The Ooni of Ife, Adeyeye Ogunwusi, Ojaja II has announced plans by traditional rulers in Nigeria to immediately mediate between the Federal Government and organisers of the End SARS Movement.
He called on the protesting youths to kindly retreat and allow the government attend to their noble demands, which are after all in the best interest of all stakeholders in the country, including Police and Army officers themselves.
DAILY POST reports that Ooni condemned the killing of End SARS protesters at the Lekki Toll gate in Lagos by armed soldiers on Tuesday, described it as highly disheartening and regrettable.
Ooni in a statement signed by his Director, Media & Public Affairs, Comrade Moses Olafare said, “It is the hoodlums and vagrants perpetrating all manners of criminality discrediting the noble ideology of the peaceful Youths that should be demobilized and arrested.
“There is no doubt the exploitation of the protests by criminals attacking prisons, police stations and public facilities put the government on the edge and might have led to the military option but it is important to separate hoodlums committing these heinous crimes from protesters gathered in a specific location to draw attention to their legitimate demands.
As tension rises on both sides, the monarch asserted that it is time to calm down and allow traditional rulers, as fathers of the nation to lead the way to peace and restoration of trust.
“Our children are on the streets rather than checking out because they believe in the future of Nigeria and that our system is flexible enough to adapt to changes for better performance.
“Their generation was nurtured with the values of efficiency, transparency, accountability and value chains. These are the noble values they seek to inject into our polity so that our country can realise its potential as a world power,” he added.
