The Northern Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) has vowed to join the October 1 protest should the masses organise one.
According to Comrade Isa Abubakar, President of NYCN, his group won’t hesitate to join the protest in view of the current hardship that Nigerians are passing through.
Recall that a Northern group, Arewa Youth for Peaceful Coexistence (AYPC) has kicked against the planned October 1st nationwide protest against bad governance.
The group while addressing a press conference over the weekend, by its National Coordinator, Haruna Bature along with the Chairman, Abuja Chapter of the group, Comrade Ogah Mark Okpanachi advised the protesters to take the path of dialogue rather than violence.
Abubakar in a chat with Daily Independent, said, “We know that different organisations that spare head the issue of protest in Nigeria are more like people playing intermediate role between the government and the masses, and when the government settles them financially or otherwise they tend to come outside and issue statements that they won’t be part of protest. The government should understand that even at the rate it’s spending money to curtail the last protest through individuals or groups that were telling them that they could stop the masses, but they couldn’t achieve that. It’s obvious that this protest is more like a community sponsored protest where communities are now taking ownership of their lives, taking possession of what affects them directly and not waiting for a statement or one organisation to back them before carrying out a protest.
“So the group which issued a statement that northern extraction is not going to be part of the protest is just speaking for themselves. They’re not speaking on behalf of the northern people that are passing through hell.
He added, “Obviously If there’s going to be a protest on October 1, nobody should question it because it is unfortunate that in less than one year this government has pressurized Nigerians so much, where fuel pump price rose from N195 per litre to over N1200 or even N1500, depending on the location in the country.
“So, we shouldn’t expect that they’re not supposed to protest. If Nigerians come out on October 1 it shouldn’t be something of a surprise to come out to demand for a better life for themselves, demand for a moderate cost of living, demand for good welfare packages for themselves.
“So, if Nigerians are going to come out we have no other option than to support them because we’re part and parcel of the pains that the poor masses are passing through.
“As head of the group, I won’t ask any of my members not to be part of the protest. After all, they don’t have a market where they buy products at subsidized rates, or a filling station or gas company where they buy at subsidized rates.” Abubakar added. (Sunday Independent: Text, Excluding Headline)
