{"id":458,"date":"2020-11-07T21:37:51","date_gmt":"2020-11-07T21:37:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/everywomanhopecentre.org\/news\/?p=458"},"modified":"2020-11-07T21:37:51","modified_gmt":"2020-11-07T21:37:51","slug":"endsars-protest-in-nigeria-a-symbol-of-democracy-and-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/everywomanhopecentre.org\/news\/2020\/11\/07\/endsars-protest-in-nigeria-a-symbol-of-democracy-and-power\/","title":{"rendered":"#ENDSARS Protest in Nigeria: A Symbol Of Democracy and Power"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In an uncommon style and strategy, the youths\u2019 fury, symbolised by the slogan, #ENDSARS, against human rights abuses by the police, rocked the nation, down to its\u2019 foundation, making 2020, a year that witnessed the toughest and most widespread revolt of the youths in Nigeria. <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

BY EDEL-QUINN AGBAEGBU<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ripple effect of the nationwide Youths\u2019\nrevolt in Nigeria, tagged #ENDSARSNOW\nCampaign, is yet to settle down, more than one month after it started in\nOctober, 2020. It is expected that reports from Panels of investigation set up\nby state governors shall unravel the truth of what really happened, the number\nof casualties in the process and level of destruction of properties that took\nplace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nigeria<\/a>, officially named\nthe \u201cFederal Republic of Nigeria\u201d, is a diverse African country commonly known\nas the “Giant of Africa<\/a>.” Located in West Africa,\nNorth of the equator, Nigeria stretches along 923,768 square kilometres of\nland. It is the region\u2019s\nlargest economy with high\npotential in human and natural resources such as gas, minerals and oil; with a\ndiversified agriculture. Nigeria is the most populous country in the\ncontinent and the global seventh, with a population of more than 200 million\npeople, that almost\nevery 1 in 6 black people on the continent is counted as a Nigerian. It is estimated that 65% of this total population comprises of youths,\nbelow 35 years of age. This group constitute the majority of the population.\nUnfortunately, this population that should constitute the nations\u2019 work force\nis rather brutalised, ignored\nand denied of basic provisions to harness their natural potentials. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Nigeria regained\nindependence from the British colonial rule on October 1, 1960, there were\nsignificant efforts to consolidate democratic governance and sustainable\ndevelopment. In the 60s, Nigeria was rated among the fast developing countries\nwith India and Korea. Today, these countries are more developed, as corruption\nplagued the nation and became a\nmajor impediment to good governance and national building. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The high level of corruption in\nNigeria eroded public confidence and undermined credibility, thereby\nentrenching bad leadership and poor public service delivery. Democracy and freedom of speech\nwere strangled and the system\u2019s path to true national prosperity and nationhood\nderailed. Political leaders were consumed with egregious breaches of trust,\nenriching themselves from public treasury and shading the truth, that for 60 years of nationhood; and 21 years of\ndemocracy, perennial leadership problems still persist, breeding poverty,\nhunger, incompetence, under-development, insecurity, abuse of human rights and organizational incapacity\nto respond to emergencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The recent #ENDSARS<\/strong> protests\nby Nigerian youths across the country, against the widespread police brutality,\nendemic corruption, bad governance, lack of accountability and transparency in\ngovernance, etc. were clear demonstration of complete loss of hope and lack of\nconfidence in Nigeria\u2019s leadership. They are poignant reminder of a failed\nsystem and they do not feel that Nigeria works for them anymore; after all, there\nis no sufficient support for their interests and aspirations. They are rather, victims\nof police brutality, extortion and abuses of the basic fundamental rights. It became obvious to them that the promises of\ntheir leaders are mere empty rhetoric; and they\ncollectively decided that the situation was no longer acceptable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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SARS, as\nit is commonly known, has existed for nearly three decades. It was one of a\nnumber of special police forces set up in the 1990s, to address rising violent\ncrimes in the country. The unit is spread around the country and often operates\nin plainclothes, brandishing heavy weapons and setting up roadblocks for\nindiscriminate searches. Over time, the unit developed a reputation for abusing\nits power and many in Nigeria have accused the unit of perpetrating those\ncrimes they were set up to arrest. There harassment and egregious abuses of\nhuman rights have become a serious and insidious problem, which has generated a\nwidespread anger and confusion, that they are often indistinguishable from\narmed criminals. A human rights group has accused<\/a> SARS officers of using \u201ctorture and other\nill-treatment to execute, punish and extract information from suspects\u201d. The\nyouth therefore rallied\nagainst SARS, widely viewed as abusive and beyond reproach, in response to these developments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The high level of