Activists, under the aegis of the Association for National Development and Growth (ANDEG), have threatened to resist the planned second phase of the #EndSARS protest on the ground that it is a looming disaster that could cause unprecedented violence and damage.
The activists spoke on Wednesday at a media briefing in Ikeja, Lagos State, where they alleged that the protest, planned to hold on December 7, seemed to have been hijacked before it holds.
ANDEG President Rauf Aroyehun urged parents to prevent their children from participating in such a protest, which he claimed was being organised by people who want to destabilise the country.
“The demands in the second phase of the exercise that call for the resignation of the President and a number of other top government officials are seen to be politically motivated and should be expected to ignite division among opinion leaders and stakeholders.
“It will be childish to expect that the event may provoke the sympathy of majority of well-meaning Nigerians as witnessed during the first outing. It will also be a tall dream to imagine that government will be so lenient with the treatment of the issue as experienced in the first outing before the conflict metamorphosed into violence.
“The degree of bloodshed experienced in the first outing, when a call to end police brutality turned violent, may be considered moderate compared to the degree of bloodshed that would be experienced when what appears to be a call for regime change or disintegration of the country turns violent.
“The plan for a second phase #EndSARS campaign on social media gives room for suspicion by stakeholders as it sounds absurd to renew calls for disbandment of a police unit that has been disbanded almost two months ago.
“As things stand now, unless the protest is resisted or averted, the confrontation between the protesters, security operatives and various stakeholders may be very brutal and lives of so many people, most particularly the youth, may be at stake, despite the fact that the blood of our youths is too precious to be shed.”

By Precious Igbonwelundu