Unfazed by the isolation occasioned by the fact that theirs was only a two-man protest, a couple of young protesters took to the streets of Ado-Ekiti, capital of Ekiti State, on Thursday, to register their part of a larger displeasure with the Goodluck Jonathan government on its decision to end the subsidy on petrol at a time when Nigerians are already suffering the effect of decades of a combination of bad choices and corruption.
“It is not that I am not afraid to be tear-gassed or beaten, arrested or shot or killed by these trigger-happy cops. I am afraid.” said one of the pair of protesters at the site of their protest at the Fajuyi Memorial Park in Ado-Ekiti,
“But I am more afraid of life knowing that when it mattered, I hid at home and raged on only on Facebook. So, today, I walked. Tomorrow again, I will walk for Nigeria’s sake. Will you, people?
A visit to his Facebook page revealed similar dissent comment.
“The Fate of our Nation hangs in the Balance,” he said. “The FGN has brainwashed many, obscuring the details of this fuel hike issue. They ask us to endure hardship for a better tomorrow, while they feed fat on our nation’s wealth. They ask us to suffer while they increase their own allowances. Please read Prof. Tam David-West’s analysis of the crude oil and refinery issue. Read Sanusi Lamido’s purported statement too, paying attention to the last paragraph.
“Questions to consider:
*Why should we pay the price for Government’s wasteful use of our resources?
*Why haven’t the culprits- the ‘faceless cabal’- been brought to book?
*Have the ones asking us to brace up laid any positive example for Nigerians to follow wit regards sacrifice for ‘the greater good’? Don’t be deceived. Don’t be intimidated. Remember, this is the Nigeria our children will be born into and raised in. They will ask us, “Where were you the day Nigeria was sold into slavery?’
“It is our patriotic duty to resist an irresponsible government.
“A scared but resolute Nigerian.”