...Says peaceful protest is a civic duty

Former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, has added his voice in support of the planned #EndBadGovernance in Nigeria Protest reminding the President that he is a beneficiary of Protests.

He recalled that President Tinubu while in opposition was notable Arrowhead leading protests against the government and wondered why he should be selfish on it this time.

Prince Secondus harped on the need for civic action to save our dear country from collapse in the face of an unprecedented economic crisis and insecurity occasioned by perennial bad governance by successive governments at all tiers of government.

The former PDP leader argued in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday that the state of anomie where we find ourselves today as a country incrementally worsened because the citizens failed in their duty to hold governments at all levels accountable.

He asserted that this has been the case because political leaders often use partisan, ethnic and religious sentiments to either discourage protests when they are in government or encourage them when they are in opposition.

According to the former PDP boss, the planned #EndBadGovernanceProtest "is a non-partisan pan-Nigerian and altruistic engagement of the citizens aimed at addressing the malaise in our country.

“This protest should not be discouraged. Protests remain the most potent democratic platform through which the consciousness of nations can be aroused and indeed the consciousness of the leadership elite can be nudged and compelled to act right in the interest of citizens”.

Secondus contended that the injunction in the Holy Bible which says “You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free” applies to our situation as Nigerians. In essence, this is not the time to sweep issues under the carpet; it is the time to speak truth to power and awaken our collective conscience so that we can work together to build a better society.

He therefore called on all protesters to be organized, and peaceful and shun all acts of violence. Also, governments at all levels and security agencies should provide the necessary security environment to ensure peace and order by international law and the Nigerian Constitution.