TheCable

Adewale Martins, Catholic Archbishop of Lagos diocese, says the #RevolutionNow protest should be a wake-up call for President Muhammadu Buhari.

In a statement on Wednesday, the archbishop urged the federal government to see the agitation as an opportunity to hear the complaints of Nigerians.

He said clamping down on the protesters would not solve the country’s problems.

“Except urgent and concrete measures are taking to reassure Nigerians of safety of their lives and property across the country, things may soon get out of hands. People may be forced to resort to self-help, if the government and security agencies continue to fail them,” he said.

“The ongoing protests by some groups is a reflection of the growing decay in the land and should be a wake-up call for the president to be more creative and decisive in addressing various agitations bothering the minds of Nigerians.

“Clamping down on the protesters will not make the problems to disappear. Rather, I urge him, as the father of the nation, to pay attention to the issues that bother the citizens.

“The fears being expressed about the state of the nation are genuine and they deserve to be looked into urgently so as to save this nation from further distress.

“President Buhari needs to address the nation on these issues and give people the much-needed reassurance and hope. If this is not forthcoming, people may feel free to interpret events as they wish.”

While lauding the verdict of a Kaduna high court which granted Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, leader of Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), bail to travel to India for medical treatment, the archbishop urged the government obey the order.

The archbishop called on state governments to work with the various law enforcement agencies to curb insecurity across the country.

“The people who unleashed mayhem on travellers on the highways seem to be foreigners who allegedly infiltrated the ranks of the herdsmen,” he said.

Omoyele Sowore, publisher of SaharaReporters and convener of the protest, was arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) on Saturday.