Director General of the Bolytag Centre for International Diplomacy and Strategic Studies, Professor Bola Akinterinwa has said that apart from agitating against police brutality in Nigeria, brutality in governance should also be addressed.
Akinterinwa who was a gust on Channels Television said Nigerian government is largely centred on dishonesty and brutality.
“People are talking about police brutality but governance in Nigeria is largely predicated on dishonesty and brutality,” he said, adding that, “People are talking about police brutality but they are not talking about brutality of the government, he said.
Going down memory lane, Akinterinwa relayed how Nigerian government had brutalised Nigerians when it called people to contribute to a housing scheme that never saw the light of the day.
“How do we explain the brutality of the Federal Government of Nigeria that in 1994 advertised, asking people to request for medium low income housing? They collected money from Nigerians and in 2020 they have not provided housing, they have not refunded anybody and so when they are talking about brutality, it is not just police brutality, but dishonesty.
“Now when we come to the current protest, I said there is no need for protest if the government has been very honest. It dates back, it is not only about Buhari but it is necessary to put an end to brutality in political governance,” he said.
He however decried the unnecessary violent nature of the protest carried out by miscreants. “What is not necessary right now is the violent character of the protest. In the last two weeks, the protests have been largely peaceful, the violence is not from the protestants but the government’s failure to give protection like the 1999 constitution of Nigeria as amended has stipulated, how can thugs infiltrate them if there was protection?
“If security people have been there, there wouldn’t have been violence. Virtually every Nigerian whether you are among the protesters or not, everybody is in support. Most Nigerians are actually in their support. Not only the protesters on the road but virtually every Nigerian are in support of the peaceful protest,” he said.