Lagos: A former member of the House of Representattes, Mr Oghene Egoh, has appealed to youths in Lagos to shun the planned nationwide protest against hardship.
Egoh made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Tuesday.
Egoh, who represented Amuwo-Odofin(Lagos) in the National Assembly for two terms ,warned that the protest could be hijacked by miscreants to cause violence and needless loss of lives.
He said it was the right of citizens to demonstrate against certain government’s actions, but urged the organisers to explore other means to demand answers to the problems in the country in the interest of peace.
Egoh urged Nigerians to be patient with the administration of President Bola Tinubu to turn things around ,saying the destructions that characterised the 2020 #EndSars protests were enough reason to shelve the planned actions.
“Majority of the shops and properties in Lagos ,
owned by the Igbos and people of other tribes, were looted and many properties were lost during the protests.
“Many people participated in the #EndSARS protests just to loot and destroy.
“During the protests,more than 200 BRT buses were burnt to ashes in Lagos.At the end of the day, it was the common man that suffered the consequences.That should not be allowed to happen again,”he said
He urged Nigerians to stay at home and advised parents and guardians to tell their children and wards to stay at home during the protest.
Egoh said Tinubu was passionate about the progress of the country and that his various reforms were designed to better the lot of the people.
He noted that the country was facing a difficult period, adding that one year was too short for any government to confront the challenges at hand.
Egoh said that the food crisis in the country was caused by incessant attacks on farms by bandits in the north as well as flooding and other devastating effects of climate change.
He ,however, urged government at all levels to embark on massive mechanised farming to reduce hunger in the country.
The former lawmaker,who recently defected from the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP)to the All Progressives Congress(APC) , also appealed to government to reduce import duties on food items to make them affordable.