corruption in\nNigeria eroded public confidence and undermined credibility, thereby\nentrenching bad leadership and poor public service delivery. Democracy and freedom of speech\nwere strangled and the system\u2019s path to true national prosperity and nationhood\nderailed. Political leaders were consumed with egregious breaches of trust,\nenriching themselves from public treasury and shading the truth, that for 60 years of nationhood; and 21 years of\ndemocracy, perennial leadership problems still persist, breeding poverty,\nhunger, incompetence, under-development, insecurity, abuse of human rights and organizational incapacity\nto respond to emergencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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For\nthe first time in the history of the nation, the entire Nigerian nation was\nheld hostage by the angry youths of the nation, who were protesting against the perceived ongoing security atrocities\nsuch as; human rights abuses, extortions, arrests, illegal detentions, torture,\nmaiming, killings and other dark areas in the nation\u2019s life. They focused on defending the rule of law and good governance and were\nsymbolically raising the national flag and singing the national anthem on many\noccasions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nInspector General of the Nigeria Police Force, Muhammed Adamu, reaction to the\nprotest, on October 11, 2020, did not help matters. He formally\naccepted the youth’s demand to end SARS, but immediately replaced it with\nSpecial Weapon and Tactics, (SWAT). To the protesters, this gesture did not\ndemonstrate good faith because it has happened several times in the past, when\nthe youth had protested police brutality and extortion. With no credible\nresponse and basis for trust in the willingness from government to address\ntheir real grievances, they continued their protests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In two weeks, the youth successfully\ncreated an administration that worked. They raised funds to take care of their\nwelfare, created a good healthcare system and basic amenities to make the\nprotest ground comfortable. They also generated a legal structure to maintain\nlaw and order as well as hotlines for protest-based emergencies. They worked\ntogether and ensured no one was compromised. They were organized, formidable\nand really poised to make their basic demand, not a \u201cGolden Elephant.\u201d From all\naccounts, the protests were peaceful, disciplined and in accordance with the\nNigeria constitution, which made provision for freedom of all Nigerians to\nexercise their rights; which includes freedom of speech, the right to\nparticipate in peaceful protests and processions, without harassment or\nintimidation from any person or authority.They are\nthe new generation indeed. The language has clearly changed in this hashtag era, the new generation!\nCould this be the beginning of an end? May be,\nthat was why the Nobel Prize-winning author Wole Soyinka, stated that, \u201cIt was\nbliss indeed to be alive, to watch youths finally begin to take the future into\ntheir own hands.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It\nwas quite unfortunate that this great symbol of democracy later degenerated\ninto mass destruction by hoodlums, leading to loss of lives and properties,\nvandalism and looting of government, public and private properties, including\nthe looting of warehouses containing Covid-19 palliatives. It was terrible on Monday, October 21; when a crowd\nstormed a prison and freed inmates in Benin City in southern Nigeria. It was\nalleged that prisoners jumped the high fence and some were seen running away on\nthe streets, a number which was estimated to be about 200 prisoners, although\nNigeria officials have not confirmed if there were casualties from the prison\nbreak. It was evident\nthat hunger, poverty and illiteracy were greatly weaponised by external forces,\nfrom unscrupulous persons to distract attention and frustrate the protest. The\ntruth is that the youths have made their statement. This is a global community,\nwhich does not recognise cheap political distractions as a pervasion to social\njustice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The unfortunate\nevent of Tuesday 20th October 2020; of what appeared to be a premeditated\nviolent crackdown on the protestors, which significantly escalated the volatile\nsituation, was a rude shock to the entire nation. Earlier on that day, the\nLagos State Government had declared a 24-hour curfew to take effect from 4 pm.\nAccording to reports, as the deadline was not practical, the state government\nextended the compliance time to 9 pm. However, before the reviewed curfew time,\narmed men in the uniform of the Nigerian military were deployed to the protest\nsite at Lekki toll gate in Lagos. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Evidence available suggests\nthat they did not order the crowd to disperse and they did not engage in\nnon-lethal crowd dispersal action, but rather opened live ammunition on the\ndefenseless assembled youth, some of whom were reportedly killed or\nwounded. Witnesses\nsaid assailants opened fire on a crowd of over 1,000 citizens on Tuesday\nevening to disperse them. This was backed up by DW’s Africa correspondent, Fanny\nFacsar, who got caught up in the violence. She said “peaceful\nprotesters” were calling for an end to the curfew and decried police\nbrutality but the dynamic started to change when people dressed in\ncamouflage, gunmen, unclear whether military or what kind of Nigerian security\nforces, entered this site and started to shoot, shooting for quite some\ntime. It was chaos, a huge mess.