One of the key figures behind the planned #EndBadGovernance protest against economic hardship, slated for August, has asserted that Eagle Square in Abuja is public property, and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, must permit “hungry Nigerian youths” to demonstrate their displeasure there.
Damilare Adenola, the Director of Mobilisation of the Take It Back Movement, a non-governmental organization, made this statement on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics program.
The protest, aimed at addressing economic hardship, has gained momentum on social media and is scheduled to take place across all states of the Federation, including the FCT, in August.
In recent months, the prices of food and basic commodities have skyrocketed, as Nigerians face one of the country’s worst inflation rates and economic crises, exacerbated by the government’s policies of petrol subsidy removal and forex window unification.
Adenola had signed a letter addressed to the minister requesting the use of the facility. The letter, dated July 26, 2024, was shared on social media platforms. However, the FCT minister stated on Saturday that he had not yet received the letter.
Adenola blamed the delay on bureaucratic bottlenecks within the government but assured that the minister would receive the letter on Monday, ahead of the demonstration set to begin on Thursday.
The protest mobiliser said, “It is possible that the receipt of the letter is being delayed by most likely bureaucracy in government or the minister is likely being insincere about receiving the letter.
“If he (Wike) insists that he hasn’t received it, the alternative is that he was served by publication because many Nigerian ministries streamline what to receive or not. If he says he didn’t get it physically, then we could as well say that he was served by publication.
“If he says he wants it by Monday, we will serve him.”
“The truth is that the Eagle Square is a public property. When I saw the video of the minister, I was amazed because I saw the minister asking us to pay rent, pay security fees and all that. My question to the minister is this: how does the minister expect a greater population of Nigerian youths who are impoverished, who have no jobs to afford to exorbitant he is expecting us to pay?
“We are going to be at the Eagle Square on August 1st,” he said.
