Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai on Thursday said youths who embarked on looting and destruction of public infrastructure in Lagos state under the guise of protest embarked on a self-destructive mission.
The Nigerian governor was in Lagos State to sympathize with the state governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, over the recent loss of lives and properties in Nigeria’s economic capital.
Rampaging hoodlums had hijacked the #EndSARS protests against police brutality to unleash unprecedented catastrophe in Lagos last month.
A statement by Sanwo-Olu’s Chief Press Secretary, Gboyega Akosile, quoted the Kaduna State governor as saying “I have spent time to see some of the pictures of the destruction done on public properties in Lagos and I nearly shed tears.
“Anyone who cares about development and progress will cry after seeing what has been done to public facilities and people’s investment that provided jobs to youths.
“While expressing anger on police brutality may be right, but destroying public properties, which will have to be rebuilt using money that is needed to invest in other public infrastructure, under the guise of protest is nothing but self-destruction.”
El-Rufai said Sanwo-Olu did all that needed to be done to prevent the demonstrations from degenerating to violence but those who thrive in violence infiltrated the protests to achieve their agenda.
“The Government of Lagos and the Federal Government will have to re-invest scarce resources that could have been used for other things to rebuild the vandalized facilities.”
The Kaduna State governor also sympathized with the Nigeria Police Force and those who lost loved ones in Lagos in the wake of the violence, saying the Federal Government must not allow wanton destruction of public assets to happen again.
Sanwo-Olu thanked his Kaduna state counterpart, saying the state had moved on but “vowed to make the state uncomfortable for those with the intention to destroy the state’s economy and heritage.”
By Abel Ejikeme