The Ijaw Youth Council has said that the ongoing nationwide protest on EndSARS was a metaphor for a structured Nigeria and not just an end to police brutality.
The IYC through its spokesperson, Ebilade Ekerefe, commended the undying spirit of the Nigerian youth to ensuring that the country was habitable for all and appealed to them to stay focused on the course and not derail no matter the provocations by retrogressive forces.
He said, “Ijaw Youth Council are very much concerned over the ongoing nationwide EndSARS protests and we are monitoring the unfolding events as a region and will take appropriate action in days to come.
“For us in the IYC, the EndSARS protest is a metaphor for a restructured and reorganised Nigeria and there is no better time than now.
“Now is the time to bring back the 2014 National CONFAB Report for its full implementation in the interest of peace, unity and political stability in the country.
“This is not the time to joke with things that matters. President Muhammadu Buhari has an opportunity to making history, an history that will consume us or an history that will reposition the country for excellence and become a statesman after power.
“This nationwide protest is coming at a time the people of the Niger Delta are been provoked with the sale of N5bn gold bar to the CBN by the Zamfara State Government when the people of the Niger Delta has no access or control to our oil and gas mineral resources. Our ecosystem upon which our livelihood depends on is completely destroyed as a result of oil spillage and gas flaring which has greatly affected the life expectancy rate of our people, yet the government don’t care.
“Sadly, instead of addressing this challenges by reviewing the obnoxious laws which has rendered us incapacitated, the Federal Government is rather making further attempts to forcefully take over our waterways through the obnoxious water resource bill just like they did with the land use act. We’ve resisted it and we shall continue to resist it.
“However, it gladdens our heart that the so called lazy youth have risen up to challenge the status-quo which has made us live like animals in our country. In the days ahead, the Ijaw Youth Council in consultation with critical leaders from the region will decide the best course of action as we match towards a well organized and well structured country.”
