*Cautions against military options
By Myke Uzendu
Coalition of Civil Society Organisations have called on the protesting Nigerian youth to suspend action, saying that their concerns are being addressed by the government.
The group also warned the military to direct their relaunched operation Crocodile smile at bandits and Boko Haram sect terrorizing the country.
The group in a press conference on Sunday in Abuja, convened by Comrade Olayemi Success said that the protesters are frustrating business and economic activities. He said that even as protesters have the right to carry on with their activities, the public should also be allowed unmolested access to the roads and business places.
He said, “We are particularly disturbed by the continuous protest by the #ENDSARS Protesters especially the latest violence trend the protest is taking. I am sure you all know the lost of manhour that Nigerians have suffered recently due to deliberate road blocks by these protesters and the several attempts by the politicians to catch in, for the purpose of political scores, bearing in minds that these protesters have their right to protest just like us, the overwhelming majority have our right to enjoy peaceful atmosphere devoid of blocked roads.
“While commending the Inspector General of Police, the Nigeria Police Force and other security agents for their conducts in managing the situation so far.
“We also wish to call on the protesters to give in to reasonability by suspending the protest as it is bringing untold hardship to the majority of the citizenry especially when your demands have been agreed to by the government. Apparently, your demands are not the type that could be off-loaded from shelves and handed over to you, instead, they are to be achieved via processes”.
He said that those arguing that the government cannot be trusted to fulfill its aide of the bargain should note that those demands cannot be met while the roads are still blocked.
“We hereby call on the government to do all he can do to demobilize the protesters off our road. One of such strategy is to again reassure them that government is trustworthy, another is to quickly resolve issues with Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) so that our universities can be opened and students back to schools”.
On the attempt by the army to use the relaunched operation Crocodile smile to disperse protesters he replied, “We will never support that. I believe that operation Crocodile or whatever should be for the bandits, Book Haram, the terrorists, the kidnappers not the protesters”.
