Kogi State government has urged Nigerians, particularly, the people of the state, to avoid being part of any planned protest that would further plunge the nation into unnecessary crisis.
The government of the state made the call on Sunday in a statement issued by its Commissioner for Information and Communication, Mr. Kingsley Femi Fanwo.
The government said a protest would have been proper if the government, especially at the federal level had not been making efforts to improve the situation in the country.
It said that as responsible citizens, therefore, there was a need to queue behind the efforts of the government at all levels to frontally deal with the issues challenging well-being.
“We urge parents and guardians to give the right orientation to their wards. Nigeria cannot afford another violent destruction of public infrastructure in the name of protests,” the government said.
The government reasoned: “A protest would have been proper if the Government was making no efforts. Protests would have been popular if the efforts were not bearing fruits yet. Protests would have been understandable if we were not gradually moving out of the hopeless situation. But a protest at this point is an attack on the foundation of our rebuilding process and an attempt to throw the nation into the darkness orchestrated during the #EndSars destruction and carnage.
“It will be understood if the opposition feels disappointed that our economy is gradually retaining momentum and therefore would not offer them the opportunity to campaign against the ruling party using those parameters. But it is unacceptable and utterly unpatriotic to stoke violence at this period in the name of protest. The citizens have a right to protest but they do not owe the unpatriotic opposition elements, the window of violence.”
The state government expressed solidarity with the federal government, saying the efforts at the centre and sub-national levels to put the economy of the nation were on the right track.
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“The President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR is working assiduously to get the nation’s economy working again.
“Apart from the fiscal and monetary policies that are already yielding positive results, the Federal Government has injected economic stimulating incentives to address the challenges we are facing in the short, medium and long-term. Agriculture, industrialization, infrastructure, education and healthcare are receiving due attention from the Federal Government,” the state government stated.
It stated that credible intelligence had pointed undoubtedly to the desperation of certain opposition figures to unsettle the nation and stop the march to recovery and prosperity.
According to it, they were fanning the embers of war using protest as a smokescreen.
“It is our responsibility to stop these unpatriotic elements bent on manipulating the citizens to achieve their evil expectations,” the government stated.
It added: “It is heartwarming that we have received reports that our citizens are ready to march in solidarity with Mr. President’s efforts at defending the economic interests of the poor. We are proud of the fact that the people of Kogi have refused to yield the state to the macabre dance of agents of destabilization.
“In furtherance of the efforts of the Government of Kogi State to deepen patriotic orientation in our dear State, the Chief Servant of Kogi State has directed the State Ministry of Information and Communications to step up sensitization efforts aimed at keeping the people informed about what Government is doing at all levels.
“The administration of His Excellency, Alh Ahmed Usman Ododo, has also expressed its commitment to investing in cushioning the impact of the economic challenges, promoting industrialization to enable young people to get jobs, prioritizing agriculture to crash the prices of food in the State and the nation as well as other measures to improve the standards of living in the state. Protests won’t crash the prices of food, intentional investment in agriculture like we are doing at the moment, will.”
