CSO to youths: Don’t be used by anarchists to destabilise Nigeria

The Nigeria First Project Initiative, a civil society organisation (CSO), has appealed to the youths not to join the planned nationwide protest.

The youth-led nationwide protest against economic hardship is slated to begin on August 1.

President Bola Tinubu has pleaded with the organisers of the planned protest to shelve the idea and allow the government to address the economic challenges.

With just a few days to the date, the Defense Headquarters (DHQ) said the military has “detected” plans by some “unscrupulous elements” to hijack the protest and perpetrate violence.

The CSO, in a communiqué issued after an interactive session with youths in Katsina on Tuesday, asked young Nigerians not to allow themselves to be used by persons seeking to destabilise the country.

“In response to the upcoming nationwide protest, we have convened an inclusive roundtable with civil society organisations that include youth-based organisations, students’ unions, people with disabilities, women groups, faith-based groups, academia, indigenous leaders, and human rights defenders,” the communiqué reads.

“After extensive and robust deliberations, we have unanimously resolved as follows: We acknowledge the fact that the common people, who are the majority in Nigeria, are facing severe hardship, including a high cost of living and low purchasing power.

“We, therefore, salute Katsina State citizens and Nigerians as a whole for displaying a high sense of resilience despite the prevailing difficulties.

“However, we all agreed that street protests are not the best method of addressing our challenges.

“We premised our reason on historical facts, which show that most of the protests conducted in Nigeria were usually characterised by blockage of roads, harassment of passersby, intimidation, killings, looting of public warehouses, and destruction of critical national assets, among others.

“Our position is also guided by the outcome and impact of street protests in some neighbouring African countries, such as Sudan, Libya, and Egypt, which include violence, coup d’état, and civil war.

“Moreover, we have decided not to plunge into the streets because our dear country, Nigeria, is being confronted by multiple challenges, including terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, and vandalism, and therefore, we don’t want to add salt to injury by acting out of anger, which will further divert the attention of our leaders and our gallant security forces.

“More important is the appeal and exhortations by our leaders and elders, including learned ulamas, royal fathers, and senior citizens, who all advised us to rescind our earlier option of staging street protests. We are people of culture; hence, we can’t snub our wise elders.

“In view of the aforementioned, we, therefore, unanimously agreed to shun the upcoming nationwide protest tagged ‘End Bad Governance’.

“All members of this coalition will not partake in the protest. Instead, we are going to continue to explore non-confrontational approaches to channelling our grievances and those of our members.

“In addition, while we commend the leadership at both national and sub-national levels over their efforts to address the challenges, we urge them to expedite more measures that will ameliorate the suffering of the masses by implementing more welfare schemes.

“Meanwhile, we enjoin the citizens, particularly the youth, that they should not allow anarchists to use them to destabilise Nigeria.”

The communiqué was signed by Hamza Umar Saulawa, the CSO’s national coordinator; Bishir Dauda, director of research and documentation; and Rilwanu Mukhtar, director of contact and mobilisation.