The Peace Corps of Nigeria has pleaded with Nigerians, especially the aggrieved ones to dialogue with President Bola Tinubu and shelve the August 1 planned nationwide protests against hardships confronting the nation.
Rather than embarking on protests, the Corps called for high level consultations to to get better understanding of the issues and resolve all those that triggered the planned action.
Addressing a World Press Conference on the issue in Abuja on Tuesday, the National Commandant of the Corps, Dr Dickson Akoh expressed fears that protests at the moment may worsen the economic and political situations of the country rather than resolving them.
At the Conference attended by prominent members of the Corps, Akoh said that any step that will be inimical to the well-being of the citizenry, especially the downtrodden ones must be avoided.
According to him, “it is the stand of the Corps that any step that carries with it the potential to metamorphose to a crisis situation should be considered inimical to the general good of the country and the entire citizenry.
‘As a patriotic youth organization concerned with the state of affairs of the nation vis-a-vis the planned nationwide protest billed to commence on Thursday, 1st August, 2024, the Peace Corps of Nigeria strongly deems it very important to add its voice to that of other well-meaning Nigerians and groups in calling for a cautious approach in handling the very delicate situation staring at us.
“The Corps is not oblivious of the biting economic reality in the country characterized by the growth in the poverty level of the populace which the effect is very visible for all to see.
“The Corps is very much concerned about the likely aftermath of the proposed protest and thus pleads with its organizers to consider the very much better diplomatic option of dialogue and persuation rather than the option of protest in an already volatile and tensed polity.
“Protest is highly susceptible to the activities of enemies of Nigeria who will not hesitate to use the platform to unleash their ill intention and stifle life out of the vulnerable citizens of the country.
“The organization acknowledges some of the overwhelming burning issues of concern that have negatively effected the lives of the people which forms the backbone of the proposed protest.
“The issues range from rising inflation, unemployment, hunger, insecurity and the general economic with adverse consequences on the lives of the people, the socio-economic and security of the nation.
“Most of these realities have more grave consequences on the average Nigerian, particularly the youth and women and are capable of compounding the already fragile security of the nation.
“While we appreciate the everyday enormous challenges confronting Nigerians as a result of the ongoing reforms with its attendant initial hardship by the Federal Government, it is imperative to be reminded that the present administration of President Ahmed Bola Tinubu, is barely a year and two months in office.
“It is not in doubt that the present administration inherited a myriad of issues including high level of insecurity which it has thus far demonstrated a strong willingness and capacity to overcome.
“Realistically speaking too, it will be a demand of the impossible to expect that these several and complex challenges that have existed for over three decades will all be resolved overnight.
“It is our belief that the present situation of the country, can only be effectively resolved through a combination of short, medium and long-term measures under a rational system.
“It is expected that the present administration rolls out feasible measures to intervene and arrest these vices upon which the idea of organizing any protest was birthed.
“The Peace Corps of Nigeria, therefore passionately appeals to all well meaning Nigerians, especially the youth, to exercise a little more patience and support Mr President to drive his programmes and policies for the ultimate benefit of Nigeria and Nigerians.
“With the current state of the country it is equally expected that a more robust, sustainable and institutionalized approach be adopted by the government to ensure that the youths are meaningfully engaged in productive ventures to meet their various life demands which in turn mitigates the present economic and security challenges
“In more developed economies, concerted efforts are steadily made to pre-occupy the youths in productive ventures where they will be economically useful to themselves and the larger society.
“Premised on this, I urge the Federal Government to support genuine youth groups like the Peace Corps of Nigeria as a vehicle to effectively empower the youth”, he said..
“I re-iterate that in a volatile and tensed atmosphere as we have now, the best approach to douse the tension is high level diplomacy which encompasses integrated negotiations, collective bargaining and constructive social engagements and certainly not a recourse of protest of any form.
“It is on the strength of this that I appeal to government officials, especially the security forces, to be circumspect and exercise high level restraint in their response to the planned protests.
“To this end, let everyone be mindful of the fact that threats and counter threats will only end up been counter productive and will do the nation no good at all.
“Finally, let me remark that over the years, our youth have demonstrated that they are innately endowed with all the necessary tools to achieve a peaceful nation. As a result, l urge them to deeply reflect on these problems and have a rethink”, he said