A human rights group under the aegis of the ‘Take it Back Movement’ has concluded the plan to mobilise Osun residents to take to the streets today across the state to protest bad governance at the federal and state levels and mark Democracy Day.
A statement made available to newsmen in Osogbo on Wednesday by its spokesperson in Osun, Victor Lijofi, stated that the goal of the peaceful protest is to demand democratic running of the Nigerian state with principles of good governance.
“We feel so devastated with the present situation of the country, and that is why we have chosen a date in history to demand an end to bad governance on June 12, which we have declared to celebrate Democracy Day.
“The present state of the country is nothing to write home about, as the promise of a renewed hope by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has now turned to renewed hopelessness.
“Nigeria is now faced with unbearable insecurity and economic hardship that have strangled this nation. The present situation of the country is such that Nigerians have now lost hope in their own country, as banditry and terrorism-aided insecurity has destroyed the social and economic life of the people.
“This is unarguably visible in the crises of insecurity, as seen in states like Borno, Yobe, Zamfara, Plateau, Kaduna, Benue, Katsina, and Sokoto. The statistics are alarming, while 10,000 people were killed in the last two years, more than one million people have been displaced by terrorism and banditry”
The group demanded an end to terrorism, banditry, and insecurity, better funding of Education, reversal of all fees in public schools across the country and replacement of student loans with grants and an end to economic hardship among others.
They warned the police and all other security agencies to refrain from acts that could disrupt the peaceful protest, adding that they should be aware that protest is a constitutional right, as amended in Sections 39 and 40 of the 1999 constitution.
