Benue residents shun protest

Residents of Makurdi and the entire Benue have shunned the nationwide protest against hunger, which began on Thursday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that residents of Makurdi township, its suburbs and other communities, ignored the protest and were seen going about their normal lawful businesses.

NAN further reports that all motor parks and markets visited in Makurdi were opened and transactions were happening.

Mr Aondozungwe Pila, a motorcyclist, explained that the residents decided against the protest after yielding to the pleas of Gov. Hyacinth Alia.

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The governor had pleaded with all Benue residents not to participate in the protest to keep enjoying peace in the state.

Pila said that their decision against the protest was, however, not because the protest did not make meaning.

“The protest is appropriate. It is staged at the right time. We have suffered for too long. The government needs to liberate us.

“Government should do things that will bring the socioeconomic life of Nigerians back,” Pila said.

Similarly, a Don at the Benue State University (BSU), Makurdi, who pleaded anonymity, noted that the general hardship had become unbearable.

He claimed that Nigerians were no longer happy people, noting that before now, there was a saying that Nigerians do smile even when they were faced with severe hardship, but Nigerians were no longer smiling at the moment.

“This means that this suffering at this time is beyond what many Nigerians can bear.

“The hardship is hitting Nigerians very hard. Most Nigerians find it difficult to feed even once a day. This is sad and unacceptable.

“The major cause of the hardship is the total removal of the fuel subsidy. Fuel is the main determinant of our economy.

“To reduce the hardship, the Federal Government should start subsidising fuel and life will bounce back to normal.

“Also, the FG should put price control mechanisms in place to check the arbitrary increase in prices of items.

“Business people, both wholesalers and retailers, have taken advantage of our vulnerable economy to increase the prices of their items arbitrarily.

“This should be checked with a view to curtailing it,” he said. (NAN)