Afenifere Renewal Group Give Reasons - Why all Nigerians should support the #EndSARS Protests ~ The Press Tv

Young Nigerians who are showing their anger on the streets now were joyous in 2015 when a certain ‘change’ mantra was successfully sold to the populace by the All Progressives Congress, which in its manifesto promised, among other things, the decentralization of policing and restructuring of the Country. That the youths are out on the streets five years later, is due squarely to the failure of the government to deliver on those promises.

We, their parents invested decades of efforts trying to fix this country. Having witnessed such lifelong investment in nation-building yielding little or nothing, we believe the young Nigerians are justified in their demands for urgent action.

For too long, the lives of Nigerians have not mattered to law enforcement agencies. For too long, the welfare of Nigerians, which according to the Constitution is the raison d’être of government, has not mattered to government officials – both elected and appointed.

There have been several complaints of police brutality to which the authorities have turned deaf ears. Hundreds of Shiite faithful were killed extra-judicially and till today, no one has been held responsible, in spite of the findings of a panel of enquiry by the Kaduna State government. How then can anyone assure the young ones that the proposed panel of enquiries will bring justice? How can they believe that it is not just another knee-jerk reaction from a flustered government?

The entire country should be angry that the failure of governance has pushed our young ones beyond their tolerance threshold and limit, and should therefore join them in their demands for sweeping changes.

Yes, there are pains of traffic snarl that we all have experienced but this pain is insignificant compared to the pain that Nigeria has caused the youth, who feel, and rightly so, that they have been defrauded by the political class. The pursuits of their ambitions have been made more difficult, while their peers in other countries have it relatively easier.

The preponderant number of those making desert journeys is made up of youths. The database of National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) should serve as a mirror of how hellish our country has become for the teeming young population. Yet, we want them to be patient! We should commend them for raising hope that a new country is possible. They have been documented to clean up protest grounds, raise money among themselves to meet needs and are rendering accounts to the last kobo.
They have demonstrated their resolve that they want a country that works for every citizen, irrespective of tribe or tongue, creed or colour. We, in Afenifere Renewal Group, believe that the only way to meet the yearnings of our youths is to restructure Nigeria and return its governance structure to a truly federal state as negotiated and operated in the First Republic.

Signed
Kunle Famoriyo
Publicity Secretary