#EndSars — The Long-awaited Fight For Freedom In Nigeria

How a new Nigeria could be born

My first experience with the SARS officers was pure harassment and extortion. I was on an official errand when I met these officers at a bend of the road. They looked dreadful. They were not in Police uniforms. Their eyes were red (Likely from smoking Indian hemp) and they were brandishing their guns. They immediately told me to get out of the car.

It was a Church branded car, so, they asked me if I am a Pastor and I answered; Yes. The next thing they asked me was to give them money for 30 litres of fuel because they believe that I have church money with me. I had to give them the money I had with me that day. I felt harassed and embarrassed that day.

What is happening in Nigeria is significant and it is powerful. It shows the real power of the people. It shows that the effects of a bad system are being felt by everyone.

In case you are still wondering why it is such a special event, here it is: Nigeria has about 250 ethnic diversities and over 500 languages. The younger generation has been tagged lazy by the government. It’s the government that is responsible for protecting and lifting them.

The message has always been that the older generation does not trust that the younger generation knows what they are doing. Never did they want to be heard, nor take their cries seriously. Often there has been division even amongst the youth. Until the #EndSars protest started, only a handful of people in the country could ever believe that there can be a united voice. That the youth in the 36 states of Nigeria including the FCT will be saying the same thing.

“The oppressor will continue to oppress until the oppressed have had enough. Nigerians have had enough.” — Author

The protest started with #Endsars; a special anti-robbery squad within the Nigeria Police Force who are known to brutalise innocent citizens. These officers profile young people based on their hairstyles, phone, car and laptop.

However, at this stage of the ongoing protest, I believe we need to turn the fire of this protest into a refinery rather than allow it to damage things. This movement must continue to evolve to achieve a lasting solution.

If we continue to protest on the streets, with no clear targets, we’ll soon lose the fight.

Although the government has announced the disbandment of the special squad, the people are tired of listening to promises without changes. So, as at the time of writing this article, there are five more objectives the people are requesting from the government:

1. Immediate release of all arrested protesters

2. Justice for all deceased victims of police brutality and appropriate compensation for their families.

3. Setting up an independent body to oversee the investigation and prosecution of all reports of police misconduct (Within 10 days).

4. In line with the new Police Act, psychological evaluation and retraining (to be confirmed by an independent body) of all disbanded SARS officers before they can be redeployed.

5. Increase police salary so that they are adequately compensated for protecting the lives and property of citizens.

It is my personal belief, however, that the protest should not stop at the 5 for 5 demands of the people.

The energy needs to evolve and channel towards demanding better governance.

How we should progress

Let’s ask for more

Change the hashtags from #Endsars to #EndBadGovernanceinNigeria or something of the sort. The Police Department is just one part of an entirely corrupt and poorly functioning system of governance. We don’t destroy a tree by going after the fruits, but by going after the root. We must identify the real enemy, namely the corrupt politicians and incompetent leaders.

Imagine this: Amid the peaceful protests, as I write this, hoodlums are attacking peaceful protesters. They are vandalizing properties and their message was to end the protest. This is where you will see that there is a bad system behind everything going wrong in Nigeria.

Someone or a group of people must be behind the thugs. It is like the devil hiding away in a dark alley. Until we isolate the problem and deal with it from the root.

Leadership

Truly the #EndSars protest does not have a leader or group of leaders. Everybody is out with one voice. It is one of the beautiful things about the protest. One of the reasons it has been difficult for the government to shut it down.

“Any venture that will have a lasting impact requires leadership.” — Author

Leadership is important to give this movement a profitable landing. People that will represent the people in presenting the mandate of the people to the government and defend the mandate.

1. Select a few who have been consistent in the protest from day one.
2. Open online voting to reduce the number to about five.

Transparency

After selecting representatives, let every meeting and proceeding be streamed live for the public to follow. Let’s make use of both the mainstream media and social media platforms to ensure transparency.

This will help with the sincerity of the eventual outcome. It will confer public trust in the outcome.

Protect the coalition

The last but not the least is to form a united youth coalition. This might be the most difficult task of them all. I believe this type of energy should not be dispersed after achieving the goal. It should be used to form a Political Party where youths that are interested in serving the country as a public servant can seek the support of the people.

Like I said, It will not be an easy task but it is worth it. The next general election in 2023 should not be the same as usual. The usual election is usually the older generation exchange political parties as if they are changing clothes. They throw around money they cannot explain the source to bribe their way through the voting process. They lie to the people about what they will do and repeat that after another four years.

Nigerians have had enough of that old fashion.

Final thoughts

This movement is beyond anybody and I believe it should not be used for any selfish ambition. People are going to participate in different ways. Some people will walk on the street, some will support with money, some will support with their words, some with their writings, some with their prayers and many other ways.

We shouldn’t be stereotyped and feel everybody should act the same. One of the things that can dowse the fire of this movement is passing the blame ball across the board.

Let everyone contribute the way they can and no condemnation.

We are in for a new Nigeria.

God bless Nigeria!