On Monday, #EndBadGovernance protesters gathered at Gani Fawehinmi Freedom Park, Ojota, continuing their demonstration despite a nationwide broadcast by President Bola Tinubu. The protesters’ determination follows a Sunday statement by the organizers, signed by Hassan Taiwo, Ayoyinka Oni, and Adegboyega Adeniji on behalf of the #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria Organising Committee, expressing that the President’s address failed to meet their demands.
The organizers criticized the President’s delayed response, stating, “We listened with rapt attention to President Tinubu’s broadcast on Sunday and consider it rather unfortunate that it took him three days of protest to address the country.”
In his Sunday broadcast, President Tinubu affirmed his administration’s readiness to listen to and address the protesters’ concerns, stating he had heard their calls “loud and clear.” He urged protesters to suspend further demonstrations and make room for dialogue.
However, the organizers viewed the President’s address as an “important victory for our movement,” acknowledging their role in prompting the government’s response. “Without our courage and resolve to dare the odds, even this acknowledgement would not have happened. So far, we have demonstrated that a President is not greater than the rest of the country,” the statement read.
While they noted Tinubu’s offer of dialogue, they expressed concern over his simultaneous request to suspend the protests. “In our view, the president cannot be approbating and reprobating at the same time. The President cannot offer an olive branch while at the same time holding a dagger to our throat,” they stated.
The statement also condemned attacks on protesters by thugs during Sunday morning worship, resulting in injuries. They called on all Nigerian youth and the public to join the protest at 7 am on Monday, August 5, 2024, at Gani Fawehinmi Park, Ojota, Lagos, marking Day 5 of the protest.
Although the Lagos state government initially considered the protest peaceful, a video captured by Channels TV on Sunday showed protesters being chased by hoodlums at Ojota a few hours after the President’s address. Additionally, our correspondent reported that security forces fired tear gas at the Moshood Abiola Stadium on Monday morning.
This escalation follows President Tinubu’s appeal on Sunday for protesters to discontinue their demonstrations.
