Lagos residents hold rally against violent protests

A group of residents under #DefendNigeriaMovement marched on the streets of Alausa in Lagos against violent protests.

They were distributing flyers and carrying placard of various inscriptions like “Don’t collapse the roof, Let’s promote peace”; ‘Dialogue to end hunger” and ‘Don’t instigate more suffering,’ among others.

Explaining the reason for the convener, Comrade Olokoba Rasaq insisted that theirs is not a protest but a rally.

He said: ” Ours is not a protest but a rally of ‘No to Violence Protest.’ What we dey out to do is noble but the methodology is wrong.

“Why would it take Atiku and Obi to be speaking for activists like me? Why would it take three weeks to a month for “Onagoruwa and Falana to come out to say they are our lawyers?

“I started this initiative a week ago when my co-conveners gathered to form a coalition, Defend Nigeria Movement. We didn’t hide, we have identity.

“Anybody that does not have this bandana is not part of us. We have had protests that have been hijacked severally by hoodlums and this challenge is all over the world. It is a universal standard to protest. Let people know your clear intention. It has been muddled up.

“Ours is a rally to say that whatever protest you are going to do, don’t plot us against each other but make your point.

“We are just a mediator where the government must listen to what the people are saying and where protesters must also conduct themselves in such a way the protest would not be hijacked and that is our concern.”

(The Nation)