By Akinwale Kasali
A Civil Society Group, CSO, under the aegis of Patriotism Awareness Forum, PAF, has condemned in very strong terms, the destruction of private and public properties, burning, looting, attack on Nigerians, Police formations Government Houses, injuring and killing of innocent Nigerians both civilians and security operatives in some states on the first day of the ongoing nationwide protest against bad governance and hunger.
The Group termed the protest as a guerrilla protest of insurrection and anarchy, and stressed that it is saddened and pained by the wanton destruction of lives and properties.
A statement signed by the Convener of the Group, Nelson Ekujumi and the Co-Convener, Peter Claver Oparah said the Group is saddened and horrified that the faceless and unknown organizers of the guerilla protest of insurrection and anarchy, deceptively and fraudulently tagged #Endbadgovernance, achieved their goal of unleashing violence which comes with tears, sorrow and blood on the suffering Nigerian people.
It added that the Security Agencies and the Government had cautioned against it by appealing to them to come forward for dialogue and for the itinerary of the exercise of their fundamental right to protest, stressing that they could be provided adequate security to prevent a breakdown of law and order, but they remained in hiding because of their ulterior motives which came to light yesterday.
The statement reads: “This protest has come at a great cost to the Nigerian people who have had their lives cut short, maimed, businesses disrupted and destroyed and their fundamental human rights raped, yet the faceless and unknown guerrilla protest organizers claim to be protesting in the interest of the people whose economic well-being they have wickedly and insensitively undermined since yesterday, very unfortunate.
“Sadly, these agents of anarchy and destabilization shunned entreaties from all quarters, including from our revered traditional and religious leaders because their hidden intention was to inflict pain and sorrow on the people for rejecting their political interests at the polls in 2023 general elections and so, they bayed for our blood, which they satanically accomplished yesterday, very sad.
“We at PAF, as a conscientious and patriotic organization also joined our voices with those of other patriots and lovers of peace in calling on the faceless and unknown organizers of the protest of insurrection and anarchy to ensure that the protest was peaceful, though we also had our fears that peace is alien to these agents of anarchy. Even as our voices and those of other patriots fell on deaf ears, we know the organizers intended the so-called protest to achieve very devastating consequences on the Nigerian nation. We therefore thank most Nigerians for shunning the protest as the destruction and mayhem would have been unimaginable if majority of Nigerians had joined.
“Happily, we note that a huge majority of Nigerians boycotted the so-called protest, as shown by the state-by-state report that shows Nigerians in majority of states shunned the protest, we however note that the organizers and some disgruntled elements seized the opportunity to launch atrocious attacks on innocent Nigerians, businesses and entities especially in some northern states and we condemn this in its entirety. We, at PAF, and indeed most patriotic Nigerians, know that this plays to satisfy the sadistic intents of the faceless people behind this protest of insurrection and anarchy and we urge the government and relevant security agencies to fish them out to account for the damages caused in this riot.
“Despite these acts of violence on Day 1 of the guerrilla protest of insurrection and anarchy by disgruntled and unpatriotic elements, which is sad and condemnable, we congratulate and commend the mass of the Nigerian people for their resilience, patience, perseverance and understanding in shunning the politically motivated guerrilla protest despite the harsh economic conditions which they attempted to use as a decoy to incite.
“It’s a fact that Nigeria, like other countries in the world, is going through tough economic times. We are aware of the political and economic re-engineering of the Nigerian state by the present administration, which has come with great pains and inconveniences, but we plead with Nigerians to continue to be patient and show understanding as we are optimistic that the tireless efforts of the government in putting in place programmes and policies to address our economic challenges in the long run for a better, peaceful and prosperous Federal Republic of Nigeria, will manifest soon”, the statement reads.
The group further commended the nation’s Security Agencies for their civility and professionalism in curtailing the spate of the unprovoked and condemnable violence unleashed by the protesters across the states and call on them to continue to display such high level of discipline.
“We urge all Nigerians to continue to shun the protest and any such efforts to incite them to destroy the country, as the so-called protest intends
“We also call on the police authorities to professionally investigate all acts of violence and ensure that perpetrators are brought to book for their actions, just as we enjoin them to ensure that the protesters do not in any way again, infringe on the rights of Nigerians in the exercise of their protest.
“We urge all peace-loving Nigerians who are not part of the guerrilla protest to remain calm, unprovoked and go about their lawful businesses and not allow some politically and economically disgruntled person(s) and group(s) to continue to undermine their rights to economic livelihood and the economy of the country”.
