The Youth Wing of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the apex Igbo socio-cultural organization, has announced its withdrawal from the planned nationwide protest against poverty and economic hardship scheduled for August 1-10.
This decision comes on the heels of similar withdrawals by the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANs) and the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN).
According to Chukwuma Okpalaezeukwu, President of the Youth Wing, the Southeast region has ample reasons to protest, including widespread economic hardship, massive youth unemployment, and poor representation in governance.
However, after consulting with youths across the region, the group has opted to engage in dialogue with the federal government and Southeast governors to address the region’s unique challenges and work towards finding lasting solutions.
This approach seeks to foster constructive collaboration rather than confrontation, aiming to yield more effective and sustainable results for the region’s youth.
Okpalaezeukwu maintained that while the hunger protest is within the constitutional rights of the people and also justifiable owing to the current state of affairs of the country, it is feared that the protest could result in the loss of lives and property of Igbo citizens that characterised the Endsars protest of 2020.
“We need one more state to balance the Southeast with other zones,” he said. “We have many of our young people, including Nnamdi Kanu who are held across different detention centres unjustly.
“But we don’t want a repeat of the destruction of our investments across the country because we will become the targets anywhere the protest holds.”
Speaking further, he said “we will engage in meaningful dialogue to ensure that our voice is heard, moving forward and that equity, fairness and a sense of belonging is guaranteed.”
