By John Ikani
Hundreds of people have taken to the streets in several cities in northern Nigeria and the capital, Abuja, demanding action by the authorities to end the worsening violence sweeping through the region.
The protesters said they were agitated by the recent escalation of attacks and killings across Northern Nigerian communities, cities, towns and highways, adding that the situation has put the region at the mercy of bandits.
Armed gangs have recently stepped up killings and kidnapping people for ransom, including students, travellers and worshippers.
In Abuja, protesters gathered at the popular Unity Fountain Square to highlight the deepening insecurity.
Demonstrators vowed to continue with the protests.
They said the Government is not doing enough despite the deployment of thousands of troops.
In some of the latest attacks this week, at least 16 people were shot dead in a mosque and dozens of passengers burnt alive by gunmen.
A co-convener of the protest, Zainab Ahmed, popularly known as Bint Hijazi, said the Buhari-led Government has brought nothing but sorrow, killings and hardship on Nigerians since he was voted into office in 2015.
She said the Next Level campaign slogan of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), which was used ahead of the 2019 presidential election, is synonymous with killing and hardship.
She expressed regret for supporting and using her social media platforms to garner votes for the reelection of the President in 2019.
Zainab said, “We are here to call on the Nigerian government that North is bleeding and enough is enough. We are tired of burying our women, children, and men and our crops being razed by bandits.
“We are here to tell the government to secure our lives. We bury hundreds of people on a daily basis yet there is no action, not even ‘sorry’ from our leaders. We are here because we are angry. Because we are children of Baba Buhari, we feel that he has neglected us.
“We called on our followers to vote for Buhari in 2019 for the next level and this next level is killing us. We are dying, this is not what we vote for. We don’t deserve this, we deserve to live and have peace. North is bleeding, wake up, our leaders and save our lives.”
