The Oyo State Government has announced Friday, June 27, as a public holiday in observance of Hijrah, the Islamic New Year.
This decision was made public through a statement released by the Secretary to the State Government, Professor Olanike Adeyemo, on Wednesday, June 25.
According to the statement, the holiday is intended to allow Muslims and other residents of the state to mark the beginning of the new Islamic calendar and reflect on the significance of the period.
Governor Seyi Makinde encouraged citizens to use the occasion to pray for the continued peace, unity, and prosperity of Oyo State and Nigeria at large. “The Governor enjoins all and sundry to use the occasion to pray for the peace, unity and prosperity of the state in particular, and the country in general,” the statement read. All public institutions and government offices in the state are expected to observe the holiday.
Sowore Says Government Fears Protesters More Than Armed Threats
Former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, Omoyele Sowore, has claimed that the Nigerian government is more fearful of peaceful protesters than those wielding weapons.
Sowore made this assertion during an interview on Arise Television on Wednesday, as he criticized the government’s continued crackdown on nonviolent demonstrations.
Responding to a question on whether he believed the authorities were genuinely afraid of protest movements, Sowore stated, “I do. I do completely. They are afraid of placards more than they are afraid of guns, because they have the capacity to respond to people who are shooting at the government, but they have no capacity, they have no ability, and they have no strategy to stop the majority.
People in their light numbers carrying placards are more dangerous than people in their light numbers carrying guns.”
