The president of the South West Governors' Forum and the governor of Ondo State, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu, SAN, strongly condemned the attack on the governor of Osun State, Alhaji Gboyega Isiaka Oyetola on Saturday by the protesters in Osogbo, the state capital.

Aside from identifying the attack as unwarranted, misdirected, and repulsive, Governor Akeredolu bemoans the act, even as he argues that the real movement has already been hijacked by politicians to visit their frustrations with perceived opponents. 

Undoubtedly, the # EndSARS campaign had a common and receptive attitude towards it by the majority of Nigerians, including policy makers, who saw it as an opportunity to deepen their concerns and channel their energies towards genuine changes aimed at achieving a positive outcome.

At the same time, the desirability or otherwise of this movement appears to have been subjected to a curious test of integrity following the misdirected anger visited on Governor Oyetola. This act is a clear act of terrorism under the guise of a civil and supposedly peaceful protest that has been hijacked by criminals and hoodlums hired by politicians. More so, deadly weapons were said to have been used in an ignoble act.

Nothing further explains and depicts this pernicious act as a repulsive act. It is therefore necessary to call on the organizers to rein in the stakeholders involved in the # EndSARS protests in order to stratify between those with real, altruistic aspirations for change and those who have offered themselves as mercenaries to liberate innocent people from anarchy.

In other words, the assault on Governor Oyetola or any other governor anywhere in the country is simply a double jeopardy. No governor shall be in charge of any police formation, unit or agency. Governor Akeredolu calls on young people to retain their trust in the Nigerian dream and to push for whatever is desirable to make it work. Nevertheless, he cautioned them not to be useful tools in the hands of politicians in this difficult time.

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