The threat by traditional worshipers who warned that anyone who would engage in protest in Lagos would be killed by the god of iron may have had its intended effect as many people failed to come out to join the nationwide protest against hunger and bad governance in the State.
Also, the threat by the police to deal decisively with troublemakers and the court order restraining protesters from the streets and restricting them to specific locations, had a strong negative effect on the turnout of protesters.
As at 9 this morning, protesters were not at the popular Freedom Park in Ojota, Lagos. In fact, the entire Ojota area was literally devoid of protesters, except for the contingent of security personnel who had taken over the place.
However, protesters converged at the popular Ikeja bridge, from where they were accompanied to Government House Alausa by security agents.
It was gathered that from Alausa, the protesters vowed they would be on their way to Freedom Park, Ojota.
When accosted, a street urchin, Lamide Adeyemi, said at Agege: “Yes, we are hungry, but as a typical Yoruba, my friends and I have refused to join the protest because we respect our elders and traditional and religious institutions. You may have heard that some traditional worshipers placed curses on anyone who should be involved in the protest to be killed by Ogun ( god of Iron).We don’t want to die a mysterious death. I think the fear of Ogun kept many of us at home. I feel for the people protesting because they don’t know what Ogun can do.”
However, Comrade Ajanu Makinde, who was also accosted at Agege, pointed out that even though many people did not come out for the protest as expected, “we have made our points. I think people are really scared or the threats by traditional worshipers, who threatened to bring out Oro, that of security agencies and the fear of the repeat of what happened at Lekki Toll gate during the last #EndSARS saga, scared most people away.
“People have decided to avoid the tollgate to avoid being shot by the police and their sister agency, the Army. You have seen that as early as 6:am, soldiers had been drafted to the Lekki Tollgate. We don’t want the repeat of what happened during the celebrated #EndSARS saga.
As at the time of this report (9-10am), there were a few vehicles on the roads –no more the usually chaotic situation.
Similarly, a few shops were operating in certain areas of the mega city while in some, most of the shops were shut.
Markets were shut down, especially spare parts and international markets, like Alaba, Balogun, Trade Fair, Computer Village etc, for fear of being looted by angry protesters.
