The Federal Government
has been called upon to
see the on-going Revo-
lution-Now protest as a
wake-up call from the
rank of Nigerians who are
going through untold hardship, asking
government for protection of their lives
and properties.
Reacting to the on-going agitation for
better lives for Nigerians, the Catholic
Archbishop of Lagos, Most Rev Dr Al-
fred Adewale Martins, in a release made
public by the Acting Director of Social
Communications, Rev Fr Anthony Go-
donu, said that the Buhari government
should see the agitation as an opportu-
nity to directly hear the complaints of
Nigerians and redouble their efforts to-
wards fulfilling their constitutional role
of securing the lives and properties of the
people.
Archbishop Martins, while expressing
his displeasure over the rising cases of in-
security across the country, particularly
the kidnapping and killing of innocent
Nigerians by armed bandits, warned that
except urgent and concrete measures are
taken to reassure Nigerians of the safety
of their lives and properties across the
country, things may soon get out of hand.
People may be forced to resort to self-
help if the government and the Security
Agencies continue to fail them.
“The on-going protest by some groups
is a reflection of the growing decay in the
land and should be a wake-up call for the
President to be more creative and decisive
in addressing the various agitations both-
ering the minds of Nigerians. Clamping
down on the protesters will not make the
problems disappear. Rather, I would urge
him, as the father of the nation, to pay at-
tention to the issues that bother the citi-
zens. The fears being expressed about the
state of the nation are genuine and they
deserve to be looked into urgently so as
to save this nation from further distress.
President Buhari needs to address the na-
tion on these issues and give people the
much-needed reassurance and hope. If
this is not forthcoming, people feel free
to interpret events as they wish.”
The Prelate, while calling for a speedy
arraignment of those arrested during
the protest in the court of law, if there
are enough grounds to do so, warned that the continuous detention of the
protesters without trial may further
paint the government as only paying lip
service to the tenets of democracy. The
proper and real dividend of democracy
includes freedom of expression and as-
sembly, including the freedom to protest.
The Archbishop lauded the recent
court judgement of the Kaduna High
Court which granted Sheik El Zakzaky
and his wife bail to proceed to India for
medical treatment. He urged the Federal
Government to obey the court judge-
ment and other similar court judgements
as evidence of its avowed commitment
to the rule of law, adding that the country
is ruptured and in need of healing.
He also called on State Governors to
intensify efforts to work with the various
law enforcement agencies as well as the
traditional institutions in order to curb
the insecurity across the nation, espe-
cially on the highways.
“The people who unleash mayhem on
travelers on the highways seem to be for-
eigners who have infiltrated the ranks of
the herdsmen. We urge the Governors
to collaborate with all necessary groups
to flush out these foreigners from their
territories and so free the nation of their
criminal activities.”
