Shehu Sani, a former Kaduna senator, has expressed his decision not to participate in the planned August 1 protest.
News About Nigeria reports that he cited concerns about the lack of clear leadership and direction among the organisers.
In an interview in Kaduna, Sani emphasised the importance of peaceful protests with visible leadership to prevent them from escalating into violent and destabilising events.
Drawing from his own experiences participating in protests with prominent leaders like President Bola Tinubu and former President Muhammad Buhari, Sani stressed that peaceful protests with clear leadership are essential in a democratic nation like Nigeria.
Sani warned that protests without leaders can lead to chaos and anarchy, pointing to examples in Kenya and Sudan where such situations resulted in the breakdown of law and order and the weakening of security forces.
He commended the Kaduna state government’s stance on protests, supporting only those with identified leaders who can take responsibility in case of any breakdown in law and order.
Sani emphasised that Nigeria’s democratic nature allows citizens to express opinions, criticise the government, and protest peacefully.
He highlighted the need for protests to have a clear purpose and visible leadership, stating that a protest without a leader is prone to turning violent.
He said, “It is important that we bring back our conscience to the fact that Nigeria is a democracy. People have the right to express their opinions, criticise the government and protest peacefully.
“I have been a protester all my life and President Bola Tinubu has also been a protester, but we were peaceful protesters that demanded justice, freedom and people’s friendly policies.
“Now, the problem we are having now is that there are issues that we need to address. A protest needs two things: firstly, it’s a purpose. Of course, its purpose is to show that people are suffering in the country.
“But also, a protest needs a visible leader. When a protest has no leader, the tendency of that protest to metamorphose into violence is apparent,” he said.
