Lagos Commissioner of Police, CP Adegoke Fayoade has called for caution on the proposed August 1st nationwide protest while stating that the police will not allow breakdown of law and order in Lagos.
CP Fayoade also alerted that such a protest could be hijacked and used to cause mayhem that will disrupt the peace, and loss of lives and property of Lagos residents.
The Lagos police boss stated this during a security stakeholders’ meeting addressing security agencies, religious leaders, youth, and market leaders at an event held on Thursday.
“We have called you to tell you that we are committed, we are ready to protect everybody to provide up-to-date standard security all over Lagos, all over the nooks and cranes of Lagos. We assure you that we will not allow a breakdown of law and order to convince these people.
“These faceless people who are planning this protest should reconsider the idea because it’s not going to augur well for the country. We want a peaceful Nigeria where we can do our business peacefully, make our profits, where we can improve the standard of living of all the people of the country, where good things will be available for everybody. That’s the kind of Nigeria we want,” CP Adegoke said.
He, however, stressed on securing the lives and properties of Lagosians, as he asserts that such protest, if hijacked could lead to the destruction that will result in the loss of billions of Naira and deter investors from the country.
He also noted that such protest can stagnate the social economic development thereby affecting the growth of the country.
Commenting, the state’s Commissioner of Youth and Social Development, Hon. Mobolaji Ogunlende said, “The message is clear and the signal is clear, that we are standing as one people to ensure that we keep our Lagos and our Nigeria safe. So, I commend every one of us who have taken those steps and for those who are yet to take those steps, we will encourage you to please do that because when anything goes wrong, it affects every one of us irrespective of whatever it is that we are
building.
“We all see what has happened in Kenya recently. Everybody has come out in the aftermath to realise what has happened. You see, when this thing happens, it happens like a snowball and the ripple effect is very high and we would ensure, and we will try and plead, will ask, we will pay to ensure that we and our Nigerians are safe,” he stated.
Ogunlende further noted that the state government is presently working to empower a million youths in information technology with partnerships with financial institutions within the states, as well as the provision of over 1,800 jobs created through the LagRide Smart Taxi Scheme.
“2,866 job opportunities for young drivers who graduated from LBSL and are accredited through Trading Academy with over 2,200 healthcare professionals mostly youth recruited into the state public health facilities and health education over 3,000 fresh graduates and teachers recruited mostly youths,” he said.
For his part, the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, Lagos chapter, Comrade Alimi Idris categorically stated that the student union will not partake in the proposed August 1st planned Protest.
According to him, “We students of Lagos State already have internal battles we are facing, and I am here to state categorically that the 11 tertiary institutions in Lagos State will not join a protest we don’t know the beginning and the ending.
“We don’t have time to join a protest when we are already dealing with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike and the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) strike. We don’t want anything else that will delay our academics, thereby having to graduate in seven years for a four-year course.
“Many presidents of various institutions in Lagos State have already started calling me, saying they are being contacted by unknown numbers about the protest. But I’m here to state that we are not joining the protest because we don’t know the organisers.”
Similarly, President General of Ladipo market, Mr. Africanus Ogudoro stressed that the Ladipo market will be open for business on the said date of the protest.
”Ladipo market will be fully open to operate on August 1st because we are not aware of any protest. The same goes for Alaba Amalgamated Markets, they will be fully open,” Ogudaro stated.