If We Allow Planned Protest, It’ll Spread To Other Countries — Kalu Reveals Next Action
Benjamin Kalu, the deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, has urged the Nigerian government not to allow the planned nationwide protest to take place.
The lawmaker made this call while speaking on Arise TV on Thursday, saying that the protest would spread across Africa if it is allowed to happen in Nigeria on August 1, 2024.
He also expressed “his disappointment” that Nigerians want to imitate smaller countries like Kenya by planning the nationwide protest.
He said, “Why the news about the protest got to the highest point at the moment is because Kenya had an outing.
“Kenya is a smaller country compared to 240 million people. Kenya is a small country compared to Nigeria. We can’t be taking examples of this kind of ugly outing from countries like Kenya.
“I don’t mince words. I said it on the floor of the parliament. They (Kenya) should copy from us. They should copy that when policies are laid down, these policies take time to mature for implementation.
“And we should show them that there are non-kinetic approaches to the resolutions of issues rather than conflict, coercion and crisis.
“Why are we the bigger brothers in Africa if we do what lesser countries do? What example are we giving to them?
“If we carry on with this protest, a lot of other smaller countries would be involved because Nigeria has done it. We would not be doing only this nation a disservice, the subregion would go into chaos as well as Africa as a continent.
“We have to think about those who are watching us as their big brother and look at where the solutions lie.”
NNH had reported how Nigerians had started mobilising themselves in thousands to hold a public demonstration across the country, tagged as “EndBadGovernanceInNigeria.”
The protest aims to express their displeasure over the hardship the President Bola Tinubu-led administration has created.
