Ibe Pascal Arogorn
In his first address to Nigerians on the #EndSARS protest, President Muhammadu Buhari refused to condemn the attack on peaceful protesters by armed security operatives.
Dozens of people including protesters and police officers have been killed in the violence that has resulted from the protests in many states.
The protests began as peaceful protests in major cities in Nigeria a fortnight ago. However, across major cities in places like Abuja, Oyo and Delta, peaceful protesters were attacked by security operatives who used live bullets and tear gas to disperse the protesters.
Arguably, the worst of such incidents was the attack on protesters at the Lekki toll gate in Lagos on Tuesday when soldiers shot at peaceful protesters gathered there.
The protests across Nigeria have since been hijacked by hoodlums who have killed police officers and attacked public and private facilities.
In his address to Nigerians Thursday evening, the president condemned the violence but did not specifically condemn the attack on the protesters; neither did he promise to ensure the shooters are brought to book.
He instead condemned the attack on police officers and called on security operatives not to harm citizens.
“And I call on all Nigerians to go about their normal businesses, and enjoin security agencies to protect lives and properties of all law abiding citizens without doing harm to those they are meant to protect. Let me pay tribute to officers of the Nigeria Police Force who have tragically lost their lives in the line of duty,” Mr Buhari said.
The president also condemned the violence carried out by hoodlums on citizens, security operatives, as well as public and private facilities.
“The result of this is clear to all observers: human lives have been lost; acts of sexual violence have been reported; two major correctional facilities were attacked and convicts freed; public and private properties completely destroyed or vandalised; the sanctity of the Palace of a Peace Maker, the Oba of Lagos has been violated. So-called protesters have invaded an International Airport and in the process disrupted the travel plans of fellow Nigerians and our visitors.”
Mr Buhari accused some Nigerians of spreading ‘deliberate falsehood’ on social media about his government.
“The spreading of deliberate falsehood and misinformation through the social media in particular, that this government is oblivious to the pains and plight of its citizens is a ploy to mislead the unwary within and outside Nigeria into unfair judgement and disruptive behaviour,” he said.
Mr Buhari’s Thursday speech is the first since the #EndSARS protests began a fortnight ago.
Before now, his aides and other officials including Vice President Yemi Osinbajo have been addressing the public on behalf of the president.
While the president did not condemn the shooting of protesters on Tuesday, world leaders and the international community have condemned the attack.
The U.S. Democratic Party presidential candidate, Joe Biden, on Wednesday, tasked the federal government to stop using soldiers against peaceful protesters.
He declared support for Nigerians peacefully demonstrating for police reform and seeking an end to corruption in their democracy.
The United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, also called on Nigerian authorities to investigate the incidents and hold the perpetrators accountable,
The European Union, in a statement by Josep Fontlles, the high representative of the EU for foreign affairs and security policy, said Tuesday’s killings were alarming.
Speaking for the Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS), Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Adodo urged President Buhari to dialogue with protesters and find a lasting solution to the protracted clashes between the government and the protesters.
Nigerian celebrities express disappointment over Buhari’s address
Nigerian celebrities on Thursday night expressed disappointment over the address by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Popular artiste , Adekunle Gold , in a series of tweets , wondered why the President did not mention the Lekki shootings and killings in Zamfara .
He , however , urged the youths to be united in their pursuit to end police brutality and make the government bring about the much- needed reform in the Nigeria Police Force.
“ Wait what ?!! My heart cannot take this ! My God ! I ’ m dazed !
“ We all have one common challenge and it’ s our bad leaders not our fellow brothers and sisters, ” Gold wrote.
Also , singer and songwriter , Ayodeji Balogun , aka Wizkid , sighed , saying , “ God help Nigeria . ”
While David Adeleke, aka Davido, simply remarked , ‘ Wahala’ , Damini Ogulu, aka Burnaboy, quipped , ‘ Huh ?’
OAP Toolz, also said , “ Did he actually not mention the #LekkitollgateMassacre? There weren ’ t subtitles so I ’ m not sure #EndSARS. ”
Presenter, Toke Makinwa had more to say , “ He spent time praising his administration and sharing his plans to alleviate Poverty , yet today alone a warehouse with palliatives was discovered, Is this even a country?
“ I ’ m done , guys pls look out for yourselves, as you can see no one cares about you , imagine the souls we lost, their families tuning in to watch the president address the Nation and he mentions nothing about the order to shoot unarmed Nigerians #EndSARS”
According to Mr Eazi, “ Last Last God is King! Him no go Leave us alone Cos at this Point!!”
