#EndSARS: Lagos official urges youths to protect public assets against vandalism

Mr. Olufunsho Elulade, General Manager, Lagos State Materials Testing Laboratory (LSMTL), on Tuesday, appealed to youths to protect public infrastructure in their locality against any act of vandalism.

In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Elulade said that public infrastructure was provided with taxpayers’ money, “so destroying them amounts to hurting ourselves”.

Elulade was speaking against the backdrop of the damage done to LSMTL offices in Ojodu during the 2020 #EndSARS protests.

He said that the damage was minimal because some members of the public stopped hoodlums who hijacked the protest from wrecking further havoc on the facility and its operational vehicles.

He said operational vehicles of the Lagos State Public Works Corporation which shared the same compound with LSMTL were razed.

Elulade, a chartered highway, and transportation expert who was part of the team that designed the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system in Lagos lamented the wanton destruction of the buses and other critical infrastructure.

He said the buses, buildings, and other vandalized assets had direct benefits to youths and all other residents of Lagos.

“The youths should know that these BRT buses were bought to ease their movement from point ‘A’ to ‘B’, why would they destroy facilities that bring them comfort?”

Elulade urged Lagos residents to make infrastructure protection a collective responsibility.

He said that Lagos's population kept growing daily, thus increasing pressure on the government to keep improving and upgrading existing infrastructure.

According to him, the destruction of assets amounts to slowing down progress for all residents.

He urged the EndSARS campaigners to tread with caution as their demand had been met by the Federal Government’s disbandment of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in 2020.

The general manager also called for continued education and public sensitization on the need for collaboration towards building a vibrant state and nation to transform Lagos into a 21st-century economy.

NAN reports that the October 2020 #EndSARS protest against police brutality was hijacked leaving horrifying trials in Lagos and some parts of the country.