… says two Lekki tollgates should be dismantled
AYO ESAN
FORMER Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Olabode George, has called for the dismantling of the Ikoyi Link Bridge Tollgate and the Lekki Tollgate where protesting youths were allegedly shot.
He said this just as he berated the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, for allegedly “mocking” those that were killed and wounded at the Lekki tollgate last Tuesday, during an attack by the Military on #EndSARS protesters, when he visited Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu at the State House, Marina.
Speaking at a World Press Conference, in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Monday, George said events surrounding the shootings and the many questions left unanswered, made Tinubu “a person of interest at the International Criminal Court.”
George asked, “Who ordered that the lights be switched off before the killer squads came? Who ordered the removal of all the cameras from the Toll gate?
“Since the Military High Command has denied any involvement in the killings, who aided and abetted the cold-blooded murder of peaceful protesters? Who has the greatest interest in the continuation of the two Tollgates?”
He said, “These are the questions that the international community should demand answers from Bola Tinubu himself. From his irresponsible and reckless bluster and his depraved triumphalism, Tinubu has betrayed a complicitous relief that the peaceful protesters were chased away and hacked down in cold blood.
“Tinubu is obviously a person of interest at the International Criminal Court at The Hague. He can run but he can’t hide.”
On the tollgate, George said, “Let me advise that the two Tollgates at Lekki should be dismantled entirely. The Tollgates are now sacred grounds where innocent lives were cut short abruptly.
“At the Admiralty Circle Tollgate specifically, where bullets rained on that black Tuesday 20-10-2020, a monument should be erected as a permanent memorial to honour the young men and women who stood up in peaceful protests against the ills in our society.
“The protesters were lawyers and doctors. Many were unemployed. There were artistes and musicians. There were Yorubas, Hausas, Ibos and all ethnic stripes that make up the Nigerian federation. There were Muslims, Christians and many various faiths.
“They ate together. They slept on that cold asphalt both in the rain and in the soaring sun. There were no discriminations. There were no quarrels of any kind. They raised their own money among themselves. And more importantly, they demonstrated admirable accountability that is lacking in the larger society.
“They called themselves the Sọrọ Soke generation. They have spoken out loud and clear. Yes, we have heard them. And their brave deeds can never be forgotten.”
He berated Tinubu over his disposition to the #EndSARS crisis, saying, “And what is the response of Tinubu to the premeditated killings at the Toll gates? He strutted into the Governor’s lodge gloating, laughing, joking, sniggering, boasting that he is still the Asiwaju of Lagos and the Jagaban to boot. He even mocked the wounded and the dead, questioning while they were there. And this is the man who falsely claims he is a Lagosian.
“His reaction is most insensitive, cruel, reprehensible and wicked. He never once commiserated with the families of the bereaved. He never showed empathy for the wounded and the dead. His sole interest is the cash cow which the Tollgates have become.”
George, who is also the Atona Oodua of Yorubaland, said, “Amid the decadence, the rot, the filth, the pains, the anguish and the deprivations, Bola Tinubu and his league of cronies are mocking us all. Well, the mockery will haunt them too when they are all docked at The Hague. The great Greek Philosopher and play wright Sophocles is right: ‘Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad.’
“Indeed, Tinubu is the one that has serious questions to answer. We know his son Seyi who controls all the advert signage in Lagos State is also the owner of the advert company that placed the billboard on the Tollgate.”
