As the Nation celebrated Democracy Day on June 12, Cross River State Residents took to the streets to express their anger on the extent of hardship in the State, despite the heavily armed Police Force at almost every strategic place in the State Capital preventing any form of protest.
The People, who were seen demonstrating peacefully and carrying placards, lamented on the anti-people neo-liberal policies of the present administration and the intense hardship in the land.
Some of the inscriptions on the placards include: End hardship in Nigeria, We are hungry, End unemployment, Stop the killings, Reverse the anti-people policies, and many more.
A known figure who participated in the peaceful demonstration, Mr Jonathan Ugbai, the South-South Coordinator of Take It Back Movement, lamented on the effects of some of the Government policies in the lives of the people.
He said the people are languishing in poverty and unemployment, living in a Country where Human Development Index is abysmal, and yet the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is claiming an economic growth, while in the real case, the trickle-down system is not beneficial to the common Man.
He further stated that despite Billions of Naira spent on defence, insecurity is still on the high side, with many different terrorist groups rising every day and terrorising the people.
He condemned the continuous silencing of people with alternative ideology that will help improve the system, questioning the type of democracy that is being practiced where Government gives loans to Students instead of funding Education and investing in the people as the case should be.
Drivers and passengers lamented on the high cost of fuel since the removal of fuel subsidy, which has helped worsen the standard of living.
The drivers also lamented on increased taxes paid in the State, including on holiday periods, and urged the State Government to do something to reduce the suffering of the people.
