Ahead of the planned nationwide protests scheduled for August 1–10, 2024, the Coalition of Civil Society Organisations, under the aegis of the Coalition of Genuine Civil Society Organisations and Right Activists, said on Tuesday that it is too late to stop the exercise from holding, pointing out that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration should be blamed for failing to take the right steps to halt the process.

The coalition gave this position at a press conference that took place at the Human Rights Building in Ijaye, in Ifako Ijaye Local Government Area, Lagos State, declaring that it was resolved to go ahead with the planned protests based on the hardships in the country, even though they were not the organisers.

Speaking on behalf of the coalition, Comrade Declan Ihekaire of Activists for Good Governance, who was supported by other rights activists, including Comrades Ekundayo Shoyoye, Kushimo Olumiyiwa, Funmilayo Jolade-Ajayi, Bolaji Komolafe, and Lawal Adewale, among others, said the organisers of the protest gave Tinubu’s administration a long enough notice on the planned protests.

He said this was enough for the president to moderate some of his administration’s policies that were inimical to the people, arguing that that would have prevented the sponsors of the protest from going ahead with the exercise.

According to him, rather than for the president to address the problem on the ground, to prevent the protest from holding, the attack dogs of the government in power were busy attacking the planners of the protest with a view to cracking down on them.

“It would, therefore, be in the best interest of the federal and state governments to rein in their security operatives and other attack dogs from executing their sinister plot to crack down on the peaceful protest.

“In addition, a responsive and responsible government should have used the ample notice of these planned peaceful protests to make policy adjustments to pacify the aggrieved Nigerians; rather, the government at all levels has chosen the path of distraction, heating up the polity, name-calling, and shadow-chasing,” Ihekaire said.

Speaking further, Ihekaire explained that, in case the rally went violent, the government should be blamed, alleging that in most past cases of protests that went violent, the government had been found wanting.

“On the few occasions protests have led to riots and violence in this country, the government and security agencies have always had a hand in it,” he alleged.

Ihekaire, while maintaining that the planned nationwide protests are unstoppable at this particular point in time, vowed that the exercise would be held across the country, including here in Lagos, no matter the intimidation and propaganda.

“Whatever the case, however, it is important to make it clear here that the #EndBadGovernanceinNigeria protest is now an unstoppable movement. No matter the intimidation and propaganda, this planned peaceful protest will be held across the country, including here in Lagos,” he said.

Also speaking, Jolade-Ajayi said the call for the protests came from every conscious society as the citizens could no longer bear the situation in the land, just as she described it as an aberration to use oro to threaten those planning the protests.

“We have reached a level where we can’t bear it any longer. The protest is from every conscious society,.It is an aberration to use Oro to threaten those planning the protest,” she said. (Nigerian Tribune)

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