The Igbo Journalists Association (IJA), has advised those planning to embark on the #Endbadgovernment (hardship) protest, from August 1 to August 10, 2024, to shelve the idea and engage government on a roundtable dialogue to arrive at an amicable solution.
In a statement issued on Sunday, July 27, 2024, and signed by the association's National President, Sir Amby Uneze and the Assistant Secretary, Charles Ogugbuaja, the body observed that though, the citizens of the country were currently passing through untold and seemingly unbearable hardships culminating in hunger, unprecedented inflation, high cost of living; including soaring prices of food items; fuel pump price hike, and increased electricity tariff, etc, Nigerians can avoid the protest and give the governments at all levels an ultimatum to address these worrisome issues.
The statement read: "We urge Nigerians to kindly focus on the unity and progress of the country and shelve or suspend the protest in order not to play into the hands of hoodlums and area boys who would want to use the opportunity to cause mayhem and destruction of lives and property across the country."
The group stressed, "Notwithstanding that in a democratic setting, peaceful protests are guaranteed in order to pressurize the sitting government to meet the demands of the people. We as a people, should also weigh the pros and cons of such protests, especially, the mood of the country presently.
"We, however, call on President Bola Tinubu, to as a matter of urgency, invite the leadership of all opposing groups, including the leaderships of the opposition political parties; the religious groups, NLC, TUC, NBA, NMA, various youth organizations; the media (including some journalists from the various States), ethnic groups, traders, women groups, and indeed all stakeholders to a roundtable dialogue, resolving and coming up with viable and implementable solutions. The outcome of the dialogue should be quickly implemented state - by - state in view of the time frame so that the lingering issues would be resolved immediately," IJA advised.
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