Daniel Terungwa
The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) has condemned the burning of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) headquarters in Marina, Lagos by suspected Protesters.
President-General of the union, Comrade Adewale Adeyanju, who noted the rights of the youths to protest, however said that vandalism of a critical facility like NPA will not only affect the economic activities of the ports but also further demean Nigeria in the eyes of the international community.
Adeyanju, while sympathising with the management of NPA over the destruction of its facility, urged the Federal Government to dialogue with the youths that are clamouring for good governance and an end to police brutality.
“The port belongs to all of us including the youths that are protesting. As an import dependent nation, it is the port that feeds the whole nation. If they now pull it down, what will they come to meet in the nearest future?
“The government should listen to their demands but destroying properties will not help us and the international community will be laughing at us. Some of them have invested a lot in this country and if they are seeing this kind of thing, they will run away. We just came out of COVID-19 and with this one happening, how will they come back? Because they will believe Nigeria is not secure for any business.”
“The union condemns this act because that is where the hope of Nigeria is as a Federal Government parastatal in the maritime industry. For someone to wake up in the morning and set the place ablaze is totally uncalled for.
The President-General appealed to give the government a chance to implement their demands and embrace dialogue even though they have every right to protest.
“We are appealing to them to drop their weapons and let us dialogue with the government. As a union leader, we do protest but when there is need for dialogue, we embrace it,” he said.
The NPA headquarters was set on fire by #EndSARS protesters on Wednesday, 21 October.
While the inferno has been brought under control, the agency has yet to issue a statement on the incident.
