To register their disatisfaction and to call the attention of the government to the current hardship in Nigeria, a group of Nigerian youths on Friday staged a peaceful protest in Osogbo, Osun State, decrying the rising cost of living, with a call on the government to immediately intervene.
Despite the large presence of police operatives near the scene of the protest, the youth kept singing songs expressing the frustration of many Nigerians occasioned by the harsh economy.
It could be recalled that the Osun State Police Command had earlier warned the public against the planned protest in the state.
However, in their large numbers, the protesters, who wielded placards with inscriptions such as ‘change the unfavourable policies’, ‘Nigerians are suffering, we can’t cope again’, and ‘We are humans, stop mistreating the citizens’, among others, assembled along MDS Road, Osogbo very early.
Speaking on behalf of the protesters, the chairman, Osun Civil Societies Coalition, Mr. Waheed Lawal, said the protest would continue until the Federal Government finds solutions to the current economic hardship ravaging the country.
According to him, “Government must ameliorate the suffering of the people. They must do whatever they need to do to make sure that the people live in better conditions. Nigerians deserve the best. They promised us renewed hope but what they are giving us now is renewed hardship. We reject renewed hardship in our lives, and in our economy because Nigerians deserve the best.
“What Nigerians want is a peaceful atmosphere. We don’t want insecurity in our land again. We can’t travel from Osogbo to Ibadan without panicking. You will be thinking that they will kidnap you. The abduction of monarchs is the order of the day in our country now. We urge the government to provide security for the life and property of the citizens. It is their responsibility, it is a constitutional responsibility. Every government that fails to provide security for the lives of the citizens is no longer a government. What we are saying is simple, we are ready to face the government in this hardship and we are marathon runners.
,,,,,,“We have started this struggle today and if the government fails to listen to us, we will continue to mobilise our people to protest this hardship because enough is enough.”
Meanwhile, earlier in the week, youths and women took to the streets of Niger, Minna and Kano to protest what they described as the rising cost of living in the country.
However, in a temporary response to the nation’s growing food crisis and the rising cost of commodities, President Bola Tinubu on Thursday ordered the immediate release of more than 102,000 metric tons of various grain types from the National Food Reserve and the Rice Millers Association of Nigeria.
