By Lateef Lawal
Babagana Munguno, a retired Army Major General and National Security Adviser, NSA, may have raised the hope of Nigerians, when he said that what President Muhammadu Buhari, a retired Army General, would say in his speech on Thursday, October, 22, 202, would be agreeable to all.
As a prelude to addressing the nation on the END SARS Protests, which had entered its third week, the Katsina born Nigerian President was said to have had held various levels of Consultations including holding meetings with the National Security Council, NSC,members, which include Gabriel Olonisakin, an Army General an Chief of Defense Staff, CDS, who was said to have led the Service Chiefs to the meeting.
Based on the briefing on the security situation in the country and the END SARS protests, by the security Chiefs of the various security agencies including Yusuf Magaji Bichi, Director General, Department of State Security and Mohammed Adamu, Inspector General of Police, IGP, he had finally broken his silence on the evening of Wednesday, October 21, 2020. Given the importance attached to the speech, many people had remained glued to their televisions to listen to the Commander –In – Chief, C-IN-C, of the Nigerian Armed Forces.
The People’s Democratic Party, PDP, leadership, were disappointed that the Katsina state born Nigerian President did not allude to the soldiers that had shot at the crowd of over 1,000, END Special Anti-robbery Squad, SARS, Protesters at Lekki Toll Gate allegedly killing over 10 persons and injuring many. Sanwo-Olu, the Lagos state governor, who is still making efforts to warm himself back to the heart of the Youths because of the way he had handled the crisis, had said confirmed that 28 protesters who received bullet wounds were rushed to three different Hospitals in the state .
The question on the lips of the PDP Nationall Executive Council , NEC, members,was: where did the soldiers who shot at protesters at Lekki Toll Gate come from and who gave them the order to shoot at the Innocent protesters carrying the Green White Green Flag of the country singing at their Converging point at the Lekki Toll Gate.
The worry of the PDP NEC, was that he had paid tribute to the officers of the Nigerian Police Force , NPF, who were said to have tragically lost their lives in the END SARS protests but failed to acknowledge the proters gunned down by armed uniform men. ‘’ Let me pay tribute to officers of the NPF, who had lost their lives in the line of duty, he had said.
In apparent reaction to the much expected Presidential speech, some of the protesters had tweeted had individually that the President’s speech had clearly shown that he does not care about what happens to them.
But the retired Army General would not agree with them. He may have told the Youths, going by his speech , if we don’t , care for you, we could not have looked at your demands, let alone give Concessions.’’ We listened to and carefully evaluated the five-point demand of the protesters’, he had said ‘’. He had cited the scrapping of SARS and measures put in place to address other demands of the aggrieved Youths. He was said to have reiterated his Administration Commitment ‘’to the implementing of an extensive police reforms and improved Welfare for the officers.
True to his words, improving police welfare, he was said to have already directed the National Salaries, come and Wages Commission, NSIWC, ‘’to expedite action on the finalization of the new salary structure of members of the NPF, which had been in the cooler over the years.
Many believe that without the protesting Youths making improved police welfare as one of their demands, the President may not have remembered to do so. This is the more reason, why security experts had said that Adamu, the IGP and his officers had to be grateful t the protests for achieving the feat for them with little or no effort on their part.
The Buhari led All Progressive Congress, APC, governmentmay have also initiated measures to accommodate the Youths, including the women and the most vulnerable groups in the society as a way to bring to the END SARS protests to an end.
According to him, these included the broad plan to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in the next 10 years, the creation of a N75 billion Youth Investment Fund , YIF, to provide opportunities for the Youths and the Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises, MSME, Survival Fund.. He had said that with the Fund, the government would be able to pay three month –salaries of the Staff of 100,000 MSME.
He may have gladdened the heart of Nigerians when he said the government would undertake the payment of the Registration of 250,000 businesses at the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC, and given a grant of N30,000.00 to artisans and guaranteeing market for the products of the traders. Other initiatives of the government to bring the country out of the wood include Farmermoni, Tradermoni, Marketmoni, N-Power, N-Tech and N-Agro.
Good as the Poverty-Alleviation measures could be, there are fears that it may be sabotaged by those who may not want the APC government to succeed. They cited the COVID 19, palliatives of money, rice and other food items which ought to be shared to the poor by was diverted by a few individuals.
With the END of SARS protests, a 60 x60 warehouse had been discovered around Maza area of Lagos state where the COVID 19 food provided by the government for the poor in the state had been hidden. The speed at which desperate Nigerians were said to have rushed the warehouse t when it was thrown open to park the food items speaks volume: hunger in the land. This is where the Nigerian President may have to engage the services of CONSULTs to handle the disbursement of the Support Funds to the Youths and MSMEs instead of allowing the governors to handle it as it would not get to the real people it was meant for.
Aware of the turn of events in the country that hoodlums had hijacked the protest, the END SARS protesters may have agreed to be Calm in their various Converging point and monitor how the government is responding to their demands.
Following the unfolding the END of SARS Protests which had claimed many lives and property worth billions of naira, a group of Patriotic Nigerians had made some demands which must be met by the government in order to end the crisis that had engulfed the country over the last three weeks.
One of such demands for the government to identify and arrest the persons that gave instructions for the soldiers to shoot at protesting Youths at Lekki Toll Gate, on Tuesday, October 20, 2020, Institute an Independent Inquiry on the events at Lekki Toll Gate leading to the use of live bullets and lethal weapons on protesters and the apparent use thugs or hoodlums by security operatives to infiltrate and break the peaceful protests. The group had said that ‘’all those identified to be responsible for this must be held to account and prosecuted’’.
Take immediate action as spelt out in the Youth Charter of Demands including the release of all arrested protesters , justice and Compensation for the Families of victims and an Independent body to oversee the prosecution of the guilty officers.
They would also want him to relieve the Heads of the various security agencies as they have failed the nation. The Group who are not happy over what is happening in the country were said to have asked the Daura Politician to address perennial insecurity and killings in the country, particular , in the north east and north west.
Perhaps, given his desire to find a lasting solution to END SARS protests across the country which had persisted despite the curfew declared by the governors, in their respective states, Buhari was said to initiated a virtual meeting with former Presidents and Heads of States: Yakubu Gowon, Olusegun Obasanjo, Goodluck Jonathan, Earnest Shonekan, and Abdulsalami Abubakar, a retired Army General and former military Head of State at the Council chambers at the Presidential Villa, Friday, October 23, 202020.
The government who were said o be physically present with him at Council Chambers were Yemi Osinbajo, Vice Presidnt, Boss Mustapha, Secretary to the government of the Federation, Ibrahim Gambari, a Professor and Chief of Staff to the President, and Babagana Munguno, a retired Major General and National Security Adviser, NSA.
Also at the meeting were Gabriel Olonisakin, a General and Chief of Denfense Staff, Mohammed Adamu, Inspector Geneal of police, IGP,Yusuf Magaji Bichi, Director General, Department of State Security, DSS, Director General , and National Intelligence Agency, NIA.