A civil rights group, Liberty Movement of Nigeria (LMN), has asked Nigerians to be patient with the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over plans for a public protest on August 1 against prevailing economic hardships.
Convener of the civil rights group, Olusola Ajayi Edward, gave the counsel in a press statement issued on Monday in Lagos, saying that unforeseen circumstances and fifth columnists might deliberately push the planned peaceful protest in the path of violence and defeat its noble intentions.
“Dialogue is often the best way out of social discontent,” Edward said. “At the end of any war, people will still sit around the table for discussions to end hostilities. So why not avoid the war and initiate discussions to prevent a breakdown of peace, law and order? Jaw-jaw is always better than war-war.”
According to him, the diplomatic way the President personally mediated to peacefully end the minimum wage crisis with Organised Labour showcased him as a leader who did not take Nigerians for granted.
The LMN leader said that the President deserved recognition for taking decisive steps to steer Nigeria away from the socio-economic self-destruction in which previous regimes had catapulted it.
“The English would tell you that things will get worse before they get better,” Edward said. “The fruits of President Tinubu’s bold economic and political reforms will begin to show with time; that we are confident of. And we will sooner than later give him the praise he deserves: The harder the battle, the sweeter the victory.
“We appeal to the organisers of the protest to shield their sword, join government to build a stronger nation and propel Nigeria into the superpower that it is destined to be as the largest Black nation in the world.”
According to Edward, the lessons of the #EndSARS protests were still fresh and no one should be in a hurry to repeat the nightmare of those days.
Recalling that the 2020 #EndSARS protests ended on a sad and violent note, Edward advised against Nigerians walking down the same path so soon.
Edward commended the President for the successful fight initiated at the Supreme Court to grant autonomy to the nation’s 774 local governments, and said that this would bring development and the dividends of democracy closer to Nigerian citizen.
However, he said that the reality was that life was hard in Nigeria.
Edward said: “You cannot beat a child and expect him not to cry. Nigerians are suffering. Government as the parent and guardian must look for ways to ameliorate the sufferings. Food is costly. Fuel is costly. Electricity is costly. School fees in tertiary institutions have risen to an all-time high. All these need urgent attention.
“For citizens to demand that government pay urgent attention to these areas does not amount to breaking any law. But we must be responsible in our approach to tackling national issues so that our good intentions do not become a double-edged sword that will leave sorrows, tears and blood.”
CONVENER, LIBERTY MOVEMENT OF NIGERIA, LMN
OLUSOLA AJAYI EDWARD
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