The peaceful EndSARS protests which have since been hijacked by hoodlums took an ugly turn in Anambra state when some angry protestors descended on the statue of a pioneer president of Nigeria, the late Nnamdi Azikiwe.
The statue located at Denis Memorial Grammar School Roundabout, Awka Avenue, Onitsha is popularly known as Zik Roundabout was doused with petrol before the protestors finally set it ablaze.
Explaining their reason for this unexpected action, the angry youth went ahead to blame the late president for being the cause of their problems. The protestors couldn’t stop shouting “You put us in this mess by championing one Nigeria, You are the cause of our trouble,” amongst other uncomplimentary remarks.
A kinsman of the late Azikiwe who served as president from 1963 and 1966, Victor Ononye, described the action of the protestors as uncalled for and heresy. He said: “The Right Hon Dr Nnamdi Benjamin Azikiwe, the first President of Federal Republic of Nigeria, must be expressing regrets wherever his spirit is, for attracting independence to Nigeria.
“What happened at the DMGs roundabout, Onitsha, which I saw with my own eyes evoked tears. Miscreants, hoodlums, gutter snippers, loafers, charlatans, nitwits, nincompoops and bastards besieged the statue, hung a used tyre on his neck, poured petrol and set it on fire They decapitated his hand and went away with his title staff.
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“That was the height of ingratitude by the bastards who are ignorant of history. They descended on the various items used for decoration of the site and tore them to pieces. they were few in number.
“Why the police, who were a stone’s throw away to the roundabout, could not intervene was a mystery. I saw two vigilante men brandishing rifles and riding on a motorcycle. They stopped and the boys hailed them and they drove off.”
