A former presidential aspirant under the Labour Party (LP), Faduri Oluwadare Joseph has appealed to the youth in the country planning a peaceful protest to ensure they keep it peaceful and not allow thugs to hijack the protest to turn it violent.
In a statement by Joseph’s media adviser, Rev. Emmanuel Olorunmagba, called on President Bola Tinubu not to use uniformed men against the peaceful protesters.
“This protest being planned by Nigerians is long overdue. Protest is simply a way of expressing dissatisfaction with the government anywhere in the world, even in America where we have better governance, the people still stage peaceful protests and police will only be out to ensure law and order are maintained. And the government will always give the protesters listening ears as they know they are exercising their right to self-expression.
“When the government is in the wrong direction, the people have the right to protest. When government policies are not favourable, in line and in tune with people’s values, citizens have the right to protest.
“All across the world; from America to Europe, protest is not to overthrow a government, but to express dissatisfaction when the people are suffering. The planned protest should not be tribalized or trivialized as politicians used to do when something didn’t favour them.
“Democracy is the government of the people, by the people, and for the people; which means governance is for the masses. The pertinent question to Nigerians is that irrespective of your tribe and religion, are you better off now than one year ago when President Tinubu took over power? The answer is capital NO
“If we have a Hausa man as president and there is protest, the politicians will mobilize their boys to tag it Yoruba people protest. If we have an Igbo man as president they will call it Hausa or Yoruba protest. Now that we have a Yoruba man as president they are trying to tag it as Hausa or Igbo people protest.
“But the question again is that, are the Yoruba people better off in terms of welfare than another tribe now a year after Tinubu took over? The answer again is a resounding NO! The hunger in the land doesn’t care about your ethnicity. Irrespective of your tribe we buy from the same market at unbearable outrageous high costs.
“Obviously this government is going in the wrong direction. And protest is a way the citizens can voice out. And peaceful protest is not a new thing under a democratic administration. For instance, despite the good governance in America, the citizens still protest over one government policy or another. Why then must the Nigerian government be afraid of protest?
“This protest is going to be spearheaded by the youths. Therefore I plead with the youths to ensure it remains peaceful. And to the youths, the politicians may try to disrupt the protest in any form; including trying to create violence so as to discredit the good idea of the organizers. I call on such youths to have rethink and not make themselves willing to tool in the hands of politicians who have destroyed the entire system and still destroying the future of the same youths, while their children are abroad. Any politician that needs youth as thugs should be asked to call their children to Nigeria to do the dirty job.
“To the Nigerian Police and other uniform personnel, I call on you not to be used to shoot or even fire teargas as the protest will continue to be a peaceful expression by the suffering masses. You are supposed to be for the maintenance of peace and order and not a mere tool in the hand of the government to turn the barrel of the gun against your fellow citizens while they are exercising their rights to speak out when the pains everyone is passing through has become unbearable, including you and your family.
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“And to president Bola Ahmed Tinubu, I want to assume he may not use uniform men to launch mayhem on the peaceful protesters as he has been at the forefront of many protests in Nigeria right from the days of the military to the tenure of former President Goodluck Jonathan, that he (Tinubu) was at the forefront of the protest against subsidy removal.
“Therefore, I call on Mr. President to call on members of his team that are now using social media to propagate anomalies over this protest and trying to tag it TRIBALISM, to desist from such act as it’s not yielding positive response.
“I wish all Nigerians the best of luck as we embark on this peaceful protest, believing it will lead to this President Tinubu-led administration to sit up and see to the untold hardship in the country. And let’s keep educating the people that protest is not a tribal issue, but a peaceful expression of displeasure over unfavourable government policies,” the statement said.