It has been 12 days and counting since the #ENDSARS peaceful protests started. The telling part of this protest is how politicians and individuals with platforms are now jumping on the bandwagon and lending their voices to the protests. Do not get me wrong, that is a good thing, however, where were they all this time? We welcome their support, but I had wished that they had utilized their platforms to speak to these ills prior to the nation getting fed up and our actions degenerating to what is transpiring on our streets. I will say more power to our youth who braced the presence of the police and military, while risking their lives to continue to agitate for the government to hear their cries and come to their aid.
When the #ENDSARS protest started, I was elated that finally Nigeria and Nigerians are waking up and taking charge of their own environment. That we finally have found that one issue that has the effect of cutting across our ethnic and tribal sentiments, and to unite us under one issue for the good of the country. I am excited that finally we have mustered enough courage to say enough is enough. I do not know if calling it courage is appropriate. This is because we have no choice but to rebel against the brutal way police and especially the SARS group treat Nigerian citizens. According to T. Ubesie, we had two choices, rebel and maybe we get to live, or keep quiet and eventually all will die in the hands of the police. So, to that extent, our youth had no choice. It is their lives we are speaking about and they have collectively said to us all… “we want to live.”
Make no mistakes about it. The impunity displayed by the police and particularly SARS is not all their making. It starts from the top. During my last trip to Nigeria last year, it amazed me how elected officials move around with armed guards, who routinely harass, assault and force people off the roadway all in the name of clearing traffic for the officials. Furthermore, I could not fantom why regular citizens like me, just because they are rich, ride around with their private security details, with sirens blasting and meting out the same unjust treatment to private citizens. Someone said in a social media post that “Nigerians are the type of people who, when pushed against the wall will cut a hole through the wall rather than fight back.” Yes, we have been tolerating ill treatment from our leaders and elite and have opted to cut that proverbial hole through the wall rather than fight back. Have we forgotten that it was during this same Buhari military regime with Idiagbor that ordinary citizens were subjected to all kinds of inhumane treatment all in the guise of instilling discipline? Government after government, we have kind of tolerated ill treatment and either bought our way out of it or take the punishment and call it a day.
One challenge with leadership in Nigeria is that our leaders lack any form of benchmarking. They should have learned from all previous demonstrations that use of force does not work. Instead, use of force, and especially one that leads to the death of protesters will ignite social media and ensure that a local event to go global. The Nigerian government should have, at a minimum looked at the Black Lives Matter Movement which turned a local event into a global phenomenon especially after President Trump used the military to clear a pathway for his photo-op at a protestant church. No good ever comes out of attempting to quell a protest using lethal force. It has the effect of not only energizing the protesters but does attract a lot of sympathy for the protesting group from people watching from the sidelines. There is absolutely no reason for the Nigerian government to turn the military loose on these peaceful protesters. That was a huge mistake and again it goes to the impact of the brain drain that is going on in Nigeria.
Our current crop of leaders have no clue. They are oblivious to the plight of the common man and the suffering of the citizens they were elected to serve. How would they know since they are totally insulated from the ills that is befalling the average Nigeria citizen? With their fat salaries, overindulgent security apparatus and unnecessary luxuries that will make the average millionaire jealous, they prance around seamlessly between Nigeria and their true homes overseas. How can a governor understand the plight of his state when he spends most of his time in Abuja instead of the state he was elected to govern? How can the Senators or Representatives know the challenges facing their constituents when they spend most of their time in Abuja and not interfacing with their constituents?
Now that we have had enough, and our youth whose lives have been on the line and in many cases taken by the members of SARS and the police, the question in many minds is Now What? We all should take a few pages from the Arab Spring and the Black Lives Matter Movement in America. Yes, it is true that our hapless president has agreed in principle to honor the “five point” request of the #ENDSARS movement, but we should never take his words for it. The reason is simple! This same president promised us that he will fight corruption, we believed him because we saw him as incorrigible, but up till today, corruption still reigns supreme in Nigeria. He promised to restore security to the nation, however, the Boko Haram menace rages uncontrollably in the north, kidnapping and armed robbery have increased under his watch and the constant clash and conflict between the Herdsmen and farmers continue to take innocent lives in the south. Basically, nothing has changed.
I believe that the protests must continue until we see change. We have to demand that in addition to meeting the demands of the protesting youth, the president must commit to fully investigating and informing the citizens on the outcome of all allegations of torture and killings levelled against SARS officials. At a minimum, the federal government must commit to making sure any members of the police force or SARS found culpable must be brought to justice. Conducting any kind of meaningful police reforms begins with understanding the root cause of why the members of our protective services behave this way regardless of classification. Until then, we are merely paying lip service to reform.
I am struggling writing this article because what is happening back home is evolving amazingly fast. We cannot give up the fight now for that will be a dishonor for the young men who gave their lives to a cause they believed. With the world watching, we need to continue to put pressure on the federal government to, at a minimum, begin dialogue in devolving powers in Nigeria. Our president should not stop at just the atrocities committed by the police and SARS, he needs to look into the role of military in policing civil matters. Our protective services outfits simply have too much power and authority that needs to be checked now! The federal government should look to social media and thoroughly investigate the organized nature of extortion by the military, police, SARS, and Road Traffic police as well. It is about time we realize that centralized policing is not the best structure of a diversified country such as Nigeria. Whereas it may have worked for Britain, it will never work for Nigeria. It is time to restructure the police!
We need to take this opportunity to hold our elected officials accountable for what is going wrong in the country. Without holding our elite accountable, we stand little or no chance of actualizing the change that we crave. So long as our elected officials think and believe that they can buy our conscience for 1,500 Naira or 20 cups of rice, they will continue to abuse us. Just like is happening or has happened in other places, we need to make sure we make good selections regarding who will represent us at both national and local politics. We the people have once chance every four years to call our elected officials to order and if we do not exercise those rights, we should never complain about being marginalized.
As we continue to support the peaceful protests going on all around the country, each of us must commit to protect the legacies of those individuals who paid the ultimate price for a cause they believed in. Their lives can not be in vain! So, let social media continue to be our mouthpiece as we continue to call attention to the protests going on back home. Let those with huge platforms continue to use them to spread the word and the good work our youth is doing asking for their right to live. In the midst of it all, let us not buy into the illusion that America, China, or Britain will come down and fix our problems for us. We must understand that only Nigerians can fix Nigeria and fix it we will. Long live the Nigerian Youth!
Note: More articles will follow regarding the #ENDSARS campaign.
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