Aiyedatiwa Asks Ondo Youths To Shun Protest, Katsina Group Withdraws

The Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa has called on youths in the state to shun the proposed protest against hardship.

That demonstration is billed to begin August 1 but during a meeting with stakeholders, including students and youths in his office in Akure on Tuesday, the Ondo leader asked Nigerians to be patient with President Bola Tinubu’s government.

Governor Aiyedatiwa assured them that ongoing reforms by Bola Tinubu will lead to improvement in the nation’s economy. He assured the youths that their welfare remains a priority, adding that there would be greater inclusion for youths in his administration.

He appealed to the sponsors of the nationwide protest to seek a more peaceful option and approach that would promote development, national peace, and political stability.

The governor said, “Development thrives in a peaceful environment; let us all be united and collectively tackle the prevailing economic hardship confronting the nation.

“We should all avoid a protest that could lead to destruction of lives and property as this might worsen our economic situation. The EndSARS protest that was hijacked by hoodlums is still fresh in our memories.”

The youth leaders present at the meeting all spoke with one voice against staging any protest in Ondo State. According to them, Ondo is one of the peaceful states in Nigeria, and any protest that could lead to violence and destruction of public property would not be allowed.

Meanwhile, the Katsina Groups under the aegis of Nigeria First Project Initiative have engaged critical stakeholders mostly the implication of the protest.

Speaking in an interactive session on Tuesday with a theme: “Say No To Confrontation”, the group’s Director of Research and Documentation, Bishir Dauda announced that the organisers of the protest are not yet known officially, and talk less of their sponsors and philosophy.

According to him, responsible citizens can not afford to take the risk of joining the needless and implicative protest.

On his part, the National Coordinator of the Nigeria First Project Initiative Hamza Saulawa insisted that the majority of the intending protesters failed to understand the implications of the protest hence the groups engaged critical stakeholders intending to educate them on the possible implications.

“We acknowledge the fact that the common people, who are the majority in Nigeria, are facing severe hardship, including a high cost of living and low purchasing power. We therefore salute Katsina State citizens and Nigerians as a whole for displaying a high sense of resilience despite the prevailing difficulties,” the groups said in a communique after the meeting.

“However, we all agreed that street protests are not the best method of addressing our challenges. We premised our reason on historical facts, which show that most of the protests conducted in Nigeria were usually characterized by blockage of roads, harassment of passersby, intimidation, killings, looting of public warehouses, and destruction of critical national assets, among others.

“Our position is also guided by the outcome and impact of street protests in some neighboring African countries, such as Sudan, Libya, and Egypt, which include violence, coup d’état, and civil war.

“Moreover, we have decided not to plunge into the streets because our dear country, Nigeria, is being confronted by multiple challenges, including terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, and vandalism, and therefore, we don’t want to add salt to injury by acting out of anger, which will further divert the attention of our leaders and our gallant security forces.

“More important is the appeal and exhortations by our leaders and elders, including learned ulamas, royal fathers, and senior citizens, who all advised us to rescind our earlier option of staging street protests. We are people of culture; hence, we can’t snub our wise elders.

“In view of the aforementioned, we therefore unanimously agreed to shun the upcoming nationwide protest tagged “End Bad Governance. All members of this coalition will not partake in the protest. Instead, we are going to continue to explore non-confrontational approaches to channeling our grievances and those of our members.

“In addition, while we commend the leadership at both national and sub-national levels over their efforts to address the challenges, we urge them to expedite more measures that will ameliorate the suffering of the masses by implementing more welfare schemes. Meanwhile, we enjoin the citizens, particularly the youth, that they should not allow anarchists to use them to destabilize Nigeria.”