Rights activist, Deji Adeyanju, has said the Federal Government has been taking Nigerians for a ride because the citizens have failed to recognise and pursue their rights.
The activist who spoke on the backdrop of the planned October 1 Protest also revealed that over 1,000 #EndBadGovernance protesters are still being held in various detention centres around the country, however, assured that they are making every efforts to ensure that they are released.
He said; “We can tell you that over 1, 000 people are still held in various prisons across the country. We are currently working with branches of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) holistically to ensure people are released. A lot is going on in all the states. In Kano, which has a volume of detainees, we are working to get them released.
“We are doing so in all the states where protesters are being held for exercising their fundamental human rights. We have detainees in Zamfara, Sokoto, Kaduna, the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, and other places. We are doing this alongside other stake.”
On the planned October 1 protest, he said;
“People may not come out en masse this time because the Nigerian situation doesn’t give any room for optimism. Nigerians accept any wrong attitude from government. Nigerians don’t like standing up for their rights.
“And it is not a recent thing. It has always been like that. Nigerians are people who prefer to go to beer parlour and drink instead of facing their fears. They rather weep and cry over their sorrows instead of confronting their sorrows and fears. That is why there is so much maladministration and balkanization of the economy by supposed leaders.”
With this atmosphere of fear among the citizenry, what kind of push do you think they need to participate in the October 1 protests?
“I think people should be sensitized by the level of hunger in the land. Hunger should be the greatest sensitisation for the citizens in the country. I don’t think there is any other thing that should make the people not be scared to protest. Is the fuel price increment not enough to sensitise the people? What else do they need? Is the economic crisis not enough to sensitise them?
