The National Democratic Front (NDF) has warned individuals and groups hiding under the guise of the #EndSARS protest to demand President Muhammadu Buhari’s resignation to desist.
According to the NDF, the agenda of the Organisation for Global Youth Peace Empowerment and Development Initiative (OGYPEDI) and others is unacceptable and politically motivated.
Protest across the country demanding an end to Police brutality has intensified despite disbandment of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and subsequent formation of the Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT).
In the last couple of days, the protest has taken a violent twist, raising questions about the original intentions.
And according to the NDF, the exercise has been hijacked by “crisis entrepreneur” aiming to trigger the second phalanx of the attack on the Federal Government by creating the impression of widespread discontent.
In a statement signed by its Secretary-General, Dr. Abdulkadir Bolaji, on Saturday, the group rubbished OGYPEDI, adding that President Buhari has impacted a huge number of Nigerian youth with his National Social Investment Programmes.
The group, therefore, implored innocent Nigerians joining the protest and demanding for President Buhari’s resignation to take a deeper look at what they are taking part in and ask critical questions.
The NDF, however, warned those behind this plan that they are toying with fire and must desist for their good.
Read the full statement below:
The National Democratic Front (NDF) condemns in the strongest terms possible the call for President Muhammadu Buhari’s resignation by the Organisation for Global Youth Peace Empowerment and Development Initiative (OGYPEDI). The call is heinous and irresponsible, to say the least.
While this call for President Buhari’s resignation appears on the surface to be the prattling of shallow minds, we now have cause to fear that an investigation into the development will expose it as another facet of the unfolding plan to make the country ungovernable as demonstrated by the #EndSARS protest that is snowballing out of control after it was hijacked by crisis entrepreneurs. It is not for nothing that several failed activists who had staged less than impressive protests in the past are now jostling to be recognized as protest leaders.
It is lamentable that OGYPEDI painted a picture of doom and gloom when in reality hardworking Nigerians are attesting to how the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has revamped the economy and created opportunities for them. Nigerians are today manufacturing products that are fast replacing those we used to import. Unless of course, the naysayers want to admit that they are proxies for the foreign companies that Nigerians are sending out of business.
We can further attest to how President Buhari has impacted a lot of the Nigerian youth even though the #EndSARS protest is now being framed as youth anger against the government of the day. We know that the youth cannot be angry over the creation of an investment fund for them neither will they be angry at being recruited into N-Power or the increment of corps member allowances.
In the run-up to the 2019 General Elections, NDF had warned of the nefarious plan by a cabal to overthrow the government and impose an undemocratic rule on Nigerians. The plan was originally to have mid-level officers in the military plot a coup that will end in the opposition members forming an interim government. Because the incumbent administration did not play into their hands the plan has now been tweaked to use the #EndSARS protest as a copycat Orange Revolution to use mob action to overthrow the government.
For us, the calls for the resignation of the President is a false flag operation that is meant to trigger a second phalanx of the attack on the government by creating the impression of widespread discontent when in reality what is happening is that Nigeria is in the vicious grip of a vocal minority.
We, therefore, implore those joining the protest and the call for the resignation of the President to take a deeper look at what they are taking part in and to ask critical questions. They should find out at what point the protest organizers want to call a halt to their actions, which have in reality inflicted more pain on people than it has helped their situation. They should also research the source of the funding for the “free” meals they have been getting and the transport being provided. Questions must also be asked about who they want to replace the president with should he resign and what they plan to do if Mr President does not succumb to their blackmail since there are constitutional implications for what they are asking.
NDF has concluded that the call for President Buhari’s resignation over the #EndSARS protest is politically instigated for dubious ends. The speed with which the government agreed to reform the police forced the plotters behind this plan to expose themselves when they became scared of losing momentum if they exercise patience to allow the government to implement changes. It was never about changing the way the police treat people but it has always been about power-hungry people seeking for excuses to prime a mob action against a legitimate government.
We want to warn those behind this plan in the clearest terms possible that they are toying with fire and must desist for their good. We remind them that Nigeria is not Mali and neither is our dear county Ukraine where they can stage an Orange Revolution and here is no Middle East where they can replicate a sham Arab Spring.
NDF urges the government to immediately identify and target the sources of financing that is being used for this evil plot against the country with a view to shutting down this rubbish before things get out of hand.
