By Emmanuel Nduka
Nigerian Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has cautioned citizens to “cool” their heads and desist from fanning the embers of anarchy, as aggrieved Nigerians gear up for nationwide protest on August 1.
Heritage Times HT reports that Nigerians are mobilizing in their numbers nationwide to take to the street in protest against growing economic hardship occasioned by the President Bola Tinubu administration, from August 1 to August 10.
Briefing newsmen on Thursday in Abuja, the DHQ said the planned protest is primed to shadow happenings in Kenya which has so far been violent and remains unresolved till date. “It is time to let, cool heads prevail in order for government to further remedy the situation and make our nation flourish again,” the DHQ said.
The DHQ noted that “while citizens have a constitutional right to peaceful protest, they do not have a right to mobilise for anarchy in order to unleash terror”.
Major General Edward Buba, Director of Defence Media Operations told journalists that given the situation, there are already indicators that, unscrupulous elements are bent on hijacking the planned protest for violent purposes.
“For instance, there are signs of status related violence such that persons with things as basic as a smart phone and car are targets. This does not leave out those that own a house, shop, or even use air conditioner in their houses. Other targets includes; places of worship, businesses, markets, persons of other ethnic groups and members of opposing political party among others.
“Based on the foregoing, the level of violence envisaged is best described as a state of anarchy. It is for this reason the armed forces will not watch and allow the nation spiral out of control to such low levels,” Buba said.
The DHQ noted that there are essentially several factors to be thoroughly examined before proceeding to protest, “some of which are whether or not the planned strike is motivated by opposition politics, independent parties, sovereign interference, terrorist groups or any numbers of organizations that have feed on the frustrations of Nigerians to create the situation”.
“Basically, the military has been exposed to wars and have witnessed situations of anarchy in countries ravaged by war, particularly during ECOMOG or during peacekeeping operations. It is for this reason that, troops will act dutifully to forestall such ugly occurrences from happening in our nation.
“On the whole, citizens are urged to note that, both the timing and the atmosphere of hardship in the country makes the planned protest different from others in the past. It is therefore incumbent upon us all, to quench the fires of violence rather than ignite them,” the DHQ added.
