ENDSARS: Beyond the Protests
Daniel Orshi Ayoh
The hash tag #EndSARS first debuted in 2017 when citizens protested online against the brutality and impunity of the now notorious and dreadful Special Anti-Robbery Squad, a unit of the Nigeria Police. But the passion that greeted the online protestation could not be likened to the recent protests that started early October, 2020. Nigerian youths took to the streets demanding among others for the disbanding of the SARS unit and reforms of the Nigerian Police.
What started like a play metamorphosed into an active and passionate show of disenchantment by youths against the Nigerian system of political leadership and governance that is not functioning for the benefits of the masses. The Federal government through the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu disbanded SARS, replacing it with a new unit called Special Weapons and Tactics Team, SWAT. The government by this decision had hoped for an end to these protests across the country to no avail. The young Nigerian population refused to return home insisting that it was time for an honest interrogation of the political leadership and governance of their fatherland.
The determination, coordination and focus of the youths disturbed the mindset of the government and by extension, the political elites devoid of party affiliations. The expectation of the government that the protests would fizzle met a disappointing end. Instead of listening to the other grievances of the youth, the government on October 24, 2020 employed brutal force against her citizens who had assembled at the popular Lekki Toll-gate in obedience of the curfew hurriedly put in place by the Lagos State Government. This senseless engagement by the Nigerian Army against unarmed civilians has remained a dent on Nigeria’s democratic image and human rights profile. Even the belated Presidential address could not save the situation as the sad event of October 24 still resonates across the world.
Notwithstanding the fact that the youths returned home after her government, through the Nigerian Army opened fire against them for demanding justice in governance, the positives of the #EndSARS protest have opened the eyes of the youths to realize that a determined and united young population can cause genuine change in the affairs of the nation. The shock that visited the architecture of political leadership and governance is astonishing and capable to cause a reset in the system, for fear of the unknown.
