Reno Omokri, a former presidential aide via a Facebook post on Wednesday, has cautioned Nigerians against replicating the violent anti-government protests that rocked Nepal, warning that such actions could destabilise the country.
“Before they deceive you into burning Nigeria like they are burning Nepal, please fact-check me: The Lagos State Government built the best forensic laboratory in Africa, and that facility was burnt to the ground, along with other multibillion Naira public infrastructure, during the #EndSARS protests,” he wrote.
“Eighty BRT buses and several courthouses and police stations were also razed during that protest, and according to the Organised Private Sector, the damage to Lagos stood at $305 million,” Omokri said.
Omokri also described some of the protesters hypocrites.
“The funny thing is that many of those who led the EndSARS protests in Lagos were neither from Lagos nor even paid taxes in Lagos.
“Interestingly, they came from states with a humongously worse government than Lagos State.
“Yet their states were left unharmed while they inflicted serious damage on Lagos’s economy,” he argued.
He further warned against external influence and attempts at regime change, linking them to previous demonstrations.
“And then last year’s Days of Rage protest inflicted damage worth ₦200 billion on Northern Nigeria, and almost destabilised Nigeria to the point where Russian flags were being paraded to instigate a Burkina Faso/Mali/Niger type regime change in Nigeria,” he claimed.
Omokri also defended Nigeria’s political stability and economic progress pointing out the growth in the economy and the federal student loan scheme as examples of reforms.
“Nigeria is the only African country where five former Presidents or Heads of State live peacefully and work with the incumbent government via the Council of State,” he noted, listing Generals Yakubu Gowon, Ibrahim Babangida, Abdulsalami Abubakar, President Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan.
“Our economy expanded by $67 billion in just two years, moving Nigeria’s GDP from a ₦269.29 trillion economy on May 29, 2023, when Asiwaju became President, to ₦372.8 trillion today. Meanwhile, almost a million indigent students are benefiting from the Student Loan Initiative of the Federal Government,” he said.
In conclusion Omokri urged young people who still wish to protest to begin from their home states.
“If these incidents of good governance are still not satisfactory and you want to replicate the Nepali protests locally, then please, by all means, start from your state of origin,” Omokri wrote.
