Now, Our Patriotic Youths, Time To Go Back Home & Leave The Streets In Glory

By Gboyega Akosile

Whoever does not see the sense in the agitation of our youths across the land in the last week or so, can certainly not be sensible.

In an ingenious manner, they have successfully drawn attention of those who matter in this country to the core areas in which the nation was bleeding badly; where those being paid to protect the citizens and maintain law and order, for example, have mindlessly turned their guns against the people.

The President of our dear country saw sense in the five points demands of our youths and acceded to them pronto; so also the governors of our respective states, some of who defied security precautions to dialogue with the protesters who, to be sure, were ventilating the views and opinions of majority of citizens who perhaps were wringing their hands in helplessness on the increasing decimation of our population by a handful of callous trigger-happy policemen otherwise known as SARS.

Many decent citizens showed solidarity with our youths and supported their agitation with
cash and materials needed to sustain their peaceful protests. But is peace not eluding the protests as it is becoming increasingly clear that the process is being hijacked by hoodlums, expired ethnic champions and self-seeking political dealers and power-hungry elements, who would stop at nothing to make the government of the day look very ugly in the eyes of unsuspecting citizens.

We have much to thank the protesters for forcing the hands of the federal government and the police high command to disband SARS nationwide. Just as we indebted to protesters from Ijebu Igbo in Ogun State for also drawing attention to the recklessness of Dangote Industries drivers who must have committed carnage on our roads in very unprecedented manner in the last couple of years.

Yes, gentleman Aliko Dangote deserves eternal praise of Nigerians for helping to reduce unemployment, especially with the employment of graduate drivers for his thousands of truck fleet in the last five years at least; but unfortunately these drivers have turned to a murderous gang worse than the hugely detested SARS. A few years back, I had cause to drive from Lagos to Kabba in Kogi State through Ekiti State and pronouncedly from Ekiti to Kabba, the number of Dangote trucks involved in serious accidents on that road was mind-churning as wreckages of these trailers lined the long stretch of Ekiti-Kogi highway.

That record of reckless driving is now being replicated on the Lekki-Epe Expressway and on Ijebu Igbo-Apoje highway that has deteriorated so badly. I hope no one is primed to give this great patriot Aliko Dangote a bad name for providing us with high-profile industries here and there, only for his drivers to be killing other motorists in tens of hundreds at the same time. Authorities of Dangote and Government must address this particular concern most expeditiously.

But the demand Im hard put to understand is the demand that is asking for an end to bad governance. How is that defined in our circumstance? Is it Sanwoolu in Lagos or Seyi Makinde of Oyo or Hope Uzodimma of Imo or Nyesom Wike of Rivers or Diri of Bayelsa or El-Rufai of Kaduna or Ganduje of Kano that the protesters are accusing of bad governance? I doubt it much. Perhaps the accusing fingers are pointing at President Muhammad Buhari. If so, how do they want him to end bad governance? Is it by resigning as some of the protesters are clamouring?

Here, our youthful protesters must tread with caution. Already a certain Shettima reacted on social media that the North would resist any attempt to force Buhari out before he runs his course through. Even on the issue of SARS, people in some parts of the North are clamouring for the retention of SARS because, according to undenied reports and as confirmed by a Northern governor on Channels TV this evening, SARS had been there for them upNorth in the face of intimidating security challenges they had been experiencing. A clear case of one man’s meat being another’s poison?

Time to reflect is now for protesters. If they are unmoved by governments efforts at meeting their demands, shouldn’t they ponder on their continuing blockade of roads and highways, with attendant cost to the economy already battered by the corvid-lockdowns?

There are reports that some lives had been lost by the blocking of roads whose access were denied in moving emergency medical cases to hospitals where their lives could have been saved?
How will these protesters feel if they are to lose their own loved ones because roads are blocked to make them access prompt medical attention?

There are legal minds among the protesters and their backers or sponsors. What are they thinking about the right to protest and the right not to deny others, not in sync with them, freedom of movement as enshrined in our constitution?

I reiterate my belief in and support for the protesters to the reasonable extent they had gone up till friday. They had succinctly made their points and won the argument. But, I want to join in appealing to these protesters to withdraw from the streets, go home and allow governments at state and federal levels to think out properly, solutions to the problems the protests brought to the fore.

From the meeting of the President and the heads of the two legislative arms of the National Assembly as viewed on television this evening, it is evident that they are still appealing to the good sense of the protesting group. The path of honour is for the protesters to heed the leaders appeal and let normalcy return. The alternative is too scary to be contemplated.

Mariam Moturayo Rasaq