Engr Oyedele Hakeem Alao, the Oyo gubernatorial candidate of Alliance for Democracy (AD), in the 2019 general elections, has commended the Nigerian youths for the ongoing EndSARS protest while condemning the carnage meted unto the armless young protesters at Lekki Toll Gate and calling for caution and action from the government.
This was made available to newsmen in Ibadan on Wednesday night by his media spokesman, Omotayo Iyanda.
Engr Hakeem Alao noted that the EndSARS protest had been going on peacefully “for two weeks for two until recently when unsavoury situations began to set in, which have suggested derailment by unsuspected hijackers and lack of prompt action on the part of the government, particularly from the federal government.”
The gubernatorial candidate was of the opinion that government could not exonerated himself from the crime because “a lot of uncomplementary messages have been allegedly flying around for days from the federal government threatening to deploy soldiers to disperse and displace the protesters, until the worst of all happened on Tuesday 20 when fires were opened on the peaceful protesters at Lekki Toll Gate, Lagos, burning of public utilities particularly in Lagos State, and the latest attack on the palace of Oba of Lagos.
“Also, killings of police officers and civilians have been reported in other states of the federation, including our dear Oyo State.”
He continued: “Without hiding behind a finger, the recent developments as highlighted above are becoming worrisome and, of course, are condemned”, adding that, “how can we allow the peaceful genuine protest to degenerate to the point of opening fires on our articulate youths leaving them lying in cold blood?”
“It is very unfortunate that our government under President Muhammadu Buhari has not taken any concrete meaningful action on the requests of the protesters or at least show a fatherly concern to calm them down,” asking whether the president was not in the country.
“Or is our president not in the country at the moment?” Engr Hakeem Alao asked.
He however said that the wanton destruction and burning down of properties in Lagos after the killing at Lekki could not have been carried out by the genuine protesters, establishing that, “ events of yesterday in Lagos and other parts of the country and some video clips on social media have clearly shown that hoodlums, maybe sponsored by the political class to discredit another, have infiltrated and hijacked the genuine protests by our youths.
Engr Hakeem Alao affirmed that the protest ongoing in the country was “long overdue as a result of insensitivity and misrule in the country as far is this democratic dispensation is concerned.
“The Nigerian political leaders have taken for a ride for a long time our youths and the EndSARS protest was begun as a sign of the expiration of their endurance.”
He registered his support for the struggle, saying “In this tough time, we are with them (the protesters). They should continue in their peaceful protests because all of us feel and have been having a share of the pains they have been enduring as a result of bad governance across the country.”
The ex-governorship candidate of AD, however, advised the protesters to find a convenient common ground to initiate a dialogue with the government so that the gains of the protest would not be in vain, more so it was better to jaw-jaw in a situation like this than to engage in war-war approach, adding that they must have a well articulated document which would contain all their requests to be presented to the government during the negotiation emphasizing that an agitation without a leadership and a clear direction led nobody anywhere.
Engr Hakeem Alao said: “The ugly incidents of killings, burnings and destruction of public facilities would have been averted if our president, Muhammadu Buhari, had risen to the occasion and addressed the irate protesters in time. It is time we stopped treating public issues as this with hands in glove.
“As the military has denied knowledge of the killings at Lekki Toll Gate, this is the time President Muhammadu Buhari should act and be on top of the situation by asking all the force and our intelligence agencies to unravel and expose those who were behind the killings.
“Enough of sweeping criminalities under carpet, of course, not this issue that concerns the ongoing protests across the country,” adding that “it is still surprising that our president has not taken any decisive action, more so that we are still perspiring under the hits and heats of Covid-19.
“Our President should not allow the situation to degenerate to a complete state of anarchy because it would be worse for all of us as a people.”
While Engr Hakeem Alao commended Governor Seyi Makinde, saying “we appreciate and commend Governor Seyi Makinde for responding to the situation in time at least by that broadcast of Tuesday 20. However, that is not enough because silence does not mean that everything is alright.
“It is on this not we are calling on Governor Makinde to be more proactive by engaging all stakeholders as community leaders, landlords, park managers, etc. to be vigilant and take precautions in their various locations and posts because we should not allow Oyo State to go the way of Lagos.”
