President Bola Tinubus former campaign spokesman in South East and current chairman of the Forum of former Members of Enugu State House of Assembly, Denge Josef Onoh has pleaded with Nigerians planning to stage protests across the country to give President Bola Tinubu’s administration more time to resolve issues stimulating the proposed hardship protests.
Onoh said that it is important to know that the Tinubu’s administration inherited an economy that was already in an “Intensive care unit (ICU)” which he said was not Tinubu’s making, but chose not to blame or seek scapegoats.
“He (Tinubu) opted to accept the full responsibility because he asked for the job. I plead to Nigerians to give him time,” Onoh begged.
He stated that while peaceful protest is the right of every Nigerian, citizens should not forget that frequency of protest varies, noting that most protests in Nigeria have always been hijacked by criminal elements who have taken advantage of the freedom of expression even when the government tolerated them yet it resulted to destruction of public, private and assets while ushering more economic hardship on Nigerians.
“The President will never abuse the rights of any Nigerian whom he has sworn an oath to protect, rather the major problem with the planned protest which raises serious cause of concern is first, when there are no gatekeepers to constrain participants, the mean level of protest experience diminishes, which in turn increases the likelihood that inexperienced protesters may turn to violence when confronted by the state.
“Secondly, protests without gatekeepers likely attract violence- oriented individuals of which Endsars is a living testament. I’ve always held the opinion that some protests are not representative of public opinion,
“I don’t know that you can measure public opinion just by the number of people that turn up at demonstrations. As much as the protesters claim their August 1-10th protest will be nonviolent activism which will definitely produce favorable media coverage and changes in public opinion focusing on the issues organizers were raising but they forgot about the economic hardship, the protest will add upon the masses they claim they have their best interest.
“It’s important to note thatprotesters that decide to carry placards boldly written #Tinubumustgo. Can only be taken as agents of destabilization with the sole purpose of causing unrest as one cannot remove a democratically elected government through such methods which will generate unfavorable media coverage that will definitely generate public desire and our security agencies to restore law and order.
“One cannot expect a country without critical opposition. The President have heard the voice of Nigerians, even the Labour union placed their demands on the table and gave time for all parties to consider and take proactive measures. I urge my fellow Nigerians to give the president time, irrespective of political, social, ethnic and religious differences.
“It’s imperative to remember that Nigeria belongs to all of us, we can’t destroy our nation because in doing so we also destroy ourselves, our future and that of our future generations. President Tinubu has come to terms with the prevailing realities and he’s addressing the situation pragmatically.
“Mr. President has ceaselessly appealed to the planners of the proposed protest to shelve the idea and give his government more time for its reforms to take shape and I have always and still believe in him. Things are hard but let’s not by acts of protest make things harder. Even Mr. President himself once engaged in peaceful protests without resorting to the destruction of property.
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