- Tinubu Should immediately Engage the Critical Demands of Protesters Before Addressing The Nation
- As Any Presidential Intervention that doesn’t address the Demands of Nigerians may not take Protesters out of the Streets
THE organised Civil Society under the umbrella of United Action Front of Civil Society at the end of day three of the #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria wishes to note that the ongoing nationwide citizens’ protests over economic hardships in the country have already recorded huge success, as the protests, to a great extent, have achieved 60 percent of its purpose, especially of getting government to take seriously the sufferings and hunger foisted on the country by its wrongheaded economic policies. This is notwithstanding government’s unnecessary delay in addressing the critical issues necessitating the nationwide mass action.
Again, by the update made available to our situation room by our team of protest field monitors, it’s unfortunate to note that security agents continue to engage in intimidation and suppression of civil protests and disruption of peaceful assemblies, which are unconstitutional and provocative, as they continue to arrest and use tear gas canisters on peaceful protesters in Abuja and other centres, simply because they were deemed not to be in the designated places for protests. We therefore wish to caution security agents not to, in their panic, provoke nationwide resistance and violence by their show of force.
Furthermore, it is the considered view of the organised Civil Society that the federal government has also not helped matters for keeping silent for three days in the face of growing agitations and popular demands of protesting citizens, as the federal government instead of swiftly engaging protest demands and leaders, appears to have lost every initiative on how to sort the legitimate yearnings and aspirations of Nigerians presently protesting national hardships on the streets of Nigeria.
Lastly, as the conscience of the nation, we wish to advise the federal government strongly to quickly engage the leaders of the nationwide protests squarely and agree on some consensus before taking any presidential stance on the nationwide protest issues, as any presidential intervention that doesn’t address the critical demands of Nigerians may not take protesters out of the streets of Nigeria.
Signed
Olawale Okunniyi
(Veteran Che)
Head, Coordinating Secretariat,
United Action Front of Civil Society
