By Abdulfatah Babatunde
The Independent Media and Policy Initiative (IMPI) has decried the manner some groups are laying the groundwork for insurrection under the cover of peaceful protest.
IMPI, the policy analyst group, made this observation in a statement emailed to TheNewsZenith at the weekend.
Niyi Akinsiju, IMPI’s Chairman noted that although protests are acceptable in a democracy.
He, however, noted that ”no government would tolerate a call to anarchy, riots and destruction of property”.
According to him, a peaceful protest is usually orderly and non-violent.
“It is supposed to be orderly, a situation where protesters are not expected to go out of control or resort to committing crimes, the Policy Group counselled.
“For several weeks, we have watched individuals and groups mobilised for ’10 days of rage’ starting from Aug. 1.
“Their mode of preparation gauged from their actions and speech shows that they may be bracing up for riots, chaos and violence. These are antithetical to peaceful protest.
“Engagement in peaceful protest as a means to reduce the cost of living in this country should be seen from the perspectives of actions taken to ameliorate seeming unpalatable conditions,” IMPI stated.
As they are mobilising for protest, it noted, that President Bola Tinubu’s administration continued to implement incredible policies and programmes.
“These are to stem the effects of the global cost of living crisis as it affects the country.
“Rather than acknowledge the administration’s efforts, some disgruntled elements are using social media space to steer mutiny and rebellion against the government.
“A close look at their demands shows that what they called a protest against the cost of living is a call to anarchy. They are also calling for regime change in the long term.
“We wonder how a protest ordinarily aimed at drawing government attention to economic issues, should include giving Nigeria a new constitution through a Sovereign National Conference.
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“And the release of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, Nnamdi Kanu. This is someone standing trial before a court of competent jurisdiction.
“How can anyone rationalise the call for President Tinubu to scrap the Senate?
They want him to approve a minimum wage of N250,000 and carry out an ‘immediate reconstitution of the electoral body, INEC.
“We urge Nigerians to see the protest call as nothing but a call to anarchy. This is because we sincerely do not know how the federal government could accede to the demands,” IMPI stated.
It also picked holes in the narrative that the President Tinubu administration is not doing anything to provide relief for the citizenry.
“We acknowledge that economic reforms have brought some hardship in their wake. It is, however, not true that the administration has not been responsive to the issues.
“Some of the initiatives include a reduction in the number of taxes from 60 to 10.
“There is also the elimination of withholding tax for businesses with an annual turnover of N25 million.
“There is also a N36 billion Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) cost-effective alternative to petrol for mass transit. This initiative saw the introduction of 30,000 CNG-powered vehicles.
“There is also a one-off N10 billion allocation to all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
“They will use this fund to procure buses under the National Support and Infrastructure Programme.
“To stem the tide of rising food inflation, President Tinubu recently approved a 150-day duty-free window for food imports.
“The government also introduced measures to ramp up local food production.”
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