“It Is With A Heavy Heart I Pay Tributes To The Departed Souls” Reps Member, Rotimi Agunsoye Speaks On Killings Of #EndSARS Protesters
Rotimi Agunsoye, the House of Representatives Member representing the people of Kosofe Federal Constituency at the National Assembly has reacted to the killings of some #EndSARS protesters who thronged the streets of major towns and cities of the country demanding end to harassment and brutality they suffered in the hand of men of the Nigerian police on daily basis.
Prince Agunsoye’s reaction titled “TWO WRONGS DON’T MAKE A RIGHT” reads…
It is saddening to watch the ugly turn the once-peaceful EndSARS protest against police brutality has taken in the last couple of days. As much as I want to identify with the aggrieved youths as a fellow Nigerian who has had his fair share of your pains at one point or the other, I am also duty-bound as an elected lawmaker entrusted with the people’s mandate of intercession with government to point out the sanctity of the rule of law in all undertakings by every party involved.
While commending your courage in standing for justice and speaking with one loud voice on an issue affecting the generality of Nigerians and one on which the APC-led Federal Government is working round the clock to address once and for all, may I equally remind my young compatriots that the manner of approach to a cause is as important as, if not more important than the cause being fought for.
On that premise my dear protesting youths, I urge you to stay within the confines of the law and shun any act that can make people question the real rationale behind your protest. This is without mentioning the fact that this good-intentioned act of yours is now being hijacked by enemies of the state hiding under the protest mask to execute their sinister agenda of bringing the government down on its knees.
As two wrongs don’t ever make a right, particularly at a precarious and delicate moment like the one we have found ourselves, no amount of provocation would justify any untoward action against any peaceful protester by the police and military forces stationed to maintain peace and order on our streets. As an elected mouthpiece of the masses, I say a capital NO to any aggressive action against the protesters as doing so would be falling into the trap of those goading both the youths and the Federal Government into taking irrational actions that will set the country into a national crisis of unimaginable and non-manageable proportion.
My passionate appeal therefore to both the government and the governed is for all to restrain themselves from further actions that might worsen the already-tense situation. To my dear protesting youths of Kosofe Federal Constituency and the nation at large, your point is made. Time for you to step back and let government conclude actions on your demands. Your actions so far are one of the beauties of our hard-won democracy and it is your duty as a Nigerian to guide it from the onslaughts of anti-democratic forces on the prowl.
It is a duty you owe to our fallen heroes in this protest. It is with a heavy heart still that I pay tributes to the departed souls who paid the supreme price in this struggle. May their souls rest in peace even I pray to God to grant their loved ones the fortitude to bear these irreparable losses. Let me end by assuring all that just like every watershed we have encountered on our long and eventful journey to nationhood, we shall come out of this defining moment stronger and more united.
Thank you all. God bless Kosofe Federal Constituency. Long Live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Hon. (Prince) Rotimi Agunsoye MHR,
Kosofe Federal Constituency
