Protest day 5: Demonstrators take to the major streets of Osun

The ongoing nationwide protest, which entered its fifth day on Monday, moved from the Nelson Mandela Freedom Park in Osogbo to some major streets across the town.

Protesters moved from the park at about 10.05 a.m. to Igbonna Market, Aiyetoro Stadium and other locations before converging at Olaiya Bridge.

The situation led to gridlock of vehicular movements with motorists looking for alternative routes.

However, the intervention of security personnel assisted in making the roads accessible, while also ensuring the protection of lives and property.

Security agencies on duty include the Nigeria Police, the Department of State Security, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency and the Federal Road Safety Corps.

Others are the Nigeria Immigration Service and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.

One of the protesters, Mr Akin Ashafat, said the government had yet to address protesters’ demands, hoping that something would be done soon.

Ashafat, an activist, also known as Government, said the protest would, therefore, continue until all the demands were met for the best interest of Nigerians.

He called on the president to take quick action by “walking his talk” to the protesters’ demands rather than seeking dialogue, which he claimed might not yield any tangible result.

Also, Mr Segun Oyewale, the spokesperson of the Coalition of Concerned Nigerian Citizens (CCNC) in Osun, urged the government to take practical steps toward resolving the demands.

Oyewale called for a price control mechanism to regulate prices of food commodities, and the provision of scholarships instead of student loans offered by the Federal Government.

According to him, the president should reduce the price of petroleum and check the nation’s inflation.