PRESS STATEMENT
The Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) cautions the Federal Government and its security agencies against the use of force and violence stop or observe the national protest planned by Nigerian youths for August, 2024.
In similar circumstance, we appeal to the protesters to be peaceful and conduct themselves and activities in absolutely lawful manners. We recall that the ENDSARS national protest staged by the youth across the country few years ago, turned violent and bloody arising from the untoward behaviour of overzealous security officers.
CLO maintains that protests across the world are legitimate and democratic expressions by the citizens against their governments in the event of implementation of wicked, heinous and anti people policies that affect the people like it is the case in Nígeria.
In Nigeria today, things have fallen apart and the centre can no longer hold. Nígerian families are starving but refuse dumps are filled with leftovers by their families and dogs. Brilliant and intelligent pupils have been withdrawn from schools because of poverty and increasing cost of quack education. Graduates who left schools over ten years ago roam the streets without jobs with their flamboyant certificates. Our people die like fowls because of lack of quality hospitals, trained personnel and fake drugs while those in government run to overseas countries to treat malaria and headaches.
Similarly, they have hitherto sold good and well working national institutions and corporations like the Nígerian Airways, the Seaports, Railways, the telecommunications and Nipost etc that provided massive employment and other opportunities for our people to themselves, relations and associates.
Agriculture that provided huge employment opportunities for Nígerians, raw materials for industries and made good returns for the running of our government, has been neglected and abandoned.
While this is the scenario, the killer government has flooded Nígerian soil with Genetically Modified Crops in place of our natural, organic ones to continue to kill Nígerians in our millions to satisfy their masters’ desires.
Wives are leaving their marriages out of hardship to join the wolves while some families are selling their children in order to enable them feed.
The refineries are abandoned so that they will continue to refine overseas at larger costs to the country. Only late last year, the Tinubu Presidency lied to Nígerians that the Port Harcourt refinery had been fixed and would be put to uses in 2024. They also promised to fix Wari and Kaduna refineries this year. The year is coming to an end and it has been stories as usual.
Where will we end our pathetic and ugly stories? Our roads have become total death traps, pensioners’ pension funds are stolen whereas millions of retirees have died without receiving their gratuities. The only country where snakes, rodents and cockroaches swallow money all over the world is Nígeria. What a society of shameless, unconscionable and irredeemable looters.
As Nígerians are starving and facing extreme poverty and hardship, the crooks in government are stashing billions in hard currencies in their banks in foreign lands as well as investing in those places.
In the face of these travails and disturbing life styles by our politicians and families, they expected Nigerian youth and indeed people to stand with hands akimbo and watch helplessly.
In view of the foregoing, CLO totally supports the nation wide protests until these hawks implement their demands or resign from office. We call on all suffering Nígerian peoples to give maximum support to the youth.
We only caution both parties to tow the part of peace as we will document any grave human rights infractions committed while the protest lasted.
Aluta Continua!
Comrade Ibuchukwu Ohabuenyi Ezike,
Executive Director.
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