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The Rescue Movement for New Nigeria has called on President Bola Tinubu to prioritize addressing the pressing needs of Nigerian citizens, rather than attempting to suppress their rights to peaceful protest and free speech.
The movement, in an emergency meeting of its Board of Trustees, resolved to address the ongoing feud between the government and citizens, particularly the youths planning a nationwide protest.
This was contained in a communique of the movement signed by the National Media Director and Publicity, Rescue Movement for New Nigeria, Rev. Emmanuel Olorunmagba.
The movement also called on Nigerians to peacefully engage in the upcoming protest and make their dissatisfaction known to the government without violence or destruction of property.
They urged law enforcement agencies to avoid triggering violent acts, saying they should apply professionalism to protect the country alongside citizens.
According to the statement, “At an emergency meeting of the Board of Trustees of Rescue Movement for New Nigeria aka Rescue the Vulnerable Initiative, we resolve to critically dissect the ongoing feud between the government and Nigerian citizens, especially the youths that are planning a peaceful nationwide protest and resolved as follows:
“The government of Nigeria continues to grapple with the challenges facing our great nation, varying from hunger in the land, to highest unemployment the citizens of the country have ever experienced, insecurity ravaging the length and breadth of the nation, kidnapping as the nation has ever known, currency free fall in world market amongst others; we urge the authorities to prioritize addressing the pressing needs of the people rather than trying every means to suppress their fundamental rights to protest and express themselves.
“In a democratic setting like ours, the right to peaceful assembly and free speech is sacrosanct. However, recent events have shown a disturbing trend of intimidation, harassment, and seemingly suppression rights, especially from agencies of government.
Therefore we call on the government as a matter of urgency to:
(A) Listen to the grievances of the people and address them through tangible actions.
(B) Respect and protect the rights of citizens to protest peacefully.
(C) Make a national broadcast to the people of Nigeria and give them a sense of belonging in an update of what your government is up to.
(D) Engage in inclusive and transparent dialogue to build trust and foster national unity. Instead of resorting to intimidation, using incentives like money to suppress the people as this would not help the ongoing resolution by these Nigerians to demand for governance.
(E) Attempting to suppress the voices of the people will only exacerbate the problems we are facing. We must work together to build a Nigeria where every citizen’s rights are respected and their needs are met.
We call on Nigerians to peacefully engage in the upcoming protest and make their dissatisfaction known to the government without violence, looting, or, any act that can endanger life and properties in the country. It is a right of every Nigerian to show their dissatisfaction but we must do this peacefully, knowing that destroying any life or property not only worsens the already bad situation our country and economy and standard of life but will make our development even slower.
We also call on law enforcement agencies in the country not to trigger any act that can lead to people responding to violent acts.
Nigeria is our country. We all must protect it, be it government officials and/or citizens,” he added.