A peaceful protest was conducted by youths in Osun State, demonstrating against the high cost of goods and services as well as the increasing cost of living in the country.
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The protest was led by civil society leaders in the state on Friday in Osogbo.
The youths used the protest as an opportunity to call on the federal and state governments as well as other stakeholders to urgently intervene and save the country from a possible collapse.
The protesters defied the heavy police presence near the location of the protest, assembling along MDS Road, Osogbo early on Friday.
The chairman of Osun Civil Societies Coalition, Waheed Lawal, addressed the protesters who carried placards with various inscriptions such as ‘change the unfavourable policies’, ‘Nigerians are suffering, we can’t cope anymore’, and ‘We are humans, stop mistreating the citizens’, among others.
Lawal stated that the protest would continue until the Federal Government comes up with solutions to the current economic hardship ravaging the country.
In his words, “Government must ameliorate the suffering of the people. They must do whatever they need to do to make sure that the people live in better conditions.
“Nigerians deserve the best. They promised us renewed hope but what they are giving us now is renewed hardship. We reject renewed hardship in our lives, and in our economy because Nigerians deserve the best.
“What Nigerians want is a peaceful atmosphere. We don’t want insecurity in our land again. We can’t travel from Osogbo to Ibadan without panicking. You will be thinking that they will kidnap you.
“The abduction of monarchs is the order of the day in our country now. We urge the government to provide security for the lives and property of the citizens. It is their responsibility, it is a constitutional responsibility.
“Every government that fails to provide security for the lives of the citizens is no longer a government. What we are saying is simple, we are ready to face the government in this hardship and we are marathon runners.
“We have started this struggle today and if the government fails to listen to us, we will continue to mobilise our people to protest this hardship because enough is enough.”
