The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), on Friday said that the voices of Nigerian youths protesting Police Brutality have been heard by government and results will be achieved soon.
Hon Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman/CEO of NiDCOM, told the press during a courtesy visit by some members of Diaspora Youths Group to her office in Abuja. She told the group to give government the opportunity and chance to serve Nigerians. “I commend the Nigerian youths for demonstrating that we are a united nation, and that what binds us together is deeper than what separate us, the government is proud of you for standing with one voice to speak against what you call police brutality. “I think your call for the reformation of the police is a low hanging fruit but it can be a catalyst to institutional reform in Nigeria. “Also, a catalyst to demanding the best of ourselves, a catalyst to be on the part way of building the true Nigeria of our dreams and I believe so.
We have heard your cry and government will still continue to listen to you, this problem did not start with Muhammandu Buhari’s administration but I am very optimistic that it will be solved in this administration,’’ she said. Dabiri-Erewa also appealed to all Nigerian youths to remain non-violent while protesting by looking to the future to be better, “even the Inspector-General of Police said that nobody should be harassed or killed because you are protesting, but let your protest be violence free’’. She also urged the group to use the same zeal to fight corruption by saying we want great things to happen in our great country Nigeria. Speaking earlier, Ibrahim Magaji, the CEO of Digital Green Intercontinental UK, who led the group, said that their mission is to express concerns with respect to the ongoing police brutality protest in country. Magaji said that Nigeria is the giant of Africa not only to citizens but to neighbouring countries which in turn looks up to Nigeria as a support pillar. “We owe the rest of Africa this responsibility by protecting our global image and proving to the world that our diversity is not a challenge but our strength.
This is a clear indication of how the youths feel about the constant harassment by SARS. Not all youths are bad, some of us are entrepreneurs and we run our businesses. “So we are raising our voices to the right authority to address the issue,’’ he said However, he said that though government has made a move by changing the name from SARS to SWAT, they forget that it would not change their attitude. The police need to be reformed. “This is trending in the social media and the world is watching which will in turn affect us in the diaspora. Rukayya Ibrahim, Senior Assistant Registrar for Baze University, Abuja, applauded the commission for giving the group the platform for the conversation to take place. She said “the general feeling of Nigerians is that of frustration. We cannot deny that, all we are asking the government is to show us the same support we gave this government during the 2015 election.
