Forty-Five Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in Kaduna and hundreds of Citizens across the 23 Local Government Areas of the state have announced they’re pulling out of the proposed August 1 protest against the Federal Government, alleging that thugs would hijack the protest to cause mayhem.
The CSOs and the citizens said the decision to withdraw was out of fear that it could be hijacked by hoodlums and used for selfish reasons, beyond economic hardship issues.
The Civil Society Organizations and the citizens under the umbrella of Movement for Greater Kaduna (MGK) in a Statement signed by the Coordinator, Hon. Bawa Ismail Muhammad, however, acknowledged the frustrations stirred up by the current economic situation, but expressed fears that protests can lead to more harm than good.
“Kaduna is a volatile state and because of past experiences, we decided to hold a meeting of an enlarged house, where we discussed implications of the protest and possibilities of selfish politicians using it to destabilize the polity,” they stated.
“From the information gathered, the national protest is a fifth-column script aimed at taking undue advantage of the poor masses to unseat President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration. While we feel the same pains and understand the excruciating effects of some policies of the Tinubu-led government, acknowledging that fact that he has within the past few days deployed urgent interventions to cushion the effects, we don’t see any reason to embark on the protest.”
The group however, commended various opinion leaders, trade unions, youth groups, civil, religious and traditional leaders that have so far dissociated themselves from the planned protest, insisting that with collective efforts and will, Nigerians can compel the Federal Government to embrace people-friendly policies.
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