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The Yoruba Leadership Initiative (TYI) has appealed to leaders of thought in Yorubaland to urgently rally round the people and government of Lagos State in order to arrest the wanton destruction of lives and property in the aquatic state being fallout of the #EndSars protests which turned violent early in the week.
The Pan-Yoruba group, in a statement signed by its President, Mr. Olusegun K. Ahmadu, and Publicity Secretary, Oyeyinka Fabowale, regretted that the peaceful demonstrations that begun a fortnight ago in demand of an end to police brutality and the pursuit of good governance, turned violent after being infiltrated and hijacked by hoodlums and subversive agents who caused mayhem across the country particularly in Lagos State where it snowballed into fatal shooting of innocent protesters by the military at the Lekki Toll Gate Plaza.
It observed that some gullible miscreants lent themselves to helping to destroy both public buildings, and private assets that were of strategic and economic importance not only to the nation’s commercial nerve centre but also the country.
Noting that the toll of the brigandage has affected the South West more, TYI urged his counterparts in Ogun, Oyo, Ondo, Osun and Ekiti states as well as traditional rulers, elders and leaders in the region to join and support Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwoolu, in immediately halting the carnage and its spread.
The association, in the statement, said: “We must appraise and appreciate a resulting trend that the Yoruba nation is now becoming a theatre of discord and mayhem and we must not allow the agents of destruction to win. In this regard, we urge all governors and various leaders of the Southwest to link arms with Lagos State Governor to douse the tension and bring this brigandage to a halt. It is in our enlightened self- interest to ensure that our land is not consumed by anger, hatred and brigandage.”
The TYI called for restraint by all the parties in the raging crisis, while asking the youths to sheath their swords so their very “altruistic crusade will not be further hijacked by hoodlums who are hell bent on devastating the Southwest.
“We commend the spirit of the generation that rose up to demand for a fair treatment as constitutionally provided, but we must urge all parties to now hold restraints to avoid the loss of the appreciable progress achieved by them and prevent government from resorting to force to maintain law and order.”