National Orientation Agency boss in Bauchi appeals to Nigeria youths to shelve planned nationwide protest

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By Ude Ogbonnaya Israel, Bauchi

The Bauchi State Director of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mrs Theresa Omaga has appealed to youths planning a nationwide protest in the early month of August to shelve their plans and embrace dialogue and path of peace to meaningfully engage government over their grievances.

The protest called by young Nigerians over economic hardship is currently gaining traction in different parts of the country and has not only triggered concerns but also trailed mixed reactions.

However, security operatives from across the country are said to be mobilizing against the intended protest slated between 1 and 10 August, 2024.

Mrs. Omaga argued that while Nigerians have a constitutional right for peaceful protest, experience had thought that it does not always end as intended, hence the need for a rethink.

“Based on past experience we have had in Nigeria, you may have good intentions of doing the protest, but at the end of the whole thing, lives may be lost, properties destroyed and some wounded,

“The outcome of this kind of protest is usually bad; I therefore urge the youths to be patient enough and channel their demands to appropriate quarters as things will soon normalise in the nearby future”, she said.

Mrs. Omaga further noted that the government is not insensitive to the plights of Nigerians and will not fail to give a listening ears to the youths if they resort to meaningful dialogue.