Benue Liberation Assembly (BLA), a non-political group has advised intending protesters to rescind the idea as there are ominous signs the protests could degenerate into chaos.
The co-convener of BLA. Mr Aondowase A. Atakyar stated this in a press statement made available to journalists in Abuja at the weekend.
According to the statement, BLA recognized the rights of protesters and the concerns they have raised which are germane. However, BLA indicated there is no guarantee the protests would not be infiltrated by criminal elements like thugs, drug addicts, bandits, Boko Haram and other anti-societal elements.
Also “flowing from the Kenyan Gen Z Protests and how it turned violent, all signs of the August 1 Nigerian protests lead to violent protests. Indeed there will be disruptions to the economy because businesses and governance will be impacted with negative consequences on the gross domestic product (GDP).
BLA also noted that the atmosphere in Nigeria now is very charged and volatile as most of the protesters are drawing inspiration from Kenya coupled with the relative hardships.
The statement further stated that “some desperate self-entitled politicians who are feeling not patronised are also fueling the protest in the guise of being social critics, just to get at President Bola Tinubu’s government.”
BLA said it’s true that the fuel subsidy removal and the abrupt naira devaluation have impacted the cost of living as the prices of commodities have reached unprecedented levels, the President has acknowledged this fact has demonstrated desperation to lessen the impacts and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is working desperately to stabilise the naira and inflation.
“A lot of palliatives have gone out from the federal government. N5 billion went to each state and the FCT shortly after the subsidy removal. Have you asked your state governor how he spent the money? The majority of the states have nothing significant to show for it. During yuletide in 2023, FG sent trailers of rice via legislators to their constituents, how many of their constituents got a grain? You may fault the model of distributing the palliatives but you can’t fault Mr. President’s good intentions” the statement noted.
The statement called for constructive dialogue with the president even as it tasked the protesters to self-organise and select selfless focal points who will negotiate their demands with the federal government team” BLA called adding that even after the protests, negotiations would still occur; “so why not negotiate now?”
“Our economy at the point is too volatile to expose it to the vagaries of protests with the associated losses. Already conferences are being cancelled because of the uncertainties. Foreign visitors and investors are cancelling their flights to Nigeria. Some Nigerians are moving to other countries in fear. Our economy is battling with inflation and exchange stability. We don’t need more pressures on the economy” BLA advised.
So far, the group noted that President Bola Tinubu has demonstrated he is listening President as he has yielded to some public outcry on some of his decisions.
For instance, BLA stated, when the president appointed someone who wasn’t considered a youth as a minister in charge of youth affairs, but following the public outcry, he replaced him with a young person. He always recently cancelled and reconstituted boards of federal tertiary institutions following outcries of lopsidedness. There are other examples which shows if their is a negotiation, the President would yield to most of the demands, the statement indicated.
BLA thus called on the intending protesters to shelve the planned protests so as not to disrupt the economy.
