n those good old days when we were in the seminary, we always waited anxiously for our Rector's address to us on special occasions. As he bombarded us with high grammatical and theological expressions, we waited for one crucial word which is THEREFORE. Whenever he paused in the midst of his speech we shouted, "Therefore!" Being a lovely father to us he quite understood the connotation of that word. Finally when he said 'therefore', we clapped and clapped before he stated what followed the therefore. It was always good tiding, especially that our refectory that day would be coloured with brown bottle liquid contents and sumptuous meal punctuated with chicken parts. Our sleep on the night of that special day was always filled with sweet dreams. A hungry and angry man experiences awful dreams.

On the other hand, whenever the Rector ended his speech without the expected 'therefore,' then we needed no soothsayer to tell us that he was in bad mood or that we would enter into hot soup for our commission or omission. Once his speech ended with 'Hence' we expected the worst to happen. And so it was.

A child does not cry for nothing. It is either he or she is hungry or in great pains. The mother or the father must use his rational acumen to discern the cause of the cry, especially if the child cannot yet express himself by talking. Hearing the child's cry is not enough. The parents must do something concrete immediately. If he is hungry, the only remedy is the mother's breast-milk or food on the table, as the case may be. If you ignore his cry, then he cries louder and louder. You worsen the situation by asking him to wait endlessly. Asking a hungry child for dialogue is a grave provocation. Dialogue follows pacification.

Even animals feel bad when the master ignores their hunger drive. A certain man was eating at his dining table. His housedog was sitting in front of him yawning at intervals. Unfortunately, the man ate everything without even dropping a piece of bone to the hungry dog. The hungry dog sighed angrily with this loud expression, "Alright!" It angrily went away and waited for a retaliatory occasion. On the evening of that day, the dog was lying down in the state of hunger and anger. As usual, the man came to caress it. Surprisingly, the angry dog barked ferociously at him and bit him deeply with blood flowing. After this, the hungry and angry dog ran away into the bush and joined the wild dangerous dogs. If the master had pacified it, it would have remained a domestic dog.

If a fish jumps from frying pan into fire, its condition becomes worse. The comparative forms of the word 'good' are: better, best. On the other hand we have: Bad, worse, worst. At any given time, we expect progression and not retrogression. That's why we never despair. Every Nigerian Dick, Tom and Harry always expresses, "E go better." We were crying of severe economic hardship under the past democratic administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. Hardly did we know that we were in purgatory and hell fire was awaiting us. The present democratic leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu from his first day promised us that our hope would be renewed. Thus his administrative mantra is Renewed Hope. Unfortunately for over one year the hope has not been renewed. Maybe the hope will be renewed in our untimely graves. Thus the poor masses are crying because of hunger and economic hardship which is worsening every day. One year is enough for a hungry person to give up the ghost. Tinubu's harsh long- term policies bring about unbearable hardship. The hungry and angry Nigerian masses need short-term policies that would yield immediate favourable results.

The sudden removal of fuel subsidy on the very first day of the inauguration of President Tinubu was a political blunder. Before the removal, he would have made concrete plans to cushion the effects. This was not done. Instantly the cost of fuel and all commodities in the market tripled. The costs are going higher and higher daily. Hence the poor masses are on the receiving end. You cannot beat a child and command him not to cry. Nigerians are terribly hungry. A hungry man is an angry man. As the worsening hunger and hardship became unbearable, the youths went out into the streets and designated areas in most states to protest from August first and to terminate on August 10, if their demands are met by the President.

On the fourth day of the national protest, which was Sunday August 4, 2024, at 7.00a.m, the President and Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, Ahmed Bola Tinubu ascended the rostrum in his Aso Rock kingdom to render his presidential Address to the protesting hungry and angry Nigerians. He felt sorry for those who lost their precious lives during the protest and commiserated verbally with their families. He underlined these words: "I have heard you." Then he pleaded with the protesters to shield their tongues and return home. He asked for dialogue with them over their cogent demands. The aggrieved Nigerians were hopefully listening over the radio or watching from their television sets the presidential broadcast early that Sunday morning. They were eagerly waiting for the 'therefore' in the President's speech which would have assuaged their hunger and hardship protest.

Along the line, President Tinubu recounted his real and imaginable achievements since the past one year and three months he assumed office. As he spoke and spoke, the aggrieved masses listened and listened. All said and done he did not hit the hammer on the head of the nail. He cleared the bush without cultivating the expected crops. Indeed his broadcast fell short of the target. Cleverly he avoided addressing the demands of the hungry and angry masses. Instead his address created more provocation. He failed to give the hungry masses something to eat. It was highly expected that he would return the fuel subsidy which is the main cause of the present hunger and hardship. Instead he reiterated, "I therefore took the painful yet necessary decision to remove fuel subsidies and abolish multiple foreign exchange systems which had constituted a noose around the economic development and progress….These decisions I made were necessary if we must reverse the decades of economic mismanagement that didn't serve us well. Yes, I agree, the buck stops on my table. But I can assure you that I am focused fully on delivering the governance to the people - good governance for that matter."

At last President Tinubu made no concessions. Hence the hunger and hardship continue unabated. An anonymous critic states, "That speech is baa la blue baloney. Low spirited, tired, worn. Out of touch. Tone deaf. Ineffectual, sounded like something prepared for his one year anniversary. A hurriedly written jambled rigmarole after the Oro and other Janjaweed tactics failed. He didn't bother to appease the protesters. He didn't make a single policy change. He didn't bring anything to the table. My guess is he did it to fulfill all righteousness for foreign observers. He still trusts in the willy and coarse hands of his agents who believe the protesters are either hired hands of vindictive political opponents and sore losers or idle folks seeking gratuitous political mischief." Some concessions from President Tinubu controlled federal government would have been made. "I have heard you" is not the solution. Action follows hearing. The popular English adage says that action speaks louder than words. Has it changed? It is not yet late for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to make a second fruitful broadcast that will alleviate the hunger and hardship in the country. A stich in time saves nine. In God we trust!