• Saturday, December 28, 2024
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Nigerian youths form NNYM to redirect #ENDSARS protest

ENDSARS: 3 lessons for developers, financiers, investors from vandalisation, looting

Nigerians are still puzzled about why the government will shoot its own citizens or why the dreaded Special Anti-robbery Squad (SARS) continued to operate with impunity despite being previously disbanded in 2017, 2018 and 2019

As part of action plans following the end of the #ENDSARS protest, Nigerian youths have formed a new organisation tagged New Nigeria Youth Movement (NNYM).

The new youth movement was formed on October 23, 2020, by like minds across different sectors in Nigeria and Nigerians in Diaspora, who met via zoom in a session streamed live on Facebook and Youtube.

The formation of the new youth organisation was among the many things agreed at the zoom meeting by the youths in effort at redirecting the #ENDSARS Protest energy to something positive and for a movement for a new Nigeria.

Recognising the fact that so many groups have sprung up as a result of the ENDSARS protest, the NNYM is geared to serve as the anchor for all groups both in Nigeria and in Diaspora.

READ ALSO: #EndSARS Protest: We were invited by Lagos government to intervene, says Army

Stephen Akintayo, one of the voices in the new movement said, “We are not a political party, but a movement for a new Nigeria, and we are open to working with like minds that have a similar agenda for the new Nigeria we envision. One of our aims is to better engage grassroots people like the ‘street landlords’ whom many refer to as thugs and hoodlums.”

Akintayo noted that some hoodlums hijacked the peaceful #ENDSARS protests, disturbing the peace in many states and leaving people to think that the movement does not have a focus, hence the behaviour of the hoodlums who were mistaken for the protesting youths.

“We apologise to these ‘street landlords’ for occupying their space since the beginning of the protest before they joined the party on Wednesday. The street landlords are also Nigerians, and we must remember that no Nigerian is more Nigerian than others, #NonigeriaisMorenigerianthantheothers”, he said on behalf of NNYM.

According to him, it is the class between the haves and have nots in the society that makes many Nigerians vulnerable, and the less privileged to become street landlords.

SENIOR ANALYST - HOSPITALITY / HOTELS

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