Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has issued a stern warning to those orchestrating the planned nationwide protest against economic hardship.
The protest, which has gained significant traction on social media, is scheduled to take place across all states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, in August.
Onanuga accused supporters of the Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi, of being behind the planned protest.
He emphasized that while it is the democratic right of citizens to protest, the organizers must be cautious to prevent the demonstration from being hijacked by elements that might cause chaos.
Explaining more on the post on his X (formerly Twitter) when he accused Peter Obi’s supporters of the planned protest, he told Sunday Vanguard on the phone, “My post is just to highlight that the people who are organizing this so-called nationwide protest are members of Labour party, they are Peter Obi supporters, so that’s my own take of it, it’s my own opinion so I am not going to say more than this.”
Reminded that Omoyele Sowore, an activist and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, in the 2023 elections, has cushioned that nobody would stop an action in which its time has come, Onanuga insisted that he was not interested in whatever those behind the planned protest want to do.
He said, “That is their problem; I am not interested in what they want to do. I am just trying to say, look, these are the people that are saying, we must do Kenya, so these are the people mobilizing; that is my own point.
“So, nobody is saying you must not protest; protest is legitimate in a democracy. The concern of people is that when you start a protest, and it is not well managed, the end cannot be predicted, just like people could not predict the end of EndSars.
“So, that’s just the concern of people. And again, when you are saying revolution now, revolution now, do they know the meaning of revolution now? Revolution means you are calling for a coup d’etat; that’s the meaning of it, and that’s the point that I am making, nothing more than that. So anybody can protest; it’s within their rights to protest; nobody says you should not protest.”
Further asked if he has any evidence to prove that it’s supporters of Peter Obi that are planning the protest, he said, “Check their handles and see what they are posting, just follow what they have been posting. What I did was to do content analysis of what these people are posting as a journalist.”
