A Sudanese cleric, Ambassador Al-Mustapha Bala Assudany, on Saturday, warned Nigerians, particularly youths, against embarking on the planned protests over economic hardship.
He warned that nothing positive will come out of such an action.
Some Nigerians who are worried by the economic hardship amid rising inflation have fixed August 1 to August 10 for a nationwide protest.
Although government, religious leaders, traditional rulers, among others have appealed to youths to have a rethink on the protest, they have insisted on going ahead with their plan.
The cleric who expressed his concern on the situation during the pre-huduba sermon at the famous Sultan Bello Mosque, Kaduna, cautioned the youths against giving room to enemies of the country to destroy Nigeria.
He spoke for about 20 minutes sharing his experience as a Sudanese citizen on what happened before and after the protest that led to war in his country.
The cleric warned that enemies of Nigeria are indirectly instigating innocent youths to embark on the protest just as they did to the Sudanese, resulting in the civil war.
He urged Nigerians to learn from Sudan’s experience to avoid bloodshed or any action that could lead to the destruction of peace.
The cleric listed Egypt, Syria, Yemen, Libya, and Sudan as countries which suffered destruction from what started as peaceful protests.
Ambassador Assudany disclosed that currently, two out of the three percent of Sudan’s population have abandoned their houses, fleeing to the city centre, while many have equally fled to other countries due to the ongoing war.
He said, “Before they started talking about the planned protest in Nigeria, it happened in some Muslim countries like Syria, Libya, Tunisia, Yemen, and Sudan. I’m a Sudanese citizen and what happened in Sudan was the same thing that happened in other Muslim countries.
“When I heard about the planned protest in Nigeria, I felt as a Muslim I should share the experience of what I saw in Sudan and what happened in other Muslim countries. Economic hardship was responsible for all the protests witnessed in those countries. That was what led people to protest in Sudan, thinking a solution would come through protest.
“Those that started were Sudanese citizens in an attempt to draw the attention of the government to end their hardship. But the opposition groups that were against the government penetrated them because every government has opposition. This was what led to the chaos in the country.
“Some foreign countries also took advantage of the protest and came into the country. They were the ones sponsoring these youths and supporting them. This led to regime change in the country but despite that there was no peace in the country.
“Many people thought after the regime changed there would be peace in the country but it turned out to cause more chaos across the country. As we speak, Khartoum, which is the capital of Sudan, has been completely destroyed and the residents fled.
“The war spread to other parts of the country. There was crisis everywhere, people being killed in villages, women raped, kidnapped, and sold as slaves in foreign lands. This is why I’m calling on Nigerians, especially the youth, not to allow themselves to be used by the enemies of the country to destroy their country. This is because nothing good will come out of the protest but destruction.
“This is because Nigeria has bigger challenges compared to us in Sudan because in Sudan majority of the citizens are Muslims and yet are killing themselves, what about Nigeria with tribal, religious, and ethnic differences? What do you think will happen if after the regime change? Do you think there will be somebody that can caution the youths against future protest?”
The Sudanese cleric however prayed for peace and harmony in Nigeria, calling on the leadership to do the needful to bring end the economic hardship in the country to an end.
