The South East Renewed Hope Ambassadors, SERHA, has told the people of South East that if there is any reason for the people of South-East to protest, it must be against the continuous detention of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPoB, who it said is apparently the only true Nigerian still held in detention.
The group therefore disassociated itself from the planned #EndBadGovernance# nationwide protest slated for August 1, 2024, saying the people of South East has nothing to benefit other than more pains and agony from the planned protest.
The group has equally urged the people of South East not to participate in any form of protest that could worsen the security situation in the region and bringing unrest to the country at large.
SERHA, in a statement entitled “August 1st protest: South East Renew Hope Ambassadors, disassociates self, urges people of the region not to engage in any form of protest as nobody has sympathized with the South East in her cry of marginalization and criminal neglect of the region and her people since the end of the civil war. Cautions against acts capable of bringing the country to a state of unrest”, said South-East will not join other regions to incite protests against the Federal government.
SERHA, statement which was jointly signed by its President, Sir Arinzechukwu Awogu, Anambra, Barr. Dr. Ugochukwu Ugwu,Vice President, Enugu,Comrade Nwogba Morgan N.
Secretary General, Ebonyi, Hon Joseph Odumuko,Youths President, Abia, Hon. Mrs Lovett Emere, Imo, urged the people of South East, to reflect on the past experiences where crisis and violence arising from the Western Region, saw the people of South-East being the bearers of the brunt as it culminated in the Nigerian Civil rar that singled the Igbos out for annihilation.
It said that the Civil War which started in 1967 and ended in the year 1970, but left the entire Igbos in a state of ruins which the Igbos are yet to recover from and cannot afford to be sweet-tounged and cajoled into joining any such gang up against the government of the day.
“Recall that during the same agitation in the West that all together led to the January 15, 1966 coup and the pogroms and eventually led to the brutal Nigerian Civil War, which particularly left a legacy of destruction, in against Ndigbo, death toll of over 3,000,000 people of Igbo origin, marginalization, economic setbacks/deprivations, criminal neglect/denials towards the people of the Eastern Region and in all of these; we suffered alone without the rest of the country coming together to protest against the travails of the South-East.
“The people of South-East had to learn to survive outside the government and has tremendously stabilized in self reliance. Unfortunately, the rest of Nigeria who had watched the South-East groan and gnash their teeth in her travails are now facing a bit of what the South-East has been through since after the civil war. And now wants the South-East to join them in the protest against the federal government, we say No!
“Further more, we still have not recovered from the #ENDSARS# protest saga of October 2020. The fact that it had immense negative impact on the South-East and our country, Nigeria, is an everyday reality that we have to live with for God knows how long. The people of the South-East are yet to recover and as such, they do not need to be involved in any protest as the backlash of the planned protest will further impact negatively on the already fragile security situation in the region.
“We therefore, advocate for peace and national unity while appreciating the visible efforts being made by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s led Federal government in easing the pains of Nigerians.
“The SERHA, wishes to make it very clear to the people of the South-East that we have no reason to join any protest and if there is any reason for the South-East to protest, it will have to be against the continuous detention of Mazi Nnamdi Okwu Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPoB, who apparently is the only true Nigerian still held in detention.
“In as much as the protest is not against the continuous detention of Mazi Nnamdi Okwu Kanu, which ordinarily is strong enough to persuade the people of the South-East to march to the street, we stand to gain nothing in joining the planned nationwide protest and we encourage those inciting the protest to abort it in the best interest of the country.
“SERHA, therefore emphasize on the need for patience and support for the federal government under the able and pragmatic leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, especially now that his government is beginning to strengthen institutions that will drive growth and accelerated development in the country. We encourage everyone at this critical period of our national life to exercise patience and resilience.
“Worthy of note therefore, is that Mr President is aware of all our difficulties and he is dedicated to improving the living standards of Nigerians hence, his most recent actions aimed at easing the economic hardship and other interventions which includes, but not limited to the procurement of Compressed Natural Gas Vehicles, the introduction of the Student loan scheme, distribution of palliatives, provision and distribution of agricultural inputs such as grains, tractors, and fertilizers to states and the passage of the New National Minimum Wage Bill as well as the granting of full autonomy to the 774 local government councils and the signing into law the South-East Development Commission, SEDC, don’t forget that we are close to having the sixth state for the South-East, Etiti state, which has passed second reading.
“SERHA, hereby appeal to the leadership of the various youth bodies, civil society organizations, religious bodies, market leaders etc to join SERHA in the campaign against the planned nationwide protest by conveying this message to all nooks and crannies while praying against any form of crisis in our country, Nigeria.”
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