He said, “It is heartbreaking that the peaceful and lawful protest pressing for an end to Police brutality tagged #ENDSARS protest has resulted in the destruction of lives and properties in some parts of the country.

Fatalities recorded at Lekki toll gate in Lagos last night and other parts of the country are disheartening and condemnable.

He said that “Rather than engaging unarmed protesters in a gun battle, a more civil and democratic approach would have been proffered to engage the Protesters”.

  He therefore appealed  as a matter of urgency, to concerned authorities to re-appraise the situation and employ persuasion rather than force in resolving the issue”.

  He further posited that “Public agitation for change in Government actions or policies should be handled with civility and caution, given the fact that Public Office Holders derived their political and administrative Powers from the same members of the public.  Ultimate Power belongs to the People. The people entrusted power to elected and appointed officials for a given period of time.

Essentially, this protest is being championed by the Youth, (the strength and future of the country). As such, there is a need for patience and understanding by respective concerned authorities”.

“Constructive Engagement, Consultation, and Dialogue should be embraced for the amicable resolution of the matter by both the representatives of Government and representatives of the Protesters to avoid further loss of lives, destructions, and breakdown of law and order”.

He used the opportunity to” appeal to all protesters across the country to be peaceful, careful, and watchful. Opportunity for peaceful consultation and engagement should be considered and graciously embraced in order to achieve the desired purpose and outlined objective”.

The Ambassador, had through the NIGERIA CONVERSATION,  â€œbeen promoting constructive engagement, citizenship participation and citizenship mainstreaming in Governance as the Ultimate Power belongs to the Citizens”, like late Martin Luther king, enumerated a number of visionary pillars as “the Nigeria of our dream as adopted by some Nigerians consulted”.

1. A just society, where qualified and competent people are rightly elected to the positions of authority.

2. A nation where there are equal opportunities for her people to realize their potentials.

3. A nation where people’s votes count, where their voices are heard, and opinions are respected.

4. A peaceful nation, where the people are united, and all forms of discrimination are eliminated.

5. A country where productive capacities are optimally utilized, and resources are efficiently allocated.

6. A nation where there is maximum protection for lives and property, where there is a constant supply of power at affordable prices.

7. A nation where infrastructural amenities are available, functional, and sustainable.

8. A nation that provides appropriate and qualitative education for her people, where there is access to timely and efficient medical services.

9. A nation where the law is supreme and everybody is equal before the law, where offenders are punished according to the law of the land and innocent people are not unnecessarily suffering for offences they never committed.

 He concluded by saying that “The Nigeria of Our Dream is ours to build.  The Future starts with our actions today”.

In a letter dated 31st August 2020, the management of the Stockholm Sweden based Tallberg Foundation noted that: ”First of all, we wish to congratulate you on your excellent work and your nomination for the 2020 Tallberg Elliasson Global Leadership Prize. We would also like to thank you for engaging with the Tallberg Foundation as we continue our long-term exploration for outstanding global leaders.

”The good news is that all the jurors came away from the process with a renewed sense of optimism that great leaders like you are working hard to move the world from what it is towards what it could be. Again, thank you for your contributions.” The Foundation noted that though Dr Audu was ”not selected as one of this year’s finalist for the prestigious global leader prize, the jury deliberations this year were particularly difficult because of the quality and range of the nominations; that was a great problem to have, of course”.  Nevertheless, Dr Audu was rated ”as one of the great leaders working hard to move the world from what it is towards what it could be.”

The Tallberg Elliasson Global Leadership Prize was established in honour of the current Chair of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Jan Elliasson, who had formerly served in various capacities such as Swedish foreign Minister, President of General Assembly and Deputy Secretary-General to the United Nations. The Tallberg Foundation promotes the work of leaders who make positive change in the world. Dr Audu, a trustee of the British Sociological Association (BSA), is the author of ‘Police Corruption and Community Policing in Nigeria: A Sociological Case Study’ in which he developed Ochamalienwu Theory (Squirrel Whining Theory) of community policing. The research was premised on interviews with about forty community and thirty police participants in Kogi State in Nigeria for PhD research conducted at University of Liverpool UK.

His research has been recognised by the Nigerian government and Danish Refugees Council(DRC)/Danish Demining Group(DDG) as reference material for community policing policy and practice. The research has also formed the basis for the Nigerian government approval for the establishment of Institute Of Community Policing in Nigeria.