Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has cancelled the earlier announced peace walk which was scheduled for this month. This comes amid the increasing cases of Omicron variant of the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria with the current number of cases at 6.
This was contained in a statement issued by the Governor on Thursday.
He said, “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.
“I look forward to engaging with you as WE TOGETHER WORK FOR PEACE!”
Recall that during a recent broadcast, Sanwo-Olu revealed plans to organise a peace walk in December 2021 in commemoration of the #EndSARS movement. Sanwo-Olu, during a press briefing at the Government House in Alausa, Ikeja said he would be leading the peace walk to herald the healing of the land.
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, some of whom declined the invitation.
He had also invited civil society organisations and several institutions to join him.
A legal practitioner and Member of the Body of Benchers in Lagos, Chief ‘Kunle Uthman recently advised the state governor against going ahead with the Peace Walk.
Uthman had described the planned Peace Walk as a bad idea, especially with the emergence of a new variant of COVID-19 known as Omicron.
In an open letter to Sanwo-Olu on Sunday titled ‘Re: Peace Walk And COVID-19 Pandemic Communal Spread’, the lawyer questioned the move by asking: “What is the purpose, intention and reason for a Government (anywhere) to gather in one place tens of thousands of people at this time of COVID-19 pandemic?”