Barely a week after anti-government protests rocked major cities across the country under the #IstandwithNigeria banner, counter-rallies in support of President Muhammadu Buhari are set to take off this week in many parts of the country.
One-Voice Nigeria, led anti-government protests across the country on Monday, February 6 but pro-government groups are now set to ‘retaliate’
A coalition of pro-Buhari organizations, under the aegis of Citizens Support for Good Governance in Nigeria, is reportedly behind the rallies which are tagged: “I Support President Buhari” and will hold across four Nigerian cities.
The rallies will hold simultaneously in Abuja, Kano, Lagos and Kaduna, the organisers said, and argued that the event was important to show support for the president.
One of the conveners of the rally, Moses Abdullahi, said in Abuja, on Sunday, that the rallies will hold in Abuja on Tuesday, February 14 and Thursday, February 16 and in Kaduna and Kano on Wednesday, February 15 while the grand finale will be in Lagos on Thursday.
Abdullahi said: “As a people, we witnessed the systemic looting of our collective resources and consciousness by a few, with far-reaching psychological damages which has rendered us bitter, bruised, battered and hopeless.
“Nigeria today is a nation undergoing rebirth, a people seeking a new path to higher attainment; a diverse community where a new awakening of self discovery can bring about a better economy for us all.
“We have a leader who we all know is different. We know he will not steal our resources, we know he will not sleep until things are made right for us and our children. We know he means well, what then must we do to help get it right faster? We must support President Muhammadu Buhari because with him, it can only get better.”
Recall that after President Muhammadu Buhari extended his vacation, thousands of Nigerians gathered on the streets of Lagos and Abuja in a protest tagged #IstandWithNigeria.
The massive protest against the federal government on February 6 was announced by music star 2baba Idibia who later withdrew after expressing security concerns.