On Tuesday, May 28, after the children who have survived violence would have been celebrated, Nigerians all over the country will gather at strategic locations to reflect on the throes of insecurity and injustice.
Lives of many Nigerians have been lost to insecurity, notably in police brutality, and the violent attacks that persist unabated in the North.
As a result, the Joint Nigeria Civil Society Action, a group of civil organisations championing human rights in Nigeria, has declared a national day of mourning to remember all victims of violent killings across Nigeria.
In a document jointly signed by Chidi Anselm Odinkalu, human rights lawyer, Abiodun Baiyewu, executive director of Global Rights, and other members, the group said the aim of the exercise was to call on the government to stand up to its primary responsibility of protecting human lives and properties.
It also described the event as a citizen-led initiative to express solidarity and demand accountability for the security and welfare of all Nigerians,
The event will hold across the nation simultaneously as a way to awaken the consciousness of Nigerians to stand up and unite against injustice.
Recalling the ongoing violent killings in Kaduna and Zamfara states, the group said, it is rapidly spiralling into a national catastrophe and is threatening the very fibre of Nigeria’s nationhood.
“Our call comes at a time when virtually all states of our country have been beset by violent killings with impunity,” the group said.
The group also decries the killings recorded during the recently concluded national elections where it says 626 Nigerians were killed between the start off of campaigns and the announcement of results.
The national day of mourning, the group said, aims at stirring the conscience of political class into developing political will to protect the commonwealth through accountable governance.
It is also meant to express solidarity with grieving communities across the country in acknowledging and according to dignity to every single Nigerian life that has been lost or disrupted, due to violent crises.
In addition, the group aims to rekindle the sense of nationhood by reminding Nigerians of the need for everyone to get involved.
It called on all Nigerians irrespective of their cultural, tribal and religious backgrounds to join forces together to call the government’s attention to the atrocities and killings in the country, and show respect to the dead.
This could be done through “organizing solemn assemblies, calling of victims’ names, laying of wreaths in memory of the dead, dressing in black attires and observing minutes of silence,” it stated.
“The resolve for a National Day of Mourning was consequent to the resolutions reached at a meeting of more than a hundred civil society actors a year ago in Abuja,” the group said.
