The president acknowledged that some of the protesters “were young Nigerians who desired a better and more progressive country where their dreams, hopes, and personal aspirations would be fulfilled.”
President Bola Tinubu on Sunday failed to condemn the violent crackdown on peaceful protesters by the police in many states such as Abuja and Lagos.
The president, however, condemned the violence that has trailed the protests in some states and led to the deaths and destruction of properties.
Mr Tinubu, in his first public statement since the protests began on Thursday, urged the protesters to “suspend any further protest’ and warned that the law would catch up with those executing violence.
Although the president acknowledged that some of the protesters “were young Nigerians who desired a better and more progressive country where their dreams, hopes, and personal aspirations would be fulfilled,” he kept mum on the police’s violent crackdown on such peaceful protesters.
The police repeatedly fired tear gas to disperse peaceful protesters in Abuja leading to injuries to many of them as well as journalists covering the protest.
The police also targeted journalists, assaulting, brutalising and detaining some of them despite identifying them as journalists.
In his speech, Mr Tinubu only called on security operatives to “continue to maintain peace, law, and order in our country following the necessary conventions on human rights, to which Nigeria is a signatory,” thus suggesting that has been the practice of the security agencies in handling the protests.
Although the president acknowledged the loss of lives in some states, he failed to address the possibility of investigating the circumstances that led to these deaths.
He also attempted to shift the responsibility of ensuring peaceful protests to the organisers, stating that they had failed to keep their promise of ensuring a peaceful demonstration.
“I am especially pained by the loss of lives in Borno, Jigawa, Kano, Kaduna, and other states, the destruction of public facilities in some states, and the wanton looting of supermarkets and shops, contrary to the promise of protest organisers that the protest would be peaceful across the country.
“The destruction of properties sets us back as a nation, as scarce resources will again be used to restore them. I commiserate with the families and relations of those who have died in the protests. We must stop further bloodshed, violence, and destruction,” he said.
Mr Tinubu, despite the role of the police in provoking protesters, claimed that persons with a “political agenda” were instigating the violence.
“As President of this country, I must ensure public order. In line with my constitutional oath to protect the lives and property of every citizen, our government will not stand idly by and allow a few with a clear political agenda to tear this nation apart,” Mr Tinubu said.
Tinubu speaks on vandalism of digital centre in Kano
In his speech, Mr Tinubu condemned the looting of the digital centre in Kano, describing it as a “shame”.
He disclosed that the government had secured “$620 million under the Digital and Creative Enterprises (IDiCE)” to train and empower young people in tech to make them globally competitive.
“Unfortunately, one of the digital centres was vandalised during the protests in Kano. What a shame!” the president said.
Consequently, the president urged “protesters and the organisers to suspend any further protests and create room for dialogue”.
It is unclear if the protesters will heed the call to suspend the protests. However, some of the protesters who spoke with newsmen on Friday at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja said they would leave the streets if the president addressed them.