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It was\nexpected that President Muhammadu Buhari ought to have addressed the \u201cYouths\u201d earlier,\nto assuage their anger and restore hope in the minds of the Nigerian citizens, but\nthis was not to be, until Thursday,\nOctober 22, 2020, being the 14th<\/sup> day of the protest, after\nthe \u201cOctober\n20 Lekki Massacre.\u201d<\/em><\/strong> Contrary to expectations, the\nresponse of the Nigerian Government to this globally criticized massacre was\nlargely shocking and unconvincing. In a\nnational address, President Buhari, called on protesters to stop demonstrating\nand engage with government. He appealed for understanding and calm and told the\nyouths that their voice has been heard loud and clear, and government is\nresponding. His emphasis was more on\nthe achievements of his administration, citing the \u201cTradermoni and\nFarmermoni\u201d <\/strong>initiativesas some of the major hallmarks. It was indeed very surprisingly that the\nglobally condemned shooting at the protesters at Lekki, which led to the death\nof more than 12 Nigeria citizens, with many injured was not addressed in the\nPresident\u2019s speech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIn the same vain, the governor of Lagos, Governor Sanwolu, in his first reaction\nafter the shooting, had blamed the shooting on forces beyond his control. Initially, he said\nthat no fatalities had been recorded, but later said authorities were\ninvestigating the death of one person. He said 30 people were injured\nduring a shooting at a toll gate in the Lekki district in the\nmidst of the protests. One man had died in hospital from a blow to the head,\naccording to the governor. It was unclear if he was a protester. In a subsequent\nreaction to this statement, the Nigeria Army insists Lagos government requested\ntroop\u2019s deployment to Lekki, despite Governor Sanwo Olu\u2019s denial. In a\nstatement by the Acting Deputy Director, 81 Division Army Public Relations,\nMajor Osoba Olaniyi, the army said the state government invited them to enforce\nthe curfew and that they did not shoot any protester.\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The questions remain; how\nmuch is the value of the ordinary Nigerian citizen to the government? Is it\nconsidered too cheap that it was easy to trample on the citizens who were demanding\nfor justice, that were supposed to be protected? Or could it be a way to douse\nthe consequences of possible sanctions from the international community? Who is\ndeceiving who? One had at least expected government to show sympathy and\nempathy over the death of her citizens and demonstrate commitment to hold the perpetrators accountable. The true test of the sincerity of leadership\nof any nation is in her capacity to make people accountable for the crime they\ncommitted. Nigeria government is not an exemption. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

An online report of the\ndaily post on October 25, 2020, by John Owen Nwachukwu, a civil society\norganisation, Lagos Democratic Coallition; in a statement signed by the\nSecretary- General, Henry Ojugbana Esq. and the Convener, Senami Ojikutu, equally\nalleged that Governor Sanwolu\u2019s actually ordered the operation, contrary to his\ndenial of his involvement in the shooting of the protesters. In that statement,\nthey argued that given the culpability for the fatal shooting and death of\nprotesters, Governor Sanwolu\u2019s panel of inquiry on \u201cThe Lekki Massacre\u201d will\nnot be independent of government\u2019s influence and as such a journey to where.\nThey demanded that an independent panel of inquiry should be constituted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a similar statement\nby concerned Nigerians, issued on 22nd Day of October 2020, they stated\nthat \u201cThe deadly attack on peaceful protestors, which from available evidence\nappears to be by agents of government on 20th October 2020 represents one of\nthe most serious crises in our nation’s history. Among the signatories were:\nwhich was signed by: Dr. Olisa Agbakoba OON, SAN, Prof. Jibrin Ibrahim, Bishop Mathew\nHassan Kuka, Prof. Attahiru Mohammed Jega, OFR, Funke Adekoya, SAN, Prof Joy\nNgozi Ezeilo, Mr. Femi Falana, SAN and Prof. Konyinsola Ajayi, SAN. They argued that no nation can survive a war between its security\nagencies and its youth. This attack on unarmed protesters holding the nation’s\nflag and singing the national anthem will go down in infamy and will be\nengraved in the minds of Nigerians as one of the worst abuses of its citizenship.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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They called on President\nMuhammadu Buhari to take immediate urgent steps to address the widening trust\ndeficit between the Government and the President on the one hand, and the\nNigerian youth and its people on the other. They stated that to move forward,\nthe President must take decisive action to close the trust deficit by identifying and\narresting immediately the persons that instructed for soldiers to shoot\nprotesting youth at the Lekki Toll Gate. They equally suggested that government\nshould institute an urgent independent inquiry on the events at\nLekki toll gate leading to the use of live ammunition on the protestors; and\nthe apparent use of sponsored thugs or hoodlums by security operatives to\ninfiltrate and break the peaceful protests. All those identified to be\nresponsible for this must be held to account and prosecuted, they demanded;\namidst other conditions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Global leaders have\nequally expressed support in this call for restoration and restructuring of\nNigeria. The United Nations (UN) and\nEuropean Union (EU) have joined the chorus of disapproval against the harsh\ncrackdown on anti-police brutality protesters in Nigeria. The UN demanded an\nend to police “brutality” in Nigeria on Wednesday, after Amnesty\nInternational reported that Nigerian security forces shot and killed peaceful\nprotesters in the latest escalation of the two-weeks-long unrest.