By Chuks Eke
Imeobi Igbo Forum, IIF, a pan Igbo sociocultural organization has called on our youths to shun the fast approaching protest and rage scheduled for 1st to 10th August, this year, saying that such a protest is belated.
The forum noted that in as much as it the Constitutional rights of citizens to protest, as enshrined in Article 40 of the Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution, it is
however of the opinion that the youths lost the right on the day they failed to protest the selection called election on the 25th February 2023.
In a press statement issued yesterday to newsmen via WhatsApp, IIF said the youths also watched the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, PEPT delivered its judgement based on technicality rather than the substance of the matter.
In the press statement duly signed by its National Chairman, Dr. Mike Ikegulu, Imeobi Igbo stated that one would have expected the youths to have protested against lack of reforms at once and lack of political will to Restructure the federation held together by force.
Accoding to the statement, “What about the the obvious corruption, nepotism and resultant squandamania flourishing at all levels? The youths have been silent while the ethnic and religious bigots metamorphosed into a monster and ‘othing happened, only for them to come out now to start crying when the head is already off”.
The forum contended that at no time did President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, PBAT promised much during his campaign days and clearly nothing specific to embark on.
“What was clear was that he said that he would continue from where his predecessor, Buhari stopped. In all honesty, he’s doing just that. He has never held a live press briefing to avoid interrogation and we present as if nothing moves us. Surrounded himself with mouth pieces and attack dogs and we’ve all been silent”.
“The youths should have trouped out en mass at the build up to the election when there was doubt over PBAT name, origin, age, parentage, certificates and involvement in drugs. But the youths were caught in the web of ethnicity and religion. The foreign religions taught us that God makes the king. And the colonial security agencies are there to protect the rulers against the ruled”.
“We should now bend our necks, since we’ve remained dumb and commatose in the build up to the present situation. Every country has the government it deserves, according to Joseph de Maistre”, saïd Ikegulu.
