Youths from the Middle Belt region of Nigeria have been urged to boycott the planned protest against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.
The nationwide protest, scheduled for Thursday, August 1, is a response to the ongoing high cost of living in the country.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, July 23, a coalition of 200 Middle Belt Youth Leaders and Middle Belt Ethnic Youth Leaders called on the region’s youth to abstain from participating in the planned protest.
The coalition described the protest, which aims to draw government attention to economic hardship and high inflation, as being driven by hidden agendas.
The statement read: “Our attention has been drawn to an ongoing mobilization for a nationwide protest. This protest aims to bring the attention of the government to the current economic hardship and high inflation.
“The planned protest appears like it is stirred by the masses who have been hit the most by the worsening economic hardship. Meanwhile, in a real sense, there are faceless groups of individuals championing the proposed nationwide protest from behind the scenes.
“These group of individuals can go to any length to set the country on fire and to make the government ungovernable at the expense of lives and property of innocent citizens because they did not get what they thought was their due in a Tinubu Presidency.
“While we agree that there is hardship, we believe that the present situation is an inherited challenge that should not be resolved at the expense of Middlebeltans.
“We, in the Middle Belt, believe these efforts to set the country aflame are not motivated by altruism but by their selfish ambition. We are aware that paid thugs and criminals have been armed to cause chaos and unrest and ultimately destroy lives and property.
“Consequently, we wish to state unequivocally that all Middlebeltans should stay calm and stay away from this planned protest that will destabilize our peace. We will explore a better approach to communicate our thoughts on the current economic setback.
It further stated: “Our premise for calling for this boycott is the security of our people, the middle Beltans, especially our countless rural dwellers who suffer incessant massacres from militia groups.
“While we acknowledge President Tinubu’s effort to clean up the damage of the previous administration, we urge him to continue to be more equitable, particularly to Middle Belt Ethnic Nationalities. We assure you that we will never partake in destroying this effort to recover Nigeria.
“Those planning the protest have humongous funds to mobilize, misinformed, and push innocent citizens to occupy the streets of Nigeria with hidden agendas to cause violence, destruction, and disruption. Having said that, we exhort the President to get back with his team to craft sustainable ideas that are capable of making life liveable for Nigerians across the length and breadth of our country. If the present team is unable to deliver, the President should headhunt those who can.
“It is in the public space that the planners of the protest are plotting to lay a military-style siege on the FCT by blocking entrance/exit routes to the city, all in the middle-belt region which would create a confrontation with security personnel or isolate and make the seat of government vulnerable to non-state actors.
“We wish to also challenge President Tinubu to cut back on expenditures on public office holders in consonance with the reality in our country.”
