QUOTE:
‘’True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice’’
– Martin Luther King Jnr.
‘’Brutal’’! ‘’Barbaric’’! “Cruel”! ‘’This is unacceptable!’’ These were just a few adjectives that escaped the livid lips of peace-loving Nigerians, outraged by the scary spectacle that took place in Lagos, Nigeria on that Black Tuesday of 20-10-2020. That crude force was deployed by a new set of ‘’unknown soldiers’’ to rain live bullets on unarmed, young, peaceful protesters at the infamous Lekki Toll Gate, asking for the end of police brutality right in the country came as a bloody irony! But the denials continue.
Worse still, the clearly avoidable tragedy under our so called democratic dispensation, is compounded by the ping-pong, blame-game between the military and the governor of Lagos state, Sanwo-Olu. At first we were told that there were no shootings and in fact, no life was lost! Later, the story was that thugs garbed in military uniform dealt the deadly blow to halt the audacity of the protesters. Soon after, it was another tall tale that the shootings were blank, whatever that means! Even if Governor Sanwo-Olu has admitted to take full responsibility for the mishap, the burning questions remain.
He may be the number one security officer of the state but does he have the constitutional right to invite the army, a federal security outfit to attack the protesters? Definitely not! So, who gave the directive for the removal of the CCTV cameras and put off the bright lights for darkness to take over before the mayhem was unleashed? Who deployed fully armed soldiers to the scene for the shoot at sight those still carrying out the protests at dusk? How come they never knew that their actions were being recorded live by some concerned and alert Nigerians, right there on the spot?
Furthermore, who are those offended by the live coverage given by the top-notch television stations such as Channels, ARISE and AIT now being fined by the NBC for ‘’unprofessional conduct’’? Who are those bent on muzzling free speech and the press? In fact, we must tackle the vainglorious mindset of a leadership that hates to square up to the Truth; a leadership that must never be criticized, even under a democratic dispensation. If these pertinent questions are not frontally tackled and credible answers provided, we may only be papering over long-winding cracks for a while; deceiving ourselves as a people that all is well with us. But all is not.
At the heart of the #ENDSARS protests remains the crying need to bring the violations of human rights by operatives of the Anti-Robbery Squad to an end. Harassing, maiming and killing young Nigerians for having iPhones, high-tech laptops, wearing dreadlocks and profiling them as yahoo-yahoo boys all for self-gain has brought out the beast in otherwise law-abiding citizens.
Whoever sent out the morally bankrupt, armed hoodlums to cause chaos, run roughshod over innocent citizens, burn down police stations, all manner of well-stocked shops, mansions of politicians, trucks, cars and BRT buses, all in the bid to give the peaceful protests a bad name would have their maker to contend with. They would have to answer for the lives of the innocent citizens wantonly wasted during the crisis. But then, something else happened; something curious and inexcusable.
For instance, the discovery of several warehouses, across the states of the country, where the COVID- 19 palliatives meant for the long-suffering Nigerians during the Lockdown were kept raises more questions than answers. Why were they not distributed to the hungry Nigerians, who make up those caught in the ignoble bracket of extreme poverty, when it mattered most? Why was it that only the governor of Borno state, Babagana Zulum did the needful? Why did the other governors allow the citizens to doubt the authenticity of the claim made then by the Minister of Humanitarian Affair, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouk that those palliatives were long delivered to the 36 states and the FCT? The bland excuse by some of the governors that the palliatives were kept for Nigerians in anticipation of a second round of the pandemic stands logic on its head. It smirks of nothing but cruelty doesn’t it? Of course, it does.
In fact, it means that were it not for the mass revolt, we would not have known that the federal government made efforts to reach out to the people during the lockdown. But now the so called looters of the palliatives are being stigmatized by the greedy and self-righteous looters in high places. That is the dark dilemma the people are confronted with in Nigeria.
That of course, has brought to the fore the growing gap between our so called political leaders and the pauperized populace. Now we have the reasons to justify the feuding fisticuff between the corruption-riddled ‘’off the mic’’ generation and the long-silenced ‘’Soro Soke’’ generation. Now we understand the lacuna between the breed of avaricious locusts and the butterflies denied access to pollinate the flowers of the field and eventually suck the sugary nectars.
Beyond the #ENDSARS protests therefore, the youths are demanding for a holistic review of the leadership paradigm within the Nigerian political spectrum. They are currently asking that the humongous salaries of the senators be drastically scaled down to N1.5million and that of the House of Representatives to N1.3million per month, respectively. Some even want a unicameral legislature, predicated on part-time format. Suggestions are coming in that our army of unemployed youth be paid N50,000 each monthly until they get some job to do. There should be no more pensions paid to former political office holders, some of who were state governors and still find their way to the senate to keep dipping their hands into the national till. Also, any politician who has before now spent five years in government should be automatically disqualified from contesting in future elections.
On the critical issue of security, the youths are demanding that special arms of the police force be created, equipped with drones and modern technology for sustained surveillance of roads and farmlands. They want the police to be retrained, to be more effective within the people-friendly matrix. To facilitate this laudable initiative, they are asking for better remunerations of not less than N400,000 minimum wage; to include life insurance, vehicle allowance and payment for the education of three children of each police officer. Good enough, they have demanded for adequate compensation for the families of the victims of police brutality and that of the Lekki massacre.
Fanciful as some of these suggestions may sound, the bitter truth is that Nigeria cannot be run the way it has been. Restructuring is the best way forward. Governments, at the state and federal levels must do all within their powers to ensure that all the perpetrators of the recent heinous crimes against humanity, who bloodied our beautiful banner, are brought to justice. This should be done with a similar zeal, energy and speed that the hoodlums are being caught by the police. There can be no peace, without justice. The world is watching us.