Oredola Adeola |
The Ooni of Ife, Ooni Adeyeye Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, has revealed plan by the traditional rulers in Nigeria to mediate between #EndSARS protesters and the Federal Government following the alleged massacre of the protesters by the Nigerian Army on Tuesday at Lekki Tollgate, Lagos State.
This was contained in a statement released to the media by Mr. Moses Olafare, Spokesperson to the Ooni's Palace.
According to him the killing of the unarmed peaceful protesters is highly disheartening and regrettable.
While commending the Government for the decision to protect public facilities, he further condemned the engagement of military on the armless protesting youths.
He said that the deployment of armed military personnel in clearly civil protests ought not to be encouraged until all peaceful avenues have been fully exhausted, adding that such preemptive strikes can only worsen an already combustible situation.
According to him, patience and dialogue is needed to bring both parties to the table to set timelines for the implementation of the demands of the movement. He also revealed that the protesters are different from the hoodlums destroying public properties.
He therefore charged the Government to urgently bring the soldiers involved in the incident to book. He also urged them to immediately investigate the circumstances that led to the avoidable confrontation and consequent loss of lives with a view to swiftly fishing out the unlawful attackers who must be made to face the law.
He said, “The Federal and State governments have in no doubt shown responsibility by accepting the demands of the EndSARS movement. The youths should create a platform to monitor its implementation.”
He charged the Government to separate hoodlums committing heinous crimes from protesters who had gathered in a specific location to draw attention to their legitimate demands.
He said, “Of course, tension has risen on both sides.It is time to calm down and allow traditional rulers, as fathers of the Nation to lead the way to peace and restoration of trust.
"We must find amicable solutions even though this Lekki Toll Gate attack, has regrettably eroded the trust needed to establish dialogue and ensure a civic process for resolving the crises. We must not be tired.”
The Co-chairman, National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria(NCTRN) challenged the security agencies not to spare the criminals tainting the pure motives of the EndSARS movement for change and bring them to justice.
He said, “Our children are on the streets rather than checking out because they believe in the future of Nigeria and that our system is flexible enough to adapt to changes for better perfornance.
“Their generation was nurtured with the values of efficiency, transparency, accountability and value chains. These are the noble values they seek to inject into our polity so that our country can realise its potential as a world power.
“We need to manage the process of listening to them and working with them to jointly arrive at the new Nigeria of our collective dreams, a dream that President Muhammadu Buhari has recognised as a statesman and our president," he added.
While praying for the souls of those who have died across the country and quick healing for the wounded, the Ooni appealed for calm on all fronts in order not to aggravate the already tense atmosphere across the country.
The Ooni further revealed that other peaceful conflict resolution method should have been adopted during the protest. He urged the protesting youth to retreat and allow government attend to their noble demands which are after all in the best interest of all stakeholders in the country, including Police and Army officers themselves.
He challenged governments at all levels to demonstrate urgency and responsiveness by immediately acting on the yearnings of patriotic Nigerians.
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