By Clement Omanibe
The Defence Headquarters has warned that the proposed hardship peaceful protest being planned by some Nigerians and groups under the banner of #EndbadgovernanceinNigeria has the potentialities to degenerate to violence and anarchy.
It added that the protest which is scheduled to start on August 1 might take the pattern of Kenya experience.
Recall that some Kenyan youths recently staged peaceful rallies against unpopular tax hikes but the outing later degenerated to tragic violence.
The Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj Gen Edward Buba, who stated this on Thursday while addressing journalists in Abuja, said that based on intelligence at its disposal, the proposed protest would be hijacked by some unscrupulous.
“The aim of the protest is to show you what is happening in Kenya. I would add that what is happening in Kenya in terms of the protest, one, is violence. Two, it remains unresolved as we speak now, Buba said.
“So did you see from that? And based on what has been gathered, there are plans by some unscrupulous elements to hijack this protest and make sure that it turns violent. When it turns violent, I want to tell you what we have seen as it would likely happen,” he added.
As a result, the president, William Ruto, dropped the planned increases.
“For instance, there are signs of status-related violence such that persons with things as basic as a smartphone and car are targets. This does not leave out those who own a house, shop, or even use air conditioners in their houses,” Buba said.
“Other targets include places of worship, businesses, markets, persons of other ethnic groups and members of opposing political parties among others. Believe me, when this happens, it is nothing but a state of anarchy, lawlessness.”
Buba, stressed that the military would do its best to ensure the country did not degenerate to a state of anarchy.
“We have seen this in other parts of the world when we carried out peacekeeping operations. The military will not stand by and allow anarchy to befall our nation. It is our constitutional responsibility to make sure that that doesn’t happen,” he said.
“Some think that it is like when you watch Nollywood or whatever. Oh no, in real life, people stand to lose everything. I don’t need to speak too much. Go to IDP camps. You will see people that have money with big houses. They are living inside tents.
“Based on the foregoing, the level of violence envisaged is best described as a state of anarchy. It is for this reason the armed forces will not watch and allow the nation to spiral out of control to such low levels.
“It is for this reason that troops will act dutifully to forestall such ugly occurrences from happening in our nation,” he stated.
He declared that the military’s involvement would be in accordance with constitutional provisions.
“However, for us in the military, the constitution is clear as to how and when the military gets involved. The constitution also clearly defines the roles and functions of the armed forces. On the other hand, while citizens have a constitutional right to peaceful protest, they do not have a right to mobilise for anarchy to unleash terror,” Buba said.
