Hardship: Why I took empty pot to #EndBadGovernance protest – Woman in viral picture speaks
- She was the centre of attention at the protest ground along the Kudirat Abiola Way in Ikeja, Lagos after she was spotted complaining bitterly about the acute hunger in the country
One Morufat Sikiru, an elderly woman who was seen clutching an empty pot at the venue of #EndBadGovernance protest in Lagos, has opened up on what informed her action.
Recall that Nigerians in their thousands took l to the street last Thursday to protest the perennial economic hardship occasioned by galloping inflation and crippling macroeconomic policies.
However, Sikiru grabbed the headlines and became the subject of public discourse on social media after the picture of her with an empty pot and a facial expression that reeked of despondency went viral.
She was the centre of attention at the protest ground along the Kudirat Abiola Way in Ikeja, Lagos after she was spotted complaining bitterly about the acute hunger in the country.
The Yoruba woman, who appeared to be in her early 60s, broke down in tears as she made a prolonged high-pitched sound “Ebi o! Ebi o!” — which translates to “Hunger o! Hunger o!” in English. She also appealed to the federal government to reduce the prices of food items and improve the economy.
Sikiru’s wailing was greeted with mixed reactions; some Nigerians like singer Oxlade offered to gift her N500,000, while Reno Omokri, ex-aide to former President Goodluck Jonathan, questioned her motives after allegedly spotting a sachet of Action Bitters, an alcoholic drink, on one of her hands.
But speaking with TheCable on Saturday, the Oyo-born Lagosian revealed that she took the empty pot to the protest ground because she had already “surrendered to hunger”.
Sikiru said the pot “symbolises my business” which she lamented has not been in an enviable condition due to lack of capital.
“I went out to protest with an empty pot because I had already given up. I don’t have any capital to continue my business and I thought at least I’m Nigerian as well so I went out to join the protest,” she said.
“The empty pot I took along for the protest symbolises my business I could not continue”.
Asked about her plans for the N500,000 offered to her by Oxlade, she said: “I will use it to start up my business again so I will not continue to suffer”.
“I also have the intention to be part of the protest till the last day. The government should have mercy on the citizens,” she added.
“We can no longer eat beans anymore. Rice, everything is very expensive. I can not afford to buy beans anymore. So they should restore the state of the economy to how it was before.”
The #EndBadGovernance demonstrations turned violent in some northern states, with security operatives dispersing protesters with tear gas canisters in Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Kaduna
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