August 1: Anyone kicking against protest is your enemy – Workers tell Nigerians
Nigerian workers under the aegis of All Workers Convergence (AWC) have declared that anyone who is kicking against the planned protest against hunger in the country is an enemy of the people.
AWC made this declaration via a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Andrew Emelieze and made available on Monday.
A planned protest across the country has been fixed to start on 1st August.
Some individuals and groups have been kicking against the planned protest.
The AWC, in its reaction, described protest against bad governance, hunger and insecurity as a legitimate right of the people.
The workers’ group maintained that anyone who is kicking against the planned protest is an enemy of the people.
According to the group, the protest became necessary in view of the challenges Nigerians are currently passing through at this period.
It noted that the protest is a revolt against hunger and a rebellion against hardship.
The statement read, “We have been calling for protest and we shall continue to call for protest until the system works for the public good. We are in full support of calls by Nigerians for massive protest inorder to end hunger, hardship and bad governance in Nigeria.
“In a situation like ours in Nigeria, protest becomes a collective duty. It is however, antisocial not to participate in protest.
“Our people have lost hope in the system. All our able-bodied citizens are either leaving or planning to leave the country. Our people are being daily strangled by bad governance. Our government keep telling us the same old story.
“While the mass majority of our people pass through hardship, our rulers and a very few are immersed in unimaginable wealth and wastage of national resources.
“We will not sit down and continue to see things get worse by the day. Our leaders have been making mockery of governance and certainly we cannot continue like this.
“Governance under Tinubu has brought untold hardship to our people. Everything is now upside down. It appears governance under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has collapsed.
“We the Nigerian workers support the call for national protest against hunger and bad governance. Protest everywhere is a fundamental human rights. Protest everywhere is lawful. Protest is not a crime. Protest is a duty of all citizens. We shall protest, no going back. We salute the courage of our people as we all continue to mobilise for actions towards the the day.
“This protest is a revolt against hunger and a rebellion against hardship. Our people are only trying to resist deprivation. This is a revolution towards the genuine transformation of Nigeria.
“Our people have suffered enough. Our people have made up their minds to arrest the situation. We are going ahead with the planned protest.
“Anybody against this call for protest is an enemy of the people. It is time to emancipate Nigeria from corruption, bad governance and exploitation. We call for synergy among all the organisers of this protest. We shall overcome. No retreat no surrender.”
