A former governorship aspirant in Ondo State, Prince Jimi Odimayo has urged calm to rioting and looting trailing EndSARS protests in some parts of the country.
In a statement by his media assistant, Mr Yemi Akintomide, he said: “Words can’t describe my present state of mind and the extent of which my heart bleeds with great concerns and worries over the current happenings in our beloved country, Nigeria; especially among us, the promising generation of youths and active young people.
“That is why every sane and reasonable person in the country and beyond had been lending support and goodwill to the ongoing #EndSARS protest for the past two weeks.
“However, the dangerous dimension and the sharp turning of events from peaceful protest to rioting, looting and wanton destruction of both public and private properties, and most importantly, the killing of quite a number of young persons, especially in Lagos, Osun, Ondo and Ekiti States, clearly indicate that a third force is at play here, inflicting and influencing the lofty and good intention of the organisers of the #EndSARS peaceful protest.
“The fact is that this third force has wickedly come with the sole role to destroy our commonwealth, leaving sorry, tears and blood along its destructive path, which will eventually cause more hardship and worse conditions of living much more than the ones we’re experiencing today.
“It’s time for our young people on the roads to leave the streets and engage the government at all levels in roundtable talk and peaceful negotiation rather than allowing hoodlums and hooligans take over the struggle wrongly to perpetrate evil and wicked acts.
“Never must we witness the drastic act of the night of October 20, 2020 at Lekki Tollgate where yet to be identified men in uniform reportedly shot live bullets on peaceful and unarmed protesters; indeed, a thorough investigation must be carried out to reveal and identify the perpetrators and level of damage done on this fateful day.
“And to my people at home in Ondo State, let us sheathe our swords and allow our Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN) to take charge and return the State to her peace and developing state that all of us are proud of.
“The October 10, 2020 Election has been done with, a winner has emerged by our popular votes. We should not allow a third force to forcefully take our peace from us by hiding under the #EndSARS protest to go about destroying our pride as a people by dimming our shining sunlight.
“Neither the All Progressives Congress (APC) whose candidate won the poll, nor the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), whose candidate, Eyitayo Jegede (SAN) lost could undermine or jeopardize the peace of the State by launching such an uncoordinated and wicked attack on our darling Sunshine State.
“Both parties had already lost their secretariat buildings and properties to the needless attack.
“It’s further worrisome that my own kinsmen in Ikale land, would take up arms against themselves in Okitipupa town, headquarters of Okitipupa local government area of Ondo State, to start looting and destroying the limited public and private properties in the town such as the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Okitipupa High Court Complex, Okitipupa Oil Palm Plc and the residence of one of our shining stars, Engr. IfeOluwa Oyedele.
“This is strange and very far from the known attributes of Omoluwabi and Odidioma of any Ikale person.
“Our brothers and sisters must rethink and come back to their senses and not to allow a third force to pitch us against our kinsmen by setting ablaze our Commonwealth and pride as Ikale people, such monuments as important as the township police station, the legendary Okitipupa Local Government Secretariat and the Correctional Service (former Nigerian Prison) where over 50 prisoners were released.
“In all these, let us remember and honour those who had lost their lives during this protest and aftermath of reprisals, as a matter of urgency and public importance, stop further protest, looting, rioting, killing and destruction; Let made a retreat to allow the Federal and State Governments attend to our demands with immediate effect.
“This is the right time to leave the roads and allow normalcy to return to our body polity so that we can forge ahead as a united and peace loving people.
“By the action of our courageous youths in the last two weeks, I am reassuring that the mode and system of governance will never be the same again and will change for good in Nigeria, and all of us will be happy thereafter. I salute our fallen young heroes and heroines whose blood shall set us free from police brutality, bad governance, poverty, intimidation, dearth of infrastructures and underdevelopment.”
