Philanthropist Begs Youths to Shelve Protest

Philanthropist and the founder of Chris Onyekachi Simon Foundation (COSIM), Dr. Chris Onyekachi Simon, has called upon his followers and Nigerians to abandon the national protest.

According to him, the protest may lead to destruction of properties and lives and makes life harder for those who might have borrowed money to invest in their business.

Inview of this, he implored Nigerians to have patience with the present government as any attempt to protest might be hijacked by some people to loot and destroy properties.

Speaking with Journalists in Lagos, yesterday on the state of the nation, the entrepreneur noted that on their part, they have contributed massively in supporting many market women, elderly people and students with grants to make life easier for them.

He noted that if the protest goes on, some businesses might be affected, adding some people might be aiming to destroy properties and looting people’s markets.

According to him, “I know things are difficult and I know we are going through a tough time right now, but the proposed protests that many Nigerians are clamoring for wouldn’t lead us in the right direction. So I want to appeal to all of us that we should be patient, allow the government of today to continue making every necessary effort in order to make this country a better place.

“Protests will not lead us anywhere.We should remember what happened to ENDSARS. Many families lost their loved ones, many properties were destroyed and many shops were destroyed. And if we are to go in that direction today, it won’t lead to any results. Rather, let us hold on for a while and continue praying to God to help us and speak to the hearts of our leaders so that they can do things properly the way it should be done.

“This government is just a year old, and we still have time to give them, to believe that they can make a very good change. Anything that needs to be reviewed cannot be reviewed within a week or a month or a year. But I believe strongly, God willing, that the government of today is going to put this country in a very right direction.

“So I appeal to all the youth out there, my followers out there across the world. Please avoid these protests, because these protests will not lead us anywhere, rather, it’s going to be a destruction to many of us. We are all average people, there’s no point for us to use our hands to destroy ourselves. Rather, let’s find a way where we can improve in any areas that we have not been doing right. So I will appeal to all of us to remain calm and see what the government of the day has for Nigerians.”

On the impact his foundation is making across the country, the entrepreneur said, they have given scholarships and funding to many people across the country.

He said, “So many Universities here in this country, we have our students there, likewise, the primary, secondary schools, and if you go to every market, we have people that were funded for them to do their businesses and make life easy for them. Likewise, we have given materials like food items to some different villages in order to ease the suffering in this country. And on that note, I’m here today to appeal to Nigerians. We give them money for them to do their business. We stock items for them, for them to have things to sell. If you go to about 10 markets here in Lagos, you’ll find people there that we have helped, giving money, giving spaces, giving shops, giving open shops for them to do their business. Likewise, if you go down to the east, where we have our representative there, go to different markets there, you’ll see what we have done.”

He equally appealed to the leaders of this country and the government in power, to address issues relating to employment.

According to him, “You are Nigerian before you get to any post; you have gone through rough roads and through so many things. So you should be able to listen to the cries of your people, and that is why you are elected, and that is why you are in any position. So you should not see this position as for yourself, rather, it is a call to serve your people, to put some money in the life of our people, and make things easier for the citizens of this very country.

“The government of the day should encourage the youth by giving an enabling environment whereby the youth will have things to do. When we have factories in this country, you see people go to work, they will talkless of doing things that are not right. If you have steady power that is very affordable, many Nigerians are very industrious and they will engage themselves and do one or two things. So they will not be free to join or maybe take drugs that could lead to breakdown of law and all that.

“So the government of the day should ensure that it supports every indigenous factory and every investor that is coming to this country should have the guarantee that, okay, I’m coming into Nigeria to invest my money and the investment is guaranteed. Every good government will want to ensure that its people are happy. And with this proposed protest, I believe the government of the day, wherever they are not doing it right, they will do it right so that this will not occur again.”