A prominent body of young people, the Enugu Innovative Youths, has called for calm and suspension of the proposed national protest scheduled to start on Thursday, August 1.
The youths made their stand known in a communiqué issued at the end of their meeting in the Enugu State capital over the weekend.
Presenting the communiqué, Chairman of the group, Collins Nonso, said, “Nigeria is currently experiencing serious challenges, owing to the hunger and financial downturn occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidy, coupled with high cost of food and the depreciation of the naira. The Nigerian youths, who are presumed to be the leaders of tomorrow, have been found in a state of helplessness and despondency, owing to the blurring of their hitherto bright future.”
“However, while the proposed nationwide protest is justifiable, owing to the current state of affairs of our country, we call for a rethink and retreat from the proposed protest by our youths. Importantly, we call for peace and calmness in Enugu State. We strongly appeal that it is rather very premature in our state, which is currently experiencing a breath of fresh air in all sectors under the leadership of Governor Peter Mbah. Our future has never been this bright.”
They expressed serious concerns over a possible repeat of the 2020 ENDSARS protest when, according to them, hoodlums hijacked and used the process of an otherwise peaceful protest to unleash destruction and terror on the state. “We were all witnesses to the mayhem visited on Enugu in October 2020 when the ENDSARS protest was hijacked by hoodlums, hence, we appeal to fellow youths of Enugu State to withdraw and distance ourselves from what could result in such destruction of our common heritage a second time. Enugu State is our own and one of the most peaceful and productive states of the federation. We cannot relapse into a state of anarchy and a reversal of the infrastructural gains of the last 14 months, which the nationwide protest will plunge us into.”
“We are aware that any protest in Enugu will destroy our common heritage which Governor Mbah is assiduously working to revive by his massive infrastructural projects. Enugu youths must, therefore, resist any attempt to destroy or deface the aesthetics, beauty, and ambiance of Enugu that the Governor Mbah leadership is restoring to the Coal City,” the youths added.
They also expressed deep concerns over the safety of the youth, many of whom could lose their lives as happened during the ENDSARS protest. “We do not want to lose the lives of our dear youths in such protest, which hoodlums are planning to hijack by availing them the brazen opportunity to execute their sinister motives of triggering attacks on the peaceful youths of the state. We are also aware that the Enugu State Government has plans for more job creation for the youths through its strategic programs and training of our youths in tech and entrepreneurship development, among others. We must not lose our lives to any protest but must be beneficiaries of the lofty vision,” the group stated.
They also called on the federal government and the Enugu State Government to engage the youths in a heart-to-heart dialogue on the best way to drastically reduce the unemployment rate and poverty headcount index among the youths.