Youths from Osun State orchestrated a peaceful march to express their discontent with the soaring cost of goods and services, as well as the escalating cost of living nationwide.
Led by civil society leaders in Osogbo on Friday, the demonstrators urged both the federal and state governments, along with other stakeholders, to promptly intervene and prevent the nation from imminent collapse.
Despite the heavy police presence near the protest site along MDS Road, Osogbo, the protesters congregated early on Friday, undeterred. Armed with placards displaying messages such as ‘change unfavorable policies’, ‘Nigerians are enduring unbearable suffering’, and ‘We are human, stop mistreating citizens’, among others, the demonstrators made their grievances known.
Waheed Lawal, Chairman of the Osun Civil Societies Coalition, addressed the protesters, emphasizing that the protest would persist until the Federal Government devises solutions to alleviate the current economic hardships afflicting the country.
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He said, “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 lives 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.”
DAILY POST recalls the caution issued by the Osun State Police Command via its spokesperson, Yemisi Opalola, regarding potential attempts to exploit peaceful protests within the state.
Opalola conveyed in the statement that the police had received intelligence indicating the intentions of certain criminal elements to seize upon peaceful protests as a platform to sow chaos in the state.