Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has cancelled the proposed Lagos peace walk planned for December 2021 over renewed fear of the outbreak with the outbreak of the Omicron variant.
The governor said it was necessary in order not to endanger the life of any Lagosian in the government’s sincere search for peace.
Sanwo Olu made this known in a in a press statement on Thursday, saying, “am constrained to stand down all preparations.”
The statement reads in part, “Since my last address to you, the good people of Lagos State on Tuesday 30, November 2021, during which I expressed a desire to lead a Walk for Peace, following the outcome of the work of the Judicial Panel on Restitution for Victims of SARS Related Abuses and Other Matters, I have been inundated with deep expressions of solidarity from various groups and people declaring their readiness to join me on the symbolic walk.
“Indeed, I owe a special debt of gratitude to our youths and students, who reached out to either members of my team or directly to me, expressing their readiness to join me on the planned Walk for Peace. They include many of our Civil Society Leaders, business leaders within and outside of Corporate Lagos, religious leaders, members of the Diplomatic Community, entertainers, Market Associations, Trade Associations and Women Groups who have committed time and resources to preparing for the Peace Walk. I thank you all.
“When the unseen enemy called Covid-19 began to ravage the world and indeed our nation, I assumed the role of the Incident Commander in our quest to protect the lives of our people. We subjected ourselves to the dictates of science. We chose to be guided not by our emotions, but expert opinions rooted in science. Between Tuesday 30, November 2021 that I made my address and now, we have seen a significant rise in cases associated with the Omicron variant of this pandemic.
“Given this development, I am constrained to stand down all preparations for the Walk for Peace. I will not endanger the life of any Lagosian in my sincere search for peace. I am overwhelmed by the outpouring of support the initiative received from far and near. The deluge of support is, however, indicative of one thing: our people know the strategic place of peace to our quest for development.
On November 30, Sanwo-Olu had announced that he would lead a Walk For Peace in December, following the outcome of the work of the Judicial Panel on Restitution for Victims of SARS Related Abuses and Other Matters.
He had listed persons invited to accompany him on this Walk For Peace to include Nigerian rapper, Folarin Falana, popularly known as Falz and popular comedian, Debo Adedayo, aka Mr Macaroni, both of whom have declined the invitation. Sanwo Olu had also invited civil society organisations and several institutions to join him. However, students of the Lagos State University (LASU) have promised to join the Walk in large numbers. Other organisations under the control of the state government have assured that they will also participate in large numbers.
The Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry on Restitution for Victims of SARS-related Abuses and Other Matters had on November 15, 2021, submitted its report after which Sanwo-Olu set up a White Paper committee.
The panel found that peaceful protesters were shot and killed by the Nigerian Army and police without provocation at the Lekki toll gate in Lagos, the epicentre of the #EndSARS protest last year.
But the state government later released its White Paper on the report by the #EndSARS panel that probed the Lekki toll gate incident of October 20, 2020.
In the White Paper, Sanwo-Olu’s government faulted the panel’s report that nine persons were killed at the toll gate when soldiers stormed the protest ground to disperse the protesters.
Since his announcement he has come under increasing pressure to shelve the exercise for a number of reasons, including volatile economic and security environment and also COVID – 19 Omicron fears.