The Southwest-based socio-cultural organization, the Oodua Integrity Group, has endorsed the recent call by the Conference of Patriotic Nigerians for citizens to give President Tinubu time to address Nigeria’s challenges and to suspend nationwide protests in the national interest.
The OIG Head of Human Rights, Wole Olaosebikan, made this call in Saki, Oyo State, after touring the town to calm the youth. He emphasized that Sudan’s current state resulted from violent protests, alongside the conflict between two generals.
Quoting from the late Ayinde Barrister’s album “Precaution,” Wole noted that those who have not experienced the devastating effects of crisis and war are often the ones who hastily call for conflict, as the late Mr. Fuji expressed in Yoruba.
“Only mutual understanding, patience, perseverance, and a commitment to nation-building can lead us to progress. We therefore call for the immediate suspension of nationwide protests, as they will only create chaos and anarchy,” he stated.
Similarly, the Arewa Renaissance Group, through its spokesperson Zainab Armayau in Sokoto, commended the Conference of Patriotic Nigerians’ call for patience and understanding among citizens concerning the current economic situation inherited by the Tinubu administration.
Zainab emphasized that, as a mother and woman, she would have supported these protests if they were genuine. However, intelligence reports suggest that the organizers are politically motivated and receiving funding from foreign antagonists and domestic detractors.
She acknowledged that the removal of the fuel subsidy has exacerbated economic hardship but questioned why the ongoing insecurity in the North is not also a focus of protests, exposing the sentiments behind the demonstrations.
“I urge all Northerners to return home and suspend all protests. The shameful looting in Kano, Sokoto, Nasarawa, Niger, Yobe, and Maiduguri—are these genuine forms of protest? No! Some disgruntled and undesirable elements were even calling for a military takeover, which is wrong in all respects.
“The North has suffered significant losses, from the looting of Saad Stores and Rufaidah Yoghurt in Kano to the vandalization of the NCC office and the killing of police personnel. It is unfortunate, and as a formidable group, we immediately call for the withdrawal of our people from protests across the North,” Zainab concluded.
