Concerned leaders of ethnic groups, religious organisations, and community leaders have pleaded with youths residing in the Ifelodun Local Council Development Area of Lagos State to shun the attempt to be used by faceless persons to stage participate in the proposed nationwide #EndBadGovernance protests scheduled for next month.
They called at a parley with youths convened by the Executive Chairman of Ifelodun LCDA, Hon. Olufemi Akanbi Okeowo held at the council secretariat.
Okeowo urged the youths to take advantage of the vocational training programmes his administration had initiated, such as tie and dye, bead weaving, fashion designing, shoe making, and barbing, among others, rather than engage in Protestsk saying: “My office is wide open for constructive criticisms and dialogue, Come and let us reason together.”
The Building Materials Dealers Association President in Ifelodun LCDA, Dennis Martins Igboanugo, said: ” It is people who do not have tangible investments in Lagos that can sponsor protests. We have invested huge resources in our business, which could be vulnerable during protests, hence, no Ndigbo can pray for any protest. The consequences and scars of the Endsars protest are still very fresh in our memories as Odun Ade Traders in Ifelodun LCDA of Lagos state. We are therefore pleading with the youths to embrace dialogue with government at all levels.”
The Chairman of Arewa Ifelodun LCDA, Alarama Jubril said his children did not know any other state other than Lagos because he went through primary, secondary, college of education, and University in Lagos.
Read Also: Shun protests, support Tinubu’s promising reforms, Adamawa APC tells Nigerians
“The development in Lagos state excites me, I would love to see more modern train stations rather than for some people to destroy the existing ones during protests. Protests(could) lead to anarchy, looting, killings, and destructions because every member has different agendas,” he said.
Speaking during the parley, the Commandant of the Signal Barracks Brigadier-General Zipele Preye who was represented by Major Muritala Umar said the Military also believed in dialogue which usually ended most, if not all crises, hence the youths should engage more in dialogue. He noted that if the Military is dragged to quell the protests, it would be considered as an insubordination to disobey order. I will therefore appeal to you to shun protests, whether peaceful or otherwise.