundtable asserts this observation taking into cognizance Nigeria’s severe food insecurity situation which affected 6.9 million more in the single year 2024 with a grim prospect of worse statistics by year end 2025.
10. The Roundtable partners observe avoidable human carnage and displacement due to conflicts, inflation and infrastructurally preventable environmental disasters.
11. The harrowing, widespread and unrelenting bloodletting by hordes of land-grabbing killer Fulani herdsmen, bloodthirsty Islamic terrorists and their complicit kiths and kin in commanding heights of the Nigerian military establishment and political administrations who provide cover for these well documented massacres, is a crime against humanity and civilization. Creating a perennial river of bloodbaths across Northern Nigeria is a direct assault to the sacred commands of Allah of the Muslim faith and the Christian God, both of which severely condemn the laying waste of human life for the purpose of coveting and dispossessing victims of their lives, land, livelihood and heritage.
12. Highlights Nigeria’s increasing status as the country with the largest population of extreme poor globally.
13. Concludes that Nigeria’s food crisis is a symptom of domestic governance failures.
14. Warns of an impending humanitarian and economic catastrophe unless swift, practical, purposeful and sustainable interventions are undertaken by government at all levels.

Prepared by Barr Joe Ikheloa.

Signed by:

1. Jeremy Osezua (Big Thumb Network)
2. Comrade Tony Akeni (Save Democracy Mega Alliance)
3. Okhaimon Aiyegbeni AA Omonhinmin (Indigenous Food and Allied Processors Association Network)

StreetReporters.ng

This post has already been read at least 11264 times!