Organizers disown Adegboruwa and affirm that protests will go on until the federal government addresses their demands.
The coordinators of the #EndBadGovernance movement against financial adversity have declared that the countrywide demonstrations, which reached their second day on Friday, will persist until President Bola Tinubu meets their requirements.
On Friday’s program, “The August Protests” on Channels Television, Damilare Adenola who serves as Director of Mobilisation for Take It Back Movement – a non-governmental organisation – made this declaration.
Adegboruwa has been disowned by the organizers who stated that protests will persist until FG fulfills their demands.
Despite Adegboruwa’s plea to call off the demonstrations due to the infiltration of fifth columnists who seek to cause chaos, the youth activist stated that his group will not suspend their 10-day protests.
According to him, the duration of the protests could extend over 10 days based on how the government reacts.
According to Adenola, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa does not represent us and his statements do not reflect our views. Although he presented himself as our lawyer, he is a wealthy senior advocate of Nigeria who lacks the same hunger for change that motivates those protesting in the streets.
“We’re expecting a response and resolution to our demands from the government. Until then, we’ll continue protesting,” he said, noting that while protesters’ requests remain unfulfilled, they’ve communicated their grievances to those in power.
According to him, the protests have demonstrated to Nigerians their ability to make leaders answerable.
When questioned about the funding of the protests, he replied that hunger and economic deprivation were serving as their sponsors.
According to Adenola, if the President truly cared about the welfare of citizens, he would have already taken action on the protesters’ requests.
Protests Against High Cost of Living Among Youths
During the initial two days of demonstrations, law enforcement officials were observed dispersing crowds made up largely of young people utilizing tear gas. Meanwhile, civil society groups (CSOs) condemned police behavior.
The peaceful protests took a wrong turn when certain individuals seized the opportunity to vandalize public and private property.
In an effort to contain the occurrence of looting, violence and other negative aftermath following protests, several state governments including Kano, Borno Yobo, Katsina Nasarawa and Jigawa have enforced curfews in unstable local government areas (LGAs) within their jurisdictions.
Amnesty International has reportedly documented several deaths. Additionally, the Inspector General of Police Kayode Egbetokun cited a murdered officer, injured police personnel and burnt police stations.
Starting on Thursday, August 1st in Abuja and all states of the Federation, nation-wide protests against economic hardship have been spreading rapidly through social media. These planned demonstrations are scheduled to continue until August 10th.
In recent months, the cost of food and essential goods has skyrocketed due to Nigeria’s grappling with a severe economic crisis that was brought on by both the removal of petrol subsidies and forex window unification policies implemented by their government. This struggle coincides with some of the country’s highest inflation rates yet experienced.
The protesters are requesting various changes, including the reinstatement of petrol subsidies and forex regulations. Additionally, they hope for improvements in areas such as food availability, job opportunities and curtailing extravagant expenditures by officials. Further demands consist of reducing overhead costs associated with the President’s team members while pushing to enhance INEC electoral processes along with a more vigorous approach towards deterring corrupt politicians through EFCC reforms.
