Protests resume in Lagos Monday, say organisers

Organisers of the ‘End Hunger’ protest in Lagos have said they will converge at the Gani Fawehinmi Freedom Park, Ojota, on Monday, to continue their demonstration.

This is according to a Sunday statement signed by Hassan Taiwo, Ayoyinka Oni and Adegboyega Adeniji, on behalf of the #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria Organising Committee, Gani Fawehinmi Park, Ojota, Lagos State.

They said they had listened with rapt attention to President Bola Tinubu’s broadcast on Sunday and “consider it rather unfortunate” that it took President Tinubu three days of protest to address the country.

Tinubu affirmed in the nationwide broadcast on Sunday morning that his administration was ready to listen to and address the concerns of protesters, affirming that he had heard their calls “loud and clear.”

“I hereby enjoin protesters and the organisers to suspend any further protest and create room for dialogue, which I have always acceded to at the slightest opportunity,” the president said.

The organisers noted that they consider the decision to address the nation an “important victory for our movement.”

“Without our courage and resolve to dare the odds, even this acknowledgement would not have happened. So far, we have demonstrated that a President is not greater than the rest of the country,” the statement read.

While taking note of Tinubu’s offer of dialogue, they noted that they were concerned that in the same breadth, the President had also ordered that the protest be suspended.

“In our view, the president cannot be approbating and reprobating at the same time. The President cannot offer an olive branch while at the same time holding a dagger to our throat,” the trio said.

The statement condemned the scenario “where thugs attacked protesters who had gathered for Sunday morning worship thereby injuring many.”

It added, “So we therefore call on all Nigerian youth and mass of the people to join us by 7 am at Gani Fawehinmi Park, Ojota, Lagos tomorrow (Monday) August 5, 2024, which is Day 5 of the protest.”

The Lagos protest had been considered peaceful by the state government, but a video on Sunday captured by Channels TV showed protesters being chased by hoodlums wielding sticks at Ojota a few hours after the President’s address.

A video also trended over the weekend showing the moment a protester addressing a journalist was hit in the head by a hoodlum during a live interview on the protest grounds.

The organisers also called the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress, the media, and the Nigerian Bar Association not to watch with arms folded what they described as attempts “to chase us out of the streets instead of addressing our demands.”

“As far as we are concerned, the #EndBadGovernance protest emerged from the suffering and frustration of ordinary Nigerian youth and people,” they added.