Panic, fears are gripping Nigerian politicians as hoodlums target prominent Nigerians’ houses for looting.
Prominent Nigerians, especially the politicians, are living in fear, with some of them sleeping one eye opened, following a dangerous twist in the #EndSARS protest that has brought the nation to its knee.
Apart from the purported revolution Bola Tinubu in Logos, the new trend in town is the ongoing discovery and looting COVID-19 palliative warehouses across the country. But the question bothering concerned Nigerians is: “What happens next?
Ishiyaku GangJidda, a northerner, has answer. Writing in his Facebook page with heading, “COVID-19 palliatives and the politicians”, Ishiyaku GangJidda queried:
“When the looters exhaust the hoarded COVID-19 palliatives from the warehouses in the states where would they go to next?
“Senators, House of Representatives members and ministers beware. The looters have started targeting houses of politicians. Senator Ndoma Egba’s house in Calabar has been looted, everything carted away including toilet seats and the mansion burned; same with a senator’s house in Southern Kaduna where palliatives were hoarded.
“Senator Agunbiade of Lagos hid COVID-19 palliatives in his house. (He) said he was going to distribute them to the poor on his birthday! This callousness beats any other I have ever come across.
“This protest is entering another dangerous dimension after the IPOB (allegedly) sponsored carnage in Lagos. The politicians need to be afraid. As it happened in Calabar with Senator Ndoma Egba and Governor Ben Ayade’s properties, the fear is it may spread to other politicians.”
The general feeling among the people is that Nigerian politicians are their major problem, having amassed the commonwealth, leaving them to penury, despite their repeated outcries.
Many are of the belief the only language the politicians can understand is to attack what they value most: their lives, properties and investments.
Morenews.ng learnt than Nigerian politicians are scampering for safety but are worried about their properties and investments within and outside the country.
Observation shows than some state governors have resorted to panic youth empowerment programmes in a bit to pacify the rampaging youths and assuage the situation.
It was learnt that, in Cross River, Governor Ben Ayade has moved to reactivate his “food on the table” principle in addition to rolling out mouth-watering empowerment scheme that could lift no fewer than 20,000 unemployed youths off the streets before the end of the year.
A prominent indigene of the area, Ita-Giwa was practically on her knee, begging the youth to stop further looting and destruction, while admitting that Nigerian leaders have failed the citizenry.
In Akwa Ibom State, despite Governor Udom Emmanuel’s song of no money, the state government has announced plan to kick-start the long abandoned Inter-ministerial direct labour empowerment programme.
Reports say Governor Udom Emmanuel has commenced the third batch of capacity building initiative, tagged My Entrepreneurship Goal Programme (MEGP) as part of efforts to address some concerns of youth and forestall unrest.
Reacting to the violence that enveloped Uyo on Thursday, the governor, in a statewide broadcast, Friday October 23, 2020, said the MEGP will resume for the third batch, to train another set of startups and young entrepreneurs on basic business skills.
“My Entrepreneurship Goals Programme (MEGP) will start next week, which is another bold and decisive step taken by Government to provide needed education and skills in entrepreneurship, so our youths may use the skills acquired to create job for themselves,” he said.
The Governor through the Directorate of Marketing & Brand Management (Office of the Governor) had since 2018, initiated the programme to provide a free platform for budding entrepreneurs in the State to acquire needed business education and exposed to opportunities for business support, strategic partnership, mentoring and market linkages. The programme has so far churned out two batches of beneficiaries.
According to the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Marketing & Brand Management, Mr. Ime Uwah, MEGP is a typology of a business school that runs every quarter of the year, claiming that the batch III of the programme was slated to commence by March this year, but was regrettably stalled by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
But what could post a challenge is the revelation that participants of the programme, that is expected to kick-start this week, are those qualified after the pre-qualification interview carried out early this year.
In a related development, President Muhammadu Buhari has directed keys takeholders in his to relocate to their respective states and negotiate for cease fire.
Consequently, the Minister for Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Gods will Akpabio and the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Niger Delta Matters, Senator It’s Enang, had floated an inter-party stakeholders meeting in Uyo at the instance of the President where they pleaded with the youth to give government a second chance.
“We are here to work with the state government and all authorities of government to resolve the issue and restore peace to Akwa Ibom State, other states of the Niger-Delta and every part of the country,” Buhari spoke through It’s Enang.
But analysts considered the whole arrangement as a mere “publicity stunt”, aimed at attracting unmerited attention to the organisers.
In an article entitled, #EndSARS Protesters: President Buhari in Akwa Ibom?, a public affairs commentator, Otuekong Franklyn Using criticised the move, saying it lacks “concerted effort of all our leaders and political officeholders” to address the the current situation.
“As much as I respect the individuals mentioned in the report, and as much as they are entitled to their freedom of thoughts, of expression, and of deed, I give it to them as their fundamental rights.
“Even though, methinks, the mood at the moment in the State and the Nation, desire a concerted effort of all our leaders and political officeholders (Local, State and federal levels) to as a matter of necessity work together, as a team and take us out of this undesirable quagmire, instead!
“This is absolutely the wrong time for anyone to want to “steal the show,” or “cash in” into the situation for whatever purpose.
