The Former Nigeria High Commissioner to United Kingdom, Ambassador Sharafa Tunji Ishola has appealed to Nigerian youths to shelve planned protest and be patience with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
He said that protesting at this time is not the best, urging them to give Tinubu minimum of two years.
Sharafa Tunji Ishola who disclosed this a the 6th anniversary of Penpushing Media held in Abeokuta, on Thursday noted that the President has demostrated that he is feeling the pains of average Nigerians.
He maintained that the intelligence report has shown that the protest can be hijacked, calling on Nigerian youths not to be part of it.
” I have spoken to a lot of people as far as am concerned, in a presidential system of government, the Government needs minimum of two years before you can take this kind of procedure and that is why the president has asked for patience.
“He has demostrated that he is feeling the pains of Nigeria and i am not holding forth for him, when you talk to him directly, you will know his feelings for an average Nigerians , he must also appreciate the background he has come from and i know very well that protests are usually hijacked by some other elements.
“I was a victim of that, where i was nearly got killed during Abiola June 12 saga on the account of misinformation.
“You recall how Fatgbems house was burnt down. There are so many unscrupulous elements that can hijack this protest and Government is in position of security report If is something that is going to be peaceful why not. The intellgence report is showing a lot of violence and let me tell you, i knew what happened that time and it was not the best, i am appealing to them not to protest, this position i have maintained even when president Buhari came in , i maintained the same position, minimum of two years before you can protest against an administration and administration that is just 14 months and you are protesting and the President has pleaded please, i can hear you loud, please give me time, he has spoken to Nigerians as our leader and that is one of the challenges that we have in our country , we politicize almost everything , there are issues and protest that can be be hijacked must be avoided” he concluded
He assured Nigerians of President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to fulfilling his campaign promises, saying that Tinubu has good intention for Nigerians.
The guest Speaker, Dr Otive Igbuzor while speaking on the anniversary theme, “National Balance: Infrastructure, Institutional, Capacity and Diversity As Tools For Balancing Bloc And Good Governance”, maintained that for the country to achieve its full potential, the media must play its roles as watchdog of government.
Igbuzor, the Founding Executive Director, African Center For Leadership, Strategy and Development Center further stressed the need for well meaning Nigerians to get involved in politics in building transformative leaders.
The founder, Penpushing Media, Dimeji Kayode-Adedeji in his remarks said the journalism profession should be guided by passion, adding that it is therefore necessary for self regulation of the sector by practitioners.
He noted that while it may be difficult to get rid of fake news, he therefore urged citizens to cultivate fact checking skills, which according to him will send purveyors of fake news into oblivion.