Hardship: Lagos Igbo Leaders Reject Protests, Say Promoters Are Faceless

Some Igbo residing in Lagos state have rejected the planned hunger protest slated for August 1.

The south easterners made up of 16 groups held a press conference in Lagos on Tuesday where they opposed the 10-day protest declared by some pro-democracy bodies in the country and other Nigerians.

The Source reported that the #Endbangovernance protest, according to the promoters is being organised to force government hands to intervene in the current economic hardship in the country.

The protets the magazine also reported has polarised the country between those who support and those who said it must not take place.

Making their position known yesterday, the Igbo under the Coalition of Igbo political and social-cultural groups and market leaders in Lagos says its members will shun the protest.

According Anslem Njoku, the coaltion is made up  of 16 groups, including the Council of Ndieze in Lagos, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Lagos, South-East Forum in Lagos, Igbo Mandate, seven Igbo town unions, the Igbo-speaking community, Igbo Vision APC Lagos, Igbo Market Men and Women Associations, Ndigbo in APC amongst others.

Njoku said the promoters of the protest are faceless persons who are not known to the coalition, which has decided not to be part of it, saying “we are distancing ourselves and the entire Ndigbo in Lagos from the planned protest”.

He urged the organisers of the protest to dialogue with the government through “constructive criticism”.

Anselm Njoku, the coalition’s coordinator, said the “faceless organisers of this planned protest are not known to us, not Igbos, and are merely hiding under Ndigbo names, dropping Igbo names to create confusion and gather credibility”.

According to him, “Nigerians should develop a culture of dialogue with the government and deploy constructive criticism without resorting to unnecessary provocative protests and violence.

“It is in this regard that we enjoin all Igbo of all extraditions, stakeholders, residents, traders, and captains of industries not to join in the protest.

“Lagos is Yoruba land, and Ndigbo, who are residents here, have contributed immensely to its development, so they cannot be used, coerced in whatever form, to destroy assets.

“We are not destruction-prone and cannot be part of those seeking to destroy what we partly built. Ndigbo are not wired for destruction but develop wherever we are residing.

“Let it be known that from all intelligence gatherings, the faceless organisers of this planned protest are not known to us, not Igbos, and are merely hiding under Ndigbo names, dropping Igbo names to create confusion and gather credibility,” he said.