“I am coming from a supermarket where I went to get foodstuff, and everything has gone up again,” the employee complained. It’s just like every single week, prices keep increasing.
“I want to know, what is the government doing about this increase? Maybe the government will change if a lot of Nigerians come out and start talking about what we're going through. “I don’t know if there is any other president that is as terrible as you (Mr Tinubu). But you (Mr Tinubu) are such a terrible president.
”
She later alleged that she had received threats over her comments, sparking widespread debate on free speech and political dissent in Nigeria.
Additionally, she provided a screenshot of an invitation from the NYSC requiring her to appear in front of the LGI office at Eti Osa 3 on Monday at 10:00 a.m. In a video posted on X on Monday, Sowore revealed that he had met with Uguamaye in Lagos and would be accompanying her and a team of attorneys to the NYSC Local Government Inspector's office. "The journey with Ushie Rita Uguamaye, a youth worker, has begun in Lagos.
“We will escort her to their offices because she is scheduled to appear before the LGI (Local Government Inspector) today. The video had a caption that read, "We are all on our way with attorneys." Giving an update later, the activist wrote: “We arrived at Eti-Osa LGI offices of the National Youth Service Corps with youth corper, Ushie Rita Uguamaye in Lagos. She was scheduled to appear before the LGI today and we escorted her to their offices with attorneys, Festus Ogun, Adeyinka Oyesomi and Ojienoh Justice but LGI officials had absconded failing to show up throughout our stay. We will return! #RevolutionNow #tinubuisaterriblepresident.
”
Meanwhile, another activist, and journalist, Agba Jalingo, urged Nigerians and authorities to show Uguamaye empathy and support instead of condemning her for the viral video.
In a Facebook post on Monday, Jalingo said Uguamaye experienced personal tragedy linked to poor government policies when her father, Raphael Ushie, a Chief Inspector of the Nigeria Immigration Service, died in May 2019 after protesting the demolition of his palm plantation for the Obudu International Airport project.
"There was a protest by youths and women of the Ukambi community over the demolition of their community farmlands for the Obudu International cargo and passenger airport," Jalingo explained.
“According to a CrossRiver Watch report, her dad, Ushie, who was also the younger brother of Governor Ayade’s physician, Dr Vincent Ushie, died after he was rushed from a hospital in Obudu to the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, having participated in the protest.”
He related how, as Ushie was getting closer to retirement, he had put his entire life savings into a palm plantation in Ukambi. Upon hearing that demolitions had begun in neighboring communities and were nearing Ukambi, he hurried home to protect his land.
He met the bulldozer close to his plantation when he arrived and immediately went to the farm in his uniform. He faced the operator and tried to prevent him from encroaching on his land before other community members joined him.
“He participated fully in the day’s protest, and the demolition collapsed afterwards. He was rushed to a hospital in Obudu. The matter couldn’t be handled there, and he was moved to UCTH in Calabar, where he passed on,” Jalingo recounted.
Jalingo revealed that Uguamaye's mother had to struggle with her education because her family did not receive any compensation for losing her father and their farm. “And this young girl goes to the market and comes back to whine about what everyone else in the country, including supporters of the President, is complaining about, and some people are calling for her head?” Jalingo questioned.
“If you were in her position, you would live in a country where the system kills your father for no reason when you are only 19 years old, where your mother suffers to support you through school, and where the same country that killed your father threatens to kill you when you express your frustrations in public. —so where is the freedom of expression?” he added.
Jalingo urged Nigerians to show empathy rather than condemn her.
He stated, “I think that rather than pushing this young girl into additional complications, well-meaning Nigerians should rather sympathise with her ordeal and rise up to support her and the family to regain the missing gaps in their lives.
”
Meanwhile, a senior special assistant to the president on media and publicity, Temitope Ajayi, has called for the immediate expulsion of the corps member from the NYSC.
Ajayi, in a statement on Monday, emphasized the importance of upholding the nation’s long-cherished values of dignity, discipline, and mutual respect among citizens.
“I suggested that blatant disregard for NYSC by-laws and established protocols should be met with the full weight of NYSC disciplinary measures, particularly in light of a corps member’s recent act of imprudence,” Ajayi stated.
He added, “It is well established that the maximum penalty under NYSC regulations is expulsion—nothing beyond the existing rules and guidelines has been suggested or implied.
“Acts of indifference should not be used to undermine the NYSC program, which is a historic and highly regarded national program. It stands as a testament to our victory over division and our continued efforts to build a stronger, united nation.”
This country is a joke
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