The Oluwo of Iwo, in Osun state, AbdulRasheed Akanbi, has enjoined the youth in the state to make him their leader whenever the need arises to hold another protest against police brutality.
Mr Akanbi, who claimed the protest was hijacked by hoodlums due to lack of leadership structure, disclosed this in Osogbo during an interactive programme organized by Osun State government tagged “Osun #ENDSARS Aftermath Stakeholders’ Engagement” on Wednesday.
The monarch said leadership structure is important in order to help dialogue between those in power and the agitators.
“Next time, if you want to organise a protest and you don’t have anyone to lead you, you may be afraid that they may kill you or you are afraid of being arrested, come to me, I will lead the protest”, he told the youths.
“There is no way you can organise protest without leadership. You must give room for dialogue because it is the leadership that will eventually sit down and discuss with the government. That is the only way you can fight and get your demands to the government.”
On his part, the governor, Gboyega Oyetola, said the administration would leave no stone unturned to properly harness the potential of the youth for rapid economic gains.
“The #EndSARS protest has certainly awoken our youths to their civic power. As stakeholders, we owe it a duty to convert that power to positive advantage.
“We are working assiduously to urgently fashion out ways of not only catering for the interest of our young people in governance but also ensuring their active inclusion in the development process.”
Mr Oyetola expressed dissatisfaction that the protest was hijacked by hoodlums. He, therefore, urged the residents, particularly the major players- including the traditional rulers, civil society organisations, students, market women, artisans, professionals among others, to join the government in its efforts at maintaining and sustaining the status of Osun as the most peaceful state in Nigeria.