President Muhammadu Buhari is talking tough on the moves by some people to return to the streets with EndSARS protest, saying that his government will not tolerate it.
President Buhari sounded a strong warning about reoccurrence of the EndSARS protest, saying that no responsible government will allow that to happen, stressing that violent demonstrations will no longer be allowed.
“Democracy does not mean confusion or lack of accountability.”
The President, who had a meeting with governors from the six geo-political zones in the country, said that the recent wave of ENDSARS protest was hijacked by hoodlums to cause mayhem and destroy private and public property and that he would not want a repeat performance of the same thing again.
“We do not stop anyone from demonstrating, but you don’t set up roadblocks and smash windscreens. Which government will allow that?’’
President Buhari noted that the foreign press coverage of the EndSARS violence was not balanced, citing specifically the CNN and BBC, for omitting the number of policemen killed, police stations that were razed, and the prisons that were thrown open for inmates to escape.
“I was disgusted by the coverage, which did not give attention to the policemen that were killed, the stations that were burnt, and prisons that were opened. They said we are all at fault. We don’t have the sympathy of anyone. We are on our own.”
On the eight-month long strike by Academic Staff Union of Universities, the President said lecturers had not taken into consideration the larger challenges facing the country.
“Government conceded something. The problem is that they refused to look at the problem of the whole country. The Minister of Labour is working hard at it. It is amazing how ASUU will stay out of classrooms for so long. There’s a need for our elites to understand the challenges facing the country.”
