Protest with Restraint, engage youth positively Ex NOA DG urge FG, Youths

By David Odama

AHEAD of the planned Nationwide protest against bad governance, hunger, insecurity, former Director General of National Orientation Agency (NOA), Dr Mike Omeri has cautioned the federal government against approach that could plague the country into another stage of reconstruction crisis.

Omeri, who lamented in a statement made available to Journalists on Saturday added that the nation was going through turbulent times arising from hunger, unbridled corruption, harsh economy, urged Nigerian youths, others to weigh the effects of the protest on the overall wellbeing by exercising restraint by both protesters and security on all sides.

He urged the protesters and the security agents not to be on or cross each other’s red lines, adding that the Nation can not again afford to experience any form of violent protest that could have devastating effect on both human and physical infrastructure.

“Protest with restraint on all sides: protesters and security agents must not cross red lines otherwise, meaning of the protest will be lost.”

“Protest to build and not to destroy either human, infrastructure or physical infrastructure. It is not about salaries and micro credit schemes that have failed to chase poverty away one bit. It is about hunger and grinding poverty as well as corruption on open display of clearly stolen national wealth and cronyism,” that favours family and those within them who can either pay for positions or agree to oaths of patronage to the exclusion of others”, the former NOA DG Warned.

He added that another reason for reconsideration of the strategy of the protest was due to the several appeals made by Nigerians, including scholars, traditional rulers and some truly religious leaders.

“While it is important to pacify our people to step down from the protest ladder, government must on its part be sensitive to the plight of the people, always stand with us and support our course”.

Dr Omeri, therefore, advised organisers of the nationwide protest and the government to consider lessons expressed by aggrieved Nigerians and from the past protests that negatively affected many citizens and their means of livelihoods.

“You see I don’t want to say don’t come out because reasons for the protests are genuine and you know the build up now is that the federal government can’t stop them, if you say stop and they come out you are at risk of being against the Nigerian project and people as well as democracy and freedom because majority of Nigerians will come out, even some of those saying don’t are hiding in the closet and saying another thing because they are even among the people instigating the protest.

“While embarking on the protest, I urge the federal government not to apply force rather, to continuously seek avenues for dialogue with the people, persuade especially the youths to support and to implement more realistic people centre projects which would address the social concerns and economic challenges facing the country,” the statement stated.

“Let us observe that there is hardship in the land and let’s urge govt to immediately address other issues in addition to this style of just issuing policy no concomitant effect on the cost of food, on the cost of education, on energy and the power of the naira and ability of citizens to take care of themselves. Everybody has now become a begger except some of those who are in government,” Omeri declared

It would be recalled that the federal government had held a series of meetings with several youth groups to shelve the protests and give the President Bola Tinubu led-administration more time to execute people-oriented programmes