The organizers of the nationwide protest have said that President Bola Tinubu needs to clarify if he wants to dialogue with them or otherwise.
The organizers represented by Hassan Taiwo Soweto, Ayoyinka Oni and Oloye Adegboyega said this in a temporary statement on Sunday night, adding that they will hold a world press conference today.
“We have listened with rapt attention to President Bola Tinubu’s broadcast earlier today Sunday 4 August 2024 on the ongoing protest by the Nigerian youth and people over the condition of hunger and hardship in the country,” the statement read.
“We consider it rather unfortunate that it took President Tinubu three days of protest during which over 40 Nigerian people were massacred and several others injured across the country by security operatives and state-sponsored thugs before he realized the need to address the country.
“Nevertheless, we 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. We have also demonstrated that Nigerians are not slaves who would be told to surrender their fundamental and democratic rights to resist anti-poor policies.
“So we therefore call on all Nigerian youth and mass of the people to join us at the Gani Fawehinmi Park, Ojota, Lagos tomorrow Monday 5 August 2024 which is Day 5 of the protest.”
The organizers said Monday’s convergence will start with a congress where the President broadcast will be discussed and agreement reached on how to respond.
Then immediately after the congress, a world press conference will take place at the same venue to address the world about the decisions we have reached.
“However while taking note of President Tinubu’s offer of dialogue, we are concerned that in the same breadth, the President has also ordered that our protest be suspended. In our own 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 organizers said.
“Indeed, by using his broadcast to call for suspension of the protest, we are worried that President Tinubu has willy-nilly signalled the police, the army and of course the so-called hoodlums to drown our movement in blood just like EndSARS four years ago.
“This played out earlier today (Sunday) at the Gani Fawehinmi Park Ojota, Lagos where thugs attacked protesters who had gathered for Sunday morning worship thereby injuring many.
“We have on record the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Okafor, telling injured protesters the thugs were justified to have attacked them because they had no right to be there since the President has ordered suspension of protest.
“Therefore, before we consider any offer of dialogue, the President needs to clarify if he wants to dialogue with us as slaves or as freeborn.
“The choice he makes will determine the future of this struggle. Morseo, the President has largely ignored the demands of the protesters, a deliberate arrogance that makes a well-intentioned dialogue difficult or impossible.”
They have urged all their allies, especially the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Trade Union Congress (TUC), the media and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) not to watch with arms folded as President Tinubu uses state terror to chase them out of the streets instead of addressing their demands.
The organizers added that as far as they are concerned, the #EndBadGovernance protest emerged from the suffering and frustration of the ordinary Nigerian youth and people.
Therefore, only the mass of the people can take decisions on their struggle including whether to suspend the nationwide protest or not.
“Our rights to freedom of assembly and speech are inalienable and fundamental. So, we believe we have a right to converge after the President broadcast to discuss and democratically agree on what to do,” they added.
“We are by this statement notifying the Commissioner of Police in Lagos state to ask his men and women not to harass and repress protesters in Lagos and across the country.
“We are also by this statement notifying ladies and gentlemen of the media to assemble at the Gani Fawehinmi Freedom Park, Ojota, Lagos for the world press conference.”
