- Urges Buhari To Act Before It Is Too Late…
By Gbenga Abulude (Politics and General Desk)
A former Nigerian president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has broken his silence since the #EndSARS protest began, and has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to show ”matured leadership” at a critical time as this, noting the “nation is on the edge of a Cliff.”
Chief Obasanjo who appealed to Buhari to restrain the military and other security agencies from using brute force as a way of ending the crisis said such a move would not augur well at this critical time.
In a statement signed by him, the former president lamented that it was clear that Buhari and his advisers did not exhaust enough opportunities with the protesters before resorting to the use of force.
Obasanjo, a former civilian president who also served as military Head of State between 1976-1979, condemned the denial of the military in the shooting of #EndSARS protesters despite indisputable visual evidence which showed that lives were lost at the sad incident on Tuesday.
He said: “The shooting and murder of unarmed protesters no matter the level of provocation has never been effective in suppressing public anger and frustration. Instead such actions only reinforce the anger and frustration of the populace and close the window of dialogue and peaceful resolution.
“We are at a critical moment in this crisis and Mr President must act now before it is too late. This time demands Leadership and mature leadership at such.
“I make this appeal to the government and the people of out dear country Nigeria to eschew evil and embrace peace and dialogue in finding solutions to the challenges we face as a country.
“I particularly appeal to President Muhammadu Buhari in his capacity as president of Nigeria, Commander in Chief of Armed Forces, and as a parent of youths like the ones who have in the last one week come out in peaceful protests against police brutality and improvement in the lives and in their living conditions, to restrain the military and other security agencies from using brute force as a way of ending the crisis.
“It is imperative that leaders at all levels, starting with Mr President, must demonstrate meekness, humanity and sincerity in meeting the legitimate demands of the protesters and ensuring that justice is served where it must be served. These are the potent ways of ending this crisis now.”
In the same vein, Obasanjo also called on the youths to stem the tide of violence, urging them to give peace a chance while making legitimate demands.
He said, “The youth must give peace a chance while making their legitimate demands. They must be mindful of miscreants who will infiltrate their ranks and give the protests a bad name so that trigger-happy forces will kill them.
“The destruction and looting of public and private properties will only hurt all of us and set us back.”
Recall that there was sporadic shooting at the Lekki Tollgate Plaza on Tuesday evening where some #EndSARS protesters were still present, demanding for their rights peacefully.
Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu had imposed curfew in the State due to the violence that broke out in several parts of the state.
While the protesters defied the curfew imposed by Sanwo-Olu, the military resorted to firing shots at them under the cover of darkness. In the process, many protesters were reportedly feared dead, leading to outrage and condemnation from members of the public and distinguished Nigerians.
Some also recall that during Obasanjo’s era as president, he similarly deployed soldiers to Odi in Bayelsa state where over 200 protesters were massacred in what has been historically called the “Odi Massacre.”
In the same vein, Soldiers were also deployed to Zaki Biam in Benue State also leveled the tire community, killing civilians in their large numbers under Obasanjo’s government.
Many analysts believe that Obasanjo should have used his eight years as a civilian president to lay a solid foundation for good governance, rule of Law and responsible democracy.
According to them that would have prevented the country from sliding into the current state of violence, protests and crisis under President Buhari because the institutional checks and balances would have been robust enough to check any leader’s excesses.
