A former women leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the executive director, Business Development of the Nigerian-Export Import Bank (NEXIM), Hon Stella Okotete, has warned that fifth columnists are planning to hijack the proposed nationwide protest over the hardship in the country.

She said the fifth columnists are politicians who are set to pull down the President Bola Tinubu-led government because they have lost out.

She stated this while  appealing to aggrieved Nigerian youths to rethink their decision to embark on the proposed protest.

Okotete, who was a ministerial nominee last year, urged Nigerians to be patient with President Bola Tinubu, adding that the Nigerian economic situation was not an isolated one but a global phenomenon.

Plans to have a nationwide protest over the situation in the country have been rife. The protest is said to begin on the first of next Month.

Reacting in a statement, however, Okotete said as much as the protest was to draw the government’s attention to the suffering of the downtrodden in the country, and in spite of the organisers’ good intentions, fifth columnists are planning to hijack the protest and turn it into a demonstration that may be uncontrollable.

Okotete however assured that President Tinubu is working hard to build a stronger economy that will bring prosperity to all its Citizens.

The statement reads in parts: “Thus, the essence of any protest is not to destroy public or private properties acquired with hard earned money. It is to urgently draw government’s attention to address a pressing situation urgently. Protest should therefore not be an avenue for those who lost elections or who are unhappy with the faces of those in government to ventilate their grievances. The proper way to ventilate such political grievance is to mobilize the citizens to believe in the ideals of your political party and its manifestos.

“Therefore, it must be noted that politicians who are unsatisfied with the government out of no other reason but the fact that they are not in government are pushing hard to achieve what they couldn’t achieve through the ballot. We must therefore resist this selfish attempt to destroy our thriving democracy. No politician is worth dying for.

“The government is doing its best to revive our economy by taking hard decisions such as fuel subsidy removal that has been draining our Treasury over the years. With the fuel subsidy removal, states and Local Government Councils are now receiving more money from the federation account. In the months to come our ailing refineries and the Dangote refinery will come on stream to put an end to importation of fuel which will save huge chunk of our forex that will stabilize and strengthen the Naira against the Dollar.

“It is imperative to be circumspect at this crucial time by being strategic. The saying goes that peace is better than war. Let us give this government a little chance to carry out its agenda. The economic policies of this government are yielding results gradually and steadily. The optimal result is not what can be experienced overnight. It will require a little time from now to start experiencing the economic prosperity and transformation promised by this government in the Renewed Hope Agenda.

“It is on this score that I most humbly appeal to all those planning to protest next week to reconsider this plan. The consequences of such protest are dire as it may as usual lead to wanton destruction of lives and properties in a regrettable manner. This is the time to dialogue and not to provide an avenue for the enemies of Nigeria to strike.

“I implore you all to think twice and consider the population of our country and the peculiarity of the food chain of our country whereby a slight cut off of food supply from the north will trigger food shortage and inflation.

“It solemnly hoped that we will heed to the plea of the government to give peace a chance and come to the negotiation table. God bless Nigeria.”

Noting that the challenge in Nigeria is part of a global crisis, she said the  situation has called for the concerns of great compatriots who are determined to push for urgent and drastic measures to address the difficult situation.

“The fact remains that this difficulty is not an isolated one attributed to our dear country Nigeria alone. People all over the world are feeling the brunt of economic downturns and hardship. Expectedly, this setback has drawn reactions from people of other countries as well as ours.

“In Britain, Germany, France and other European countries, there were several protests to draw government’s attention to the desperate situations which have suddenly bedevilled the world.

“In recent times the Kenyan citizens reacted to the inability of the government to tackle the rising cost of living and inflation. For weeks the Kenya economy was shut down and now at its most fragile state, worst than before the protest started.. Citizens lost friends and family members, businesses lost goods and transactions attracting hunger, shortage in food supplies, lack of electricity as infrastructures were destroyed and also led to loss of jobs.

“The cloud is gathering here in Nigeria as we speak. As a young Nigerian myself , I understand your pain , Many country men are feeling the rising cost of living and are currently dissatisfied with the pace at which the government is responding to the rising cost of living and inflation.But trust me, The Government is working hard to build a stronger economy that will bring prosperity to all its Citizens

“Certain persons have planned to stage a nationwide protest to draw government’s attention to the suffering of the downtrodden in our country. Those who planned this nationwide protest may have good intentions as civilized comrades. However, there are fifth columnists planning to hijack this protest and turn it into a demonstration that may be uncontrollable.

“Recall that two major calamities hit our country three years ago: the COVID-19 lockdown and the Endsars protest. These two events affected our fragile economy that was gradually recovering from recession. Production and supply of goods, particularly food were distorted to the extent that we are yet to recover from those ugly incidents.

“During the Endsars protest, many struggling business men and women lost quite a fortune to looting occasioned by hoodlums who took advantage of the situation.

“Some persons also wanted to use it as an opportunity to launch their political agenda by destroying government properties acquired by taxpayers monies. Commuter buses, bus stations and government buildings including court were razed down. Private owned properties were also destroyed in the name of a protest.

“The crescendo of that protest which turned out to be a mutiny was the death of citizens who were either protesting or were security officers on national duty.

“The genuine intention of the protesters became something else as they could not control the hoodlums who took laws into their hands.

“What were the gains or achievements of that protest? Did it change the government as those who sponsored the hoodlums aimed to attain? The answer is obviously in the negative. The protest gave opportunity to young Nigerians to realize their strength politically.

“In order to actualize their zeal to be part of government, the youths came out en masse to participate in the 2023 general election that has changed the dynamics of our political formation. The youths realized that you cannot change the government of a country through any other means except through an election. That is the essence of constitutional democracy which has come to stay in Nigeria.”