Hours after President Bola Tinubu’s live broadcast on Sunday, August 4, the protesters in Edo State suspended their demonstration out of respect for the president.
The protest, which started on Thursday, August 1, at the popular Ring Road in Benin and its environs, was halted following the president’s broadcast at 7 a.m.
Following the broadcast, protesters promptly removed the podium at Ring Road, near the palace of the Oba of Benin, Omo N’Oba N’Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba Ewuare II.
The barricades blocking major roads leading to the busy Ring Road were also quickly cleared, allowing for the free movement of vehicles and pedestrians. Policemen remained on standby to ensure law and order were maintained.
However, as of 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, barricades were still seen in front of Mat-Ice Fast-food Plaza on Ekenwan Road, near the second campus of the University of Benin (UNIBEN), where protesting youths were confronting fully-armed policemen, blocking the road.
Matthew Ojeikere, one of the protest leaders at Ring Road, urged President Tinubu to fulfill the promises made during his national broadcast.
Ojeikere said: “President Tinubu should be a complete gentleman, by fulfilling the promises that he made in this morning’s national broadcast, for the youths not to continue with the violent nationwide protest on October 1, 2024, as they earlier indicated.
“Nigerians should not be taken for granted, because most people are very hungry. If nothing tangible is done by the Federal Government, between now and October 1, 2024, the protest between August 1 and 3, 2024 would be a child’s play, compared with the one that would take place from October 1 this year.”
The leader of the protesters also stated that the protesting Nigerians were not asking for the impossible things, but for them to enjoy good governance and the prevailing suffering to end, while they would continue to support democracy and contribute their quota to move the nation forward.
Credit: The Nation
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