Pan-Yoruba sociopolitical and cultural organisation, Afenifere, has strongly condemned calls by some people it accused of hiding under the last hunger protest to call for military takeover of power in the country.
The organisation in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Jare Ajayi, asserted that the country’s democratic dispensation “should not be truncated for any reason”.
Afenifere’s denunciation came on the heels of recent calls by some people during the 10-day protests to demand end to hunger and hardship but who went further calling on the army to stage a coup, and seize power.
It would be recalled that organisers of the nationwide protests had announced ten days of protests between August 1st to 10th.
The protests were peaceful in some states, while some sections of the country did not participate in it at all.
Afenifere noted that the protests became violent in some states, leading to the destruction and looting of properties, while lives were reportedly lost in some areas.
It lamented that some so-called ‘protesters’ brazenly hoisted flags associated with Russia, even as some maintained that the insignia on the flags were that of the Nigerian Army.
“Whether the flags belonged to Russia or the army, the message is more or less the same – inciting the taking-over of government through an unconstitutional means,” the statement reads.
Afenifere added that since the protest was ostensibly called to push for an end to the hunger and other sundry deprivations in the land, “how come they look in the direction of either the military or a foreign power? It would be a height of self-delusion to assume that the intervention of either the military or a foreign power will put an automatic stop to hunger in the land”.
The organisation noted that states in which the protests took a dimension that ran against the ‘peaceful nature’ that the organisers promised included Edo, Rivers, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Jigawa, Borno, Kano and Yobe.
It explained further that in some of the Northern States, not only were properties looted and destroyed but brazen calls for a coup also rent the air.
Afenifere stated that while democracy might not yet benefit the country, “it is still the best in our current situation because of its inherent characteristics of making the people the custodians of political mandate. Its elasticity nature allows various tendencies to operate as long as they do so within the ambit of the law.
“This is a far cry from what is obtainable under a military government. So, let us give it a chance”.
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