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Shelve protest, support fight against corruption, Nigerian governor, Rep member advise youths

Sulaiman Umar
28 Jul, 2024
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As the commencement date for the planned #EndBadGovernance protest draws closer, leaders at various levels have kept appealing to Nigerians, especially youths, to shelve the strike and embrace dialogue as a better means of conveying their demands.

The latest calls came from the Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, and a member of the House of Representatives representing Ekiti Central Federal Constituency 1, who is also the Chairman, House Committee on Information, National Orientation, Ethics and Values, Fatoba Olusola.

In Ondo State, Mr Aiyedatiwa cautioned members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) against participating in the planned nationwide protest.

Speaking at a peace meeting held in Akure with a former chairman, leaders and members of the union, he noted that the nationwide protest would be violent and was targeted at President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

The governor, who was represented by his Special Adviser on Union Matters, Bola Taiwo, said a peaceful protest was not a bad action, but noted that planned protest was targeted at destroying lives and properties, citing the recent Kenyan experience and EndSARS protest as examples.

Mr Aiyedatiwa appealed to the NURTW members to shun the protest in the interest of the state and her people.

“During the EndSARS protest, a lot of properties were destroyed in this nation. Look at what is happening in Kenya too; it is devastating. That is why we are engaging the members of the NURTW that we don’t want that here,” he said.

The peace meeting was attended by three former chairpersons of NURTW namely, Solomon Adejayan, Oladutele Obayoriade and Jacob Idajo.

The current chairman of the union, Ademola Odudu, said the leadership of the union had addressed all members not to join the protest because it could lead to breakdown of law and order.

He added that members were not troublemakers or thugs, but very responsible people. “Whoever is caught among the members of the NURTW participating in the planned protest will be sanctioned accordingly,” he said.

Similarly, a Member of the House of Representatives representing Ekiti Central Federal Constituency 1, Fatoba Olusola, has also advised youths to shun the planned protests against bad governance.

He said they should rather support the anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to tackle corrupt leaders allegedly stealing the country’s wealth.

He stressed that the youth should redirect their energies to fighting those who have stolen the commonwealth by joining the current fight by the EFCC and the Independent Corrupt Practices & Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to get them to account for their loot.

Mr Olusola, who is the Chairman, House Committee on Information, National Orientation, Ethics and Values, made the appeal during an interactive session with journalists in Ado Ekiti.

He acknowledged that the citizens were going through a tough time, but said it was just a passing phase.

He urged those planning to protest to listen to the voice of reason and appeals by various leaders, and embrace dialogue, noting that Mr Tinubu meant well for the country.

“I want to use this medium to appeal to all our youths to shun the protest in the interest of peace and progress of the country. I acknowledge that one of the major problems facing the country is corruption, and all hands must be on the deck to fight the monster.

“I implore our youths to rather form a pressure group, which will join hands with the EFCC and ICPC to make sure whoever is alleged to have embezzled public funds is made to face the consequences,” he said.

The lawmaker expressed the belief that youths could also form pressure groups that will pile pressure on the judiciary to ensure that there is no miscarriage of justice while prosecuting corrupt politicians.

“The President is working round the clock to fix the mess he inherited from the previous administrations. He needs understanding, not protest. Protest cannot fix the challenges; it can only aggravate the problems facing the country,” he concluded.

Reasons for the protest

The planned demonstration is drawing inspiration from recent happenings in Kenya and had gained following in the social media under the hashtags ‘#EndBadGovernance,’ ‘#TinubuMustGo,’ ‘#Revolution2024,’ and the likes.

The State Security Services (SSS) has, however, said the long term objective of the planned nationwide protest against the prevailing economic realities in Nigeria “is to achieve a regime change especially at the centre.”

The nation’s secret service also said it had confirmed a sinister plan by some elements to infiltrate the protest and use it to cause chaos and extreme violence in the country.

Director of Public Relations and Strategic Communications of the Service, Peter Afunanya, made the revelation in a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday.

Mr Afunanya stated that the Service had identified politics as the reason behind the protest.

According to him, the security agency had “also identified, among others, the funding lines, sponsors and collaborators of the plot.”

Nevertheless organisers of the protest insist the hardship on the country warrants a response from the suffering masses to force the government to act responsibly in providing the needed leadership to free the people from the current predicament.

culled from Premium Times Nigeria