Omicron Variant: Sanwo-Olu Cancels Lagos Peace Rally
By Kabir Akintayo
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has put on hold the planned Walk For Peace slated for this month.
The governor said in an address to Lagosians that the Peace Walk will not take place due to the new Omicron Variant of Covid-19 which has found its way into Nigeria.
Sanwo-Olu had planned the Peace Walk after the outcome of the Judicial Panel on Restitution for Victims of SARS Related Abuses and Other Matters and the subsequent White Paper by the government left a lot of Lagosians angry and feeling that the incident of October 20, 2020 at Lekki had not been adequately addressed.
He acknowledged that many people from different sectors including youths, students, CSOs, religious leaders, among others, had already shown support for the solidarity walk.
The governor however said the new “Omicron Variant” could spread faster if the Walk is held.
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The statement read in part: “Indeed, I owe a special debt of gratitude to our youth 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.”