Don Jazzy also reacted , he said , “ I ’ m actually speechless . ”
Tragedy struck on Tuesday night at the Lekki toll gate after the reported shooting of some of the protesters before the commencement of the 24- hour curfew imposed on the state by Governor Babajide Sanwo – Olu, several prominent Nigerians have been urging Buhari to address the nation .
Tell Nigerians who ordered Lekki shootings, Osundare urges Buhari
Poet -laureate, Prof Niyi Osundare, has urged the President Muhammadu Buhari to tell Nigerians the person who ordered soldiers to kill some unarmed protesters in the Lekki Toll Gate area of Lagos State on Tuesday.
Some youths across many states in the country have been protesting against police brutality and the excesses of men of the now -disbanded Special Anti -Robbery Squad of the Nigeria Police Force.
After the reported shooting of some of the protesters before the commencement of the 24-hour curfew imposed on the state by Governor Babajide Sanwo- Olu, several prominent Nigerians have been urging Buhari to address the nation .
The President ’ s address which eventually came on Thursday night generated attacks from Nigerians as he kept mum over the Lekki episode .
Osundare, who spoke in a statement on Thursday titled , ‘ President Buhari , Say Something, ’ said it was now two days since members of the Nigerian Army opened “ fire on youthful protesters at Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos , mowing down twelve of them ( according to press reports) and injuring many others . ”
He added , “ Before this final military ‘ solution ’ , Nigerian youths had embarked on a largely peaceful demonstration against police brutality, much to the admiration and support of the public . Then came that brutal Tuesday night and the impenetrable darkness that covered and enabled the murderous act. As is to be expected , the aftermath of the Lekki Gate massacre has been an outbreak of civil riots and arson in many parts of the country, especially the South -West. Once again , the country is on fire .
“ President Buhari , can you see the fire and the smoke from the remote grandeur of Aso Rock? Can you sense the ghosts of the slain, the groans of the wounded , the wails of the bereaved, and the miasma of Nigeria ’ s shame as it spreads across the world ? Mr . President , your silence is so loud that it is bursting the nation ’ s ears . ”
Fayose blasts Buhari over ‘speechless speech’
Former Governor of Ekiti State , Ayodele Fayose , on Thursday, expressed disappointment with the broadcast of President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday night.
Fayose , in a tweet , described Buhari’ s broadcast as “ speechless speech , ” said , “ I warned Nigerians. ”
Many Nigerians had in the last few days been calling on the President to address the youths who had been protesting police brutality under the banner of #EndSARS demonstrations in many parts of the country .
Nigerians also expected the President , in his capacity as Commander- In -Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federation , to answer pertinent questions about events that culminated into the deployment of troops on unarmed youths at the Lekki toll gate on Tuesday night but Buhari was silent on the matter .
Eyewitnesses had said soldiers opened fire on #EndSARS protesters around 7pm at the toll gate, adding that about seven persons died in the attack .
Lagos State Governor , Babajide Sanwo- Olu, while on a visit to the injured youths on Tuesday night, had also said about 30 of the young protesters were receiving treatment in various hospitals around the Lekki area.
Earlier, Fayose had said , “ Life does not matter to a clueless leader whose only fulfilment is that he is called Mr President . He cares about no one except himself. ”
Buhari’s speech lacks empathy —PDP
The Peoples Democratic Party has dismissed the address by President Muhamadu Buhari on Thursday night, as empty and devoid of empathy.
The party’ s position was contained in a statement titled , ‘ EndSARS: Buhari ’ s Address Disconnected, Failed Empathy Test – PDP, ’ signed by the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP , Kola Ologbondiyan , in Abuja .
He said the PDP described the long -awaited address by the President about the protests rocking the nation , as disappointing and completely disconnected from the realities of the tragic occurrences in our country in the last two weeks.
The PDP appealed to Nigerians , particularly the youths, to remain calm and allow a return to normal life in the collective quest for peaceful co-existence in the overall interest of our nation .
The statement partly read , “ Mr President ’ s address, in the face of the turmoil witnessed, the unrests as well as the killing of young Nigerians , is to say the least , depressing and failing in empathy test.
“ Our party and , indeed, all lovers of peace in our country , were shocked that Mr President glossed over the immediate trigger of violent protests – the widely condemned killing at the Lekki Toll Gate by security operatives, a situation which created a global concern and drew the attention of the world to the abuse of human rights going on in our country under his watch .
“ Painfully too , Mr President , as the Commander – in-Chief , was silent on the demand by Nigerians for enquires into the involvement of the military in the gruesome killing .
