A veteran trade unionist and former President of the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU), Comrade Ivor Takor, has counselled the leadership of the #EndSARS Movement to evaluate the situation and take a decisive step towards suspending the protests in order to avoid being taken over by hoodlums.
Comrade Takor, a resident of Lagos, gave the advice in a short message he shared on the social media, which was also sent to National Record on Tuesday expressing fears that this well planned and intentioned stand the risk of being truncated by hoodlums. “I fear that this well planned and coordinated protest is going to be truncated by the activities of other uncoordinated individuals within our neighbourhoods, he said.
Takor, who was the National Treasurer of the Nigeria Labour Congress between 1999 and 2007, then followed his observation with an advice to the protest leaders to consider suspending the civil resistance by about two weeks and watch government’s response to the demands made particularly in line with what it said it was ready to do.
“That’s why the protest must have a timeline. At the end, they have to come out to say we are suspending the protest to give the government two weeks to enable us see concrete government actions to address our demands without which we will resume the protest. The ball would have been put on the court of the government and the protesters will continue to maintain their goodwill with the people.
“From my experience, it is not easy to coordinate a mass action even with structures in place, talk less of one without a hierarchical structure. There are going be unintended outcomes like what happened in Benin Prisons and Apo in Abuja yesterday. This will give the government enough reason to change their own tactics aimed at addressing the situation, which is now becoming a challenge to other citizens the well-intended protest was meant to bring succour to. The time to act WISELY is now! Comrade Takor stated.