<\/a> UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres urged\n“the security forces to act at all times with maximum restraint.” He\nalso called on protesters “to demonstrate peacefully and to refrain from\nviolence,” spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement. Guterres said\ngunmen that opened fire on peaceful protesters Tuesday evening in Lagos caused\n“multiple deaths” and numerous injuries. The UN chief urged the\nNigerian authorities to investigate the violence and “hold the\nperpetrators accountable.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similarly,\nthe European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Wednesday also,\ncondemned the killing of protesters and called for justice. “It\nis alarming to learn that several people have been killed and injured during\nthe ongoing protests against the Special Anti-Robbery Squad [SARS] in\nNigeria,” he said. “It is crucial that those responsible of abuses be\nbrought to justice and held accountable.” Dr Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, a\ntwo-time Minister of Finance in Nigeria; and leading contender for the post of\nDirector General, World Trade Organization (WTO), also applauded the\nresourcefulness of the Nigerian youth in making their voices heard. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In her\nown reactions, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Fatou\nBensouda in a statement, posted on tweeter (@IntICrimCourt) on Thursday, said\nthat \u201cMy office has been closely following the events around the current\nprotest in Nigeria and the reaction of the Nigeria\u2019s law enforcement and\nsecurity agencies. Any loss of life or injury is concerning. We have received\ninformation alleging crimes and are keeping a close eye on developments, in\ncase violence escalates\u2026.\u201d she added while calling for restraints. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fact remains that\nNigeria has been vandalized and citizens are saddened to tears. Experts have argued that\nin other to prevent the country from sliding into anarchy, there should be\nconcrete measures towards reconciliation, restructuring and restoration of the\nNigeria nation. The various sub-national units should become independent and\neconomically productive for a more sustainable growth. There is urgent need to\ncall the over 400 ethnic groups, women and youths inclusive; to steer up the\nroad to true federalism. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At this critical moment in the\nlife of the nation, Nigeria needs a visionary servant leader,<\/strong> to advance a more efficient and effective\nleadership in pursuit of positive changes in people\u2019s lives. It has become imperative that the cost of\ngovernance should be significantly reduced, to make adequate provisions to\nfoster access to basic services that are prerequisites for effective\nhuman capital development, support\ninvestments and create jobs for the citizens. This is important,\nespecially now that the masses have realised\nthat power belongs to the people. It\nis certain that unless young people are trained and job opportunities created,\nthe society will only be raising a population that becomes a liability rather\nthan an asset. This is\nthe time to pay more attention to the development of character. Great will be\nthe peace and prosperity of a nation, when her statesmen establish themselves\nin integrity of character; and direct the energies of the nation towards\nculture of virtue and development of character. This is important because it is\nthrough integrity, nobility and personal industry can national industry\nproceed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The\ntime to heal the nation and restore her dignity, to fundamentally regenerate \u201cA\nNew Nigeria\u201d <\/strong>has come. Outgrowing\ncynicism and the rhetoric of presentation which has trailed Nigeria leadership\nshould be the narratives of the moment.\nThere should be timelines for decisive actions and steps to address the trust deficit. This should serve as\nelement of accountability and transparency, in bringing freedom and justice to\nthese victims of democracy; and restore the nations lost glory. Surely, the labours of our heroes past\nshall never be in vain. The quest for respect of human right and good\ngovernance remains sacrosanct. Therefore, I am in total support of the struggle\nfor justice and good leadership in our nation. \u201cOn #ENDSARS I stand\u201d<\/strong>, as a symbol of democracy and power in\nNigeria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Edel-Quinn Agbaegbu is the Executive Director of Every woman Hope Centre (EWHC); and Nigeria\u2019s Country Representative, National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plan (NBSAP), Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)\u00a0 <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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