“ Sadly , the long -awaited address failed to inspire any hope . It failed to address the trepidations, the pervading hopelessness , the drifting towards anarchy and provided no concrete steps on how to arrest the situation and rein in bandits, hoodlums and vandals that were let loose to unleash violence on peaceful protesters and innocent Nigerians .
“ In short , from the letters of the address, there were no correlations between the fundamentals of the crisis situation that we have witnessed and the long -sought reaction of Mr President . “
Ologbondiyan said Nigerians had expected the President to provide the lead for the much -needed overhauling of our security architecture to meet the demands of professionalism and respect for rules of engagement.
He also noted that President equally missed an opportunity to heal wounds and inspire hope by outlining a roadmap to open up the economy in a manner that will enable our teeming hard-working youths to pursue their productive goals as well as address the issue of pervading hunger in the land .
The PDP urged all men and women of good faith to join forces in praying for our country as well as working towards solutions and peaceful resolution of the crisis that seeks to envelope the nation .
PANDEF says nothing new in Buhari’s Speech
The Pan Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF, has expressed disappointment that there was nothing new in the speech presented to Nigerians on Thursday evening by President Muhammadu Buhari besides what he had been saying since the #EndSARS protest by Nigerian youths started.
National Chairman of PANDEF, Air Commodore Idongesit Nkanga, retd, who spoke yesterday while reacting to the President’s speech stressed that the forum had expected the president to have commiserated with the youths that were gruesomely murdered at the Lekki toll gate, Lagos State.
” We appreciate the fact that he (Buhari) commiserated with the security services, but the people that lost their lives he didn’t. Maybe I missed it but that seems to be the high point of the whole thing.
“And listening to what he said today, I don’t know whether that would be enough to assuage the feeling of the youths, I am not sure.
“What he has basically told us in his speech I don’t think that there are new things in it. And we had issued a press release a day before what happened at the Lekki tollgate that we want peace and we ask for peace.
” We hope that now that government has started talking, that it will expedite action on what the youths are demanding for”
He noted that the government should always ensure that the future of the youths is considered important, stressing, “Even in the animal kingdom you don’t kill your young ones, you protect them.
“And anytime I play back what I saw on the television at Lekki, that those young people were sitting down, waving the Nigeria flag, singing the National anthem and they were shot at, it is depressing. And it is a disrespect for this country.
You asked for speech, you got the speech, now you are speechless – Shehu Sani
Reactions have started pouring in, minutes after President Muhammadu Buhari addressed Nigerians.
Shehu Sani, a senator who represented Kaduna Central in the last Senate, Thursday reacted to Buhari’s speech, and in a poetic tone opined: “You asked for speech, you got the speech and now you are speechless.”
You ask for speech,you got the speech and now you are speechless.
— Senator Shehu Sani (@ShehuSani) October 22, 2020
If you don’t understand what Baba said you must have mistakenly press the Swahili or Spanish button.
— Senator Shehu Sani (@ShehuSani) October 22, 2020
One of my Boys is just angry I disrupted his Nickelodeon.
— Senator Shehu Sani (@ShehuSani) October 22, 2020
Buhari’s broadcast speech disappointing – Ezekwesili
Former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili has expressed disappointment with the speech delivered by President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday in the aftermath violent protests by youths nationwide.
Ezekwesili, in series of tweets said she felt compelled to let the youths know that nothing in that out-of-touch speech of Buhari invalidated the great progress they helped the nation’s democracy make in the 12 days they conducted a most effective peaceful protest in Nigeria.
“Dear young compatriots of #EndSARS, I feel compelled to let you know that nothing in that out-of-touch speech of our President, Muhammadu Buhari invalidates the great progress you helped our Democracy make in the 12 days you conducted a most effective peaceful protest in Nigeria
“The world followed your peaceful protests with huge interest and delight with many awed at your organizational effectiveness.
“The world saw when Nigerian government incompetently handled your agitation, used the police to brutalize you on protest grounds, enabled thugs to attack you.
“The world saw and applaud your peaceful #EndSARS protests. It will forever be celebrated as a historical activation of the #OfficeOfTheCitizen in our democracy,” she said.
Ezekwesili added that no amount of distorted narrative by Buhari could taint their well conducted peaceful protests.
“A tribute night to a person of inestimable legacy helped save me from the ache that vacuous speeches inflict. To compatriots aching from the failure of President to use his speech to condole, assuage, unite and build confidence in his citizens, ndonu,” she said.
