Mr. Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, a senior advocate of Nigeria, has made a passionate appeal to the organizers of the nationwide hunger protest to call it off and engage the government in meaningful dialogue.
Adegboruwa, who is the lawyer for the Take-It-Back Movement, said in a statement that he regretted the protest, which entered its second day on Friday, had seemingly been hijacked by “fifth columnists” and ”angry persons.”
He noted that the organizers wanted to have peaceful protests, but they had become marred by violence.
The statement reads: ”The mass protests declared against hunger and bad governance entered its second day today, August 2, 2024. Though the intention of the organizers was to achieve peaceful and well-coordinated protests, it would seem that fifth columnists and some angry persons infiltrated the ranks of the protesters to derail their laudable mission.
“I have read about the deaths of some security personnel and also some protesters. I also heard about losses of property and other valuables. This certainly was not the goal of the protests, given all the efforts made by the organizers to work with the security and law enforcement agencies to achieve peace and orderliness.
“I hereby express my sincere condolences to the employers and families of the security personnel and also to the protesters, praying to God to comfort them and to grant them the fortitude to bear the irreparable losses.
“In various locations in Lagos, Abuja, Port-Harcourt, Ibadan, Benin City, etc., the protesters have been largely peaceful and orderly. I commend the protesters for their peaceful conduct and respect for law and order. In some locations, the protesters teamed up with the security forces to observe the Friday Jumat service at the venue of the protests.
“Notice of this protest was given many weeks ago, yet nothing was done to engage the organizers of the protests in order to address the issues raised in their charter of demands. It is the same way that the government ignores several strike notices issued by the labour unions until they eventually snowball into strike actions. This should not be so.
“I therefore call upon President Bola Tinubu to directly address the nation and then engage the protesters through their representatives. Thereafter, the government should set up a committee comprising men and women of integrity to meet with the protesters to address the issues that they have raised.
“I appeal to the protesters to withdraw themselves from their various protest grounds and to suspend the protests immediately and indefinitely in order to give room for meaningful dialogue and engagement with the government.
“Given that the protests were said to have been hijacked by sponsored agents, it is necessary to avoid further losses and casualties.The organizers of the protests and their representatives should embrace dialogue with the government.
“I commend the people of Nigeria who trooped out in their large numbers to join the protests and those who stayed at home in solidarity by way of peaceful civil disobedience.
“No leader should ever take the people for granted. In the peculiar circumstances of the hunger and hardship being experienced by our people across the land, the protests were more than justified.”.
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