Political, Religious, Opinion Leaders: Prevail On Your Subjects To Avoid Proposed Nationwide Protests - CSOs

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Political, Religious, Opinion Leaders, Prevail On Your Subjects To Avoid Proposed Nationwide Protests – CSOs

A Coalition of Civil Society Groups has appealed to all well meaning Nigerians to discountenance the protest and avoid participating in such unpatriotic protests.

The Leader of the Groups, Comrade Solomon Adodo made the call while addressing newsmen in Abuja.

“It has come to our attention that certain people with ulterior interests, driven by bitterness and personal agendas, are attempting to exploit our nation’s challenges to incite unrest through protests and strikes. While we respect the fact that the right to peaceful protest is a fundamental aspect of our democracy, it is crucial to remain vigilant and not be swayed by those who seek to destabilize our beloved country for their own gain.”

“These voices of opposition, bitter and disgruntled politicians and other unpatriotic interest have been on the campaign of employing sensationalism and exploiting the outcomes of the initial challenges of the visionary and bold reforms of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to instigate Nigerians, particularly the young and middle-aged citizens to go on protests against the temporary challenges in the country. They intend to instigate the young people using the incidents of protests and riots in Kenya, which has its own peculiarity and influences.”

We reiterate that the proposed nationwide protests slated to begin on August 1st, 2024 is largely being sponsored by persons who are completely faceless, whose motives are nebulous and are therefore operating nocturnally and clandestinely to undermine national unity. They are only trying to exploit genuine national misgivings about the temporary implications of the reforms of Mr. President to execute their acts of treason and ultimately push for a regime change.

The sheer theme of the protest to wit-“End Bad Government”, is an invitation to anarchy, disorder and mayhem. These faceless gangsters certainly do not have an answer to what structure takes over when a democratically elected government is ousted through brigandage. In any case, all through history, when patriotic and well-meaning citizens abdicate their responsibilities and allow unpatriotic elements to hold sway, the repercussion becomes grave.

Indeed, the agenda of these enemies of the country is very sinister and the intention is indeed destructive. We wish to call on our compatriots, the youth and middle-aged citizens and all Nigerians to discountenance the protest and avoid participating in such unpatriotic protests. We appeal to well meaning Nigerians to rally support for national stability and cohesion. We must resist any attempt at throwing our country into turbulence or chaos. It will all look very idealistic and colourful on the surface, but the outcome is always dire, unsavoury and highly regrettable.

Comrade Adodo made reference to the EndSARS protest stressing that it led to the loss of lives and properties.

“Gentlemen of the press, you will recall that the last mass protest that started as EndSARS, remains a dark moment in the annals of our nation. It brings sadness and evokes painful memories of loss of lives, and monumental destruction of properties . In saying this, we fully agree that the utmost intentions of the EndSARS protests was patriotic and even justifiable. But the truth is that it was hijacked because there was no face to it and the demand progressed from the issues of Police brutality to a demand to “end the government of the then President Muhammadu Buhari, and arson and killing of Security personnel was introduced by criminals who had no link with the genuine EndSARS protesters. At that point, it was no longer the protest that many Nigerians endorsed. It had been hijacked and government had to act decisively.”

He listed some achievements of President Bola Tinubu urging Nigerians to support his efforts.

“We acknowledge the hardship occasioned by the difficult decision of removing subsidy on fuel. It will be unreasonable for anyone to pretend that there are no issues. Mr. President himself has severally acknowledged these issues and has been proactive in addressing them. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved centres for the conversion of petrol and diesel-powered vehicles to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) at no cost to the vehicle owners under the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (P-CNGi). The NNPC has assured that the refineries will soon commence optimal performance.”

“Further more, Mr president has established the ministry of livestock to tackle the perennial farmers and herders clashes which has hindered massive food production and animal husbandry. The government of Tinubu has just approved a minimum wage for workers in view of the realities of the times with a promise to review after three years. The wage award is being paid to cushion the effect of the hardship. Fertilizer and other farm inputs are deliberately being distributed by government to encourage farming. This is in addition to the massive distribution of grains across the country. Security agencies are aggressively clamping down on the bandits that terrorized communities and prevented farming activities. The student loan scheme is an initiative to help students pay their tuition without challenge. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a listening leader.”

“The President has been proactive and significantly started addressing the base foundation of these glaring challenges.
He has taken the bull by the horn to make difficult decisions which the consequences are before us. Mr president deserves our support at this critical time. We must stand by him while offering fair and constructive criticisms where necessary.
Fellow Nigerians, while recognizing that our nation has challenges, it is not enough to lend ourselves to the grand designs of those whose interests is to destabilize and set the country ablaze. We must be watchful and protect our democracy and country.
Consequently, we must all reject the protest as proposed. As an alternative, we should hold national rallies to support the government and peacefully make specific demands on issues and areas we demand action from the government. We have also opened up channels to further aggregate the innovative ideas of the young and middle-aged citizens as we work with Mr. President to drive our country to greater heights.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a listening leader, time and time again, he has reversed himself based on public opinion. He did so with the appointment of the Board of Independent Corrupt practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Governing Councils of tertiary Institutions, cybercrime protection levy etc.”

Therefore, we must avoid the destructive protests being proposed by persons we do not know, do not understand their personal or group grievances, cannot reach out to for discussions and do not appreciate their end game. We call on security agencies to be on red alert. We appeal to political, religious and opinion leaders to prevail on their subjects not to participate in the protest.
The leaders of these groups are unpatriotic, faceless, as such, unknown, their motive is to cause chaos and push for a regime change and must be roundly rejected. We urge every Nigerian to thoroughly assess the motives behind calls for national protests. Let us distinguish between genuine concerns aimed at fostering national development and those driven by ulterior motives aimed at creating chaos. Our unity and stability are paramount, and we must not allow ourselves to be manipulated by those who do not have the nation’s best interests at heart.
As a group championing the cause of over 120 million Youth and Nigerians , We invite all the youth and Nigerians to unite towards building a great and prosperous Nigeria.
Together, let us stand for constructive dialogue, peaceful resolution of issues, and the continued progress of Nigeria. Let us work towards building a nation that thrives on mutual respect, understanding, and collective effort.