As a protest against the Federal Government over the current economic hardship in Nigeria is spreading across the country, the Afenifere group in the United Kingdom and Europe has appealed to the people of the South West and Yorubas living in other parts of the country to desist from protest.
The group said protest can never be the best option to bring the solution to the myriad of challenges currently confronting the country and its people.
The group made this appeal in a statement made available by its Secretary, Mr. Anthony Ajayi, on Wednesday, February 21.
According to the group, the last administration had really messed up the economy leaving a lean purse and many challenges for the current government.
“So, it was the mal-administration of Muhammadu Buhari’s led government that got us here and it will require President Bola Tinubu’s led administration to be given time to clear the mess,” the group stated.
The group noted that, “We the Afenifere in the UK and Europe are following happenings in Nigeria daily and we have been doing this for years. Whatever happens in Nigeria affects all diaspora Nigerians. We made several press releases that former President Muhammadu Buhari should restructure Nigeria but his government didn’t do it throughout it eight years.
“We should even remember that during Buhari’s administration, Yorubas didn’t go on street protests and why now Yorubas should protest against President Tinubu’s government which is just eight months old?
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“It is no doubt that all Nigerians are agitative and crave for better country but we need to give President Tinubu the benefit of the doubt.
“We need to give him more time to see what he can do. “To govern a country as Nigeria is not a child’s play and we believe President Tinubu came prepared for good work.
“Though, we should not oblige the President’s reasons or excuses for not performing, we should at the same time eagerly wait for what his government will do to savage the current hardship across Nigeria.
“We should not forget in a hurry that protests in the recent past did not yield positive results, rather, the people suffered.
“The current political structure will not enable protest to achieve meaningful gains. We are in era where political scavengers can use protest against protesters.
It has happened many times. In the end, they will push the blame to the president.
“We therefore called on President Tinubu to urgently find a way to ameliorate the suffering of the masses as the current hardship in Nigeria is already biting too hard.
“We urged him not to take Nigerians for granted but having a well thought-out economic policy that can change the current narratives for the good of the citizenry.
“We equally appeal to organised labour to shun every planned protest to avoid a total breakdown of the national economy.
“The economy is already bad and any massive protest will have the masses suffer the more.
“Organised labour should continue dialogue with the government until the hardship is ameliorated,” the statement read.
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