Group reacts to calls for nationwide protests

The Yoruba Revolutionary Movement (YOREM) has declared its support for the upcoming nationwide #EndBadGovernance protests scheduled for 1 – 10 August 2024.

Addressing journalists in Lagos, the National Coordinator of the group, Wale Balogun, dismissed allegations that the protests were targeted at Yoruba interests.

The group described the allegations as “mischievous state-sponsored propaganda.”

YOREM emphasised that the protests were a collective struggle against suffering, hunger, and hardship in Nigeria, and urged Yoruba youths, students, artisans, and professionals to participate.

Mr Balogun also condemned the use of the Oro cult as a political weapon to intimidate voices of dissent.

It urged Yoruba people and Lagos residents to defy and resist the illegal curfew imposed by the “political Oro.”

The group called on security forces to handle protesters with decorum, stating that protesters were not waging war against the Nigerian state, but demanding an end to hunger, starvation, and deprivation.

Mr Balogun criticised compromised pro-democracy and self-determination elements for attempting to sabotage the protests and urged Yoruba people to shun and shame them.

He also noted the rich political tradition of the Yoruba in resisting oppression and exploitation, citing historical examples of resistance against colonialism and military dictatorship.

YOREM dissociated itself from compromised civil society organisations and self-determination activists who have pitched their tent with the oppressors, and endorsed the genuine aspirations of the Yoruba for peaceful protests against anti-poor policies.

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“Our organisation, YOREM, stands for the revolutionary dismantling of the rotten system in Nigeria. It is mischievous to divide would-be protesters along ethnic lines by saboteurs and those who never shared our aspirations to either find Nigeria anew or to peacefully dismantle the failed federal union,” he said.