Emir Sanusi Urges End To Protests After Violence, Deaths In Kano
The reinstated Emir of Kano, Lamido Sanusi, has urged parents in Kano not to allow their children and wards to continue participating in the #EndBadGovernance protest.
Mr Sanusi said this a day after the demonstrations turned into an orgy of looting and destruction of properties that also featured the killing of some protesters in the state.
Three protesters were reportedly killed on Thursday in the violent protests in the state. However, the police and the government have yet to speak about the deaths.
Mr Sanusi, at a press conference at his palace on Friday, described the protest as a sad moment and a setback for the development initiatives for the state.
“Today is a sad day for the people of Kano as we reflect on the events of yesterday. The violence of yesterday was why scholars and leaders kept warning against the possibility that miscreants and agents of destruction would hijack peaceful demonstrations and use that opportunity to cause mayhem, which led to the loss of lives, destruction of properties, and injuries to countless people.
Dangote Refinery
“As we said during the stakeholders meeting, any violence in Kano only hurts Kano, it hurts innocent people. The young people who died are our children, the property that was burnt and stolen belong to the people of Kano,” Mr Sanusi said.
PREMIUM TIMES reported how on Wednesday Governor Abba Yusuf, at a town hall meeting in the Government House attended by Mr Sanusi, backed the protests.
The governor advised the organisers to be civil and submit their demands to him for delivery to President Bola Tinubu.
In his remarks at the event, the reinstated emir, Mr Sanusi raised concerns about the protest and called on the organisers to identify themselves.
“I am not against the protest but who are the organisers of the protest, and what are their agendas? We need to know all these before joining the protest,” Mr Sanusi said at the town hall meeting at the government house on Wednesday.
But after the protest turned violent, Mr Sanusi said the destruction of properties and lives of the protesters had set the state backward.
“We have set ourselves back. The printing press that was burnt will have to be rebuilt, the machines will have to be bought and these are funds that could have gone into youth empowerment, poverty alleviation, education, healthcare and nutrition, and addressing the very problems that we are protesting against,” Mr Sanusi lamented.
Audience Survey
He said the the digital centre of excellence that was built by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) was aimed at educating the youth, provide them with digital training, and prepare them for examinations.
“We have vandalised and destroyed the computers, and we have wasted hundreds of millions of Naira that was supposed to be an investment in human capital.
“I am calling on the people of Kano not to allow themselves to repeat what happened yesterday or to be deceived into continuing with this kind of mayhem. Parents should advise their children, ward heads, district heads, imams should call on our people and let them now understand that this violence only hurts Kano, only sets Kano back and nobody is going to come to fix our problems,” Mr Sanusi appealed.
“We pray to Allah to have mercy on the souls that have passed away (in the protest), to restore the wealth of those who have been looted or vandalised, and to grant good health to those who are injured in a short time,” he added.
No comments