By David Okpashi
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 cross each other’s redlines, adding that the nation cannot 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 redlines, 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”, he 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.
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.
