By Ayo Kehinde
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has condemned the killing of unarmed protesters yesterday at Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos, adding that, “it is worse that there is denial in wrongdoing in spite of overwhelming visual evidence.”
In a statement on Wednesday, Obasanjo who said he was pained by the ongoing chaos, violence and unrest in various parts of the country appealed to the people and government to restrain themselves and embrace dialogue as a way of resolving the pending issues.
He appealed to President Buhari as “the Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces and as a parent of youths like the ones who have in the last one week come out in peaceful protest against police brutality and for the improvement of their lives and their living conditions that have been to restrain the military and other security agencies from using brute force as a way of ending the crisis.”
“It is clear the president and his lieutenants did not exhaust the opportunities for dialogue with the protesters before resorting to the use of force.”
He said though great harm has been done with the killing, he advised for swift action through dialogue before things spin out of control and advice the youths to embrace dialogue and not resort to violence in pushing their demands.
“This is yet another moment which our is on the edge of a cliff. Our individual and collective actions now and in the next few days will demand where we go as a nation..”
