By Silas John
A civil rights group, Liberty Movement of Nigeria (LMN), has urged Nigerians to shelve their planned August 1 hunger protest against the federal government on the prevailing economic hardships in the country.
Addressing a press conference on Monday, the convener of the rights group, Olusola Ajayi Edward in his advice said, the unforeseen circumstances and fifth columnists might deliberately highjack the planned peaceful protest in the path of violence and defeat its noble intentions.
He said, dialogue is often the best option out of social discontent.
According to him, “dialogue is often the best way out of social discontent.
“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.”
“The diplomatic way the President personally mediated to peacefully end of the minimum wage crisis with the organized labour showcased him as a leader who did not take Nigerians for granted”.
The LMN leader further said that, Mr President deserves recognition for taking decisive steps to steer Nigeria away from the socio-economic self-destruction which previous regimes had catapulted it adding that, the English would tell you that, things would get worse before they get better.
Mr Olusola Edward emphasized also that, “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.”
He noted that, the lessons of the #EndSARS protests were still fresh in the minds of Nigerians 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.
Mr Edward, while advising Nigerians against walking down the same path so soon, commended President Bola Tinubu for the successful fight initiated at the Supreme Court to grant autonomy to the nation’s 774 local governments saying, it would bring development and the dividends of democracy closer to the grassroots.
He however admitted the economic reality on ground saying that though “You cannot beat a child and expect him not to cry, Nigerians are suffering and 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, he observed advising that, 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”, Mr Edward stated.
