By Stanley Olisa
WED, 21 OCT, 2020-theGBJournal- Exactly one week ago, I wrote a piece entitled ‘#ENDSARS: Mr President, We Are Not Smiling’. The commentary was provoked by the urgent need to tell Mr President and indeed, the entire political class that it is no longer business as usual. To ventilate our collective youthful rage at the dastardly crimes orchestrated by officers of SARS and how government’s response has been, to say the least, an abysmal fiasco.
Now, to make matters worse, state governments hatched the strategy of imposing curfews to gradually whittle down the protests and exemplify their federal government authored grand script to silence the protesters and let this epoch campaign go into oblivion. But what they failed to factor is that this curfew would attract copious global attention and further embolden the United Nations to wade into the fray of things. And we’re already getting that attention. America’s Hillary Clinton has lent her voice to this struggle.
20/10/20 is a date that has gone down in history as one where a gruesome genocide was executed on peaceful Nigerian protesters, most of them youthful, by the Nigerian government at the Lekki Toll Plaza. I’m not too sure of the exact death toll because the figures online have been varying. But at least seven youths were killed at that spot and several others sustained different degrees of gunshot wounds. What caused this? The curfew. The same curfew that was touted to forestall violence did bring about bloodbath. Wise move? You can judge that. Sanwo-Olu must have been pressured into imposing this curfew. And he didn’t think it through thoroughly. It may have been well-intentioned, but you also need to weigh the likely consequences or implications of your actions, not just the intention.
Youths have been killed and severely injured now. And their blood is in the hands of not just the Governor but also the President. This complicates and heightens the already tense situation. Our military men lack restraint and are overzealous. They over-do things, always showing their might where it’s not needed. Did you see the armoury on display, just because a curfew was imposed? That alone is a testament to the sinister motives behind the military roll-out. But expectedly, they have published a denial online. That the officers that shot at the protesters were not of military stock. Can you imagine? You can’t hide these things. We’re in the age of social media where everyone is a publisher. And video evidence is available online. Thanks to DJ Switch for her live session. Quite revealing. With this curfew, the struggle has become more vigorous online. Dear fellow youths, let’s keep the online campaign thriving.
There’s a video online showing some people disconnecting the cameras at the Lekki Toll Plaza. What was that for? Rumour has it that the Jagaban issued the directive. Another indication that there’s a scheme to enact evil, what has become known as the Lekki massacre.
And again, Mr President is being urged to address the nation. It’s always like this, like a trademark for him. A leader that doesn’t know when it is apt and imperative to communicate to his people. How do you instill faith and inspire confidence in your subjects? But then, what will he say? Mr President, you must not speak to us. But if you do, make sure you make good your promises. Your speeches are filled with entreaties and plans but we see no action. In my last article, I talked about the President issuing an Executive Order to immediately address the demands of the ENDSARS protesters. There’s no better time to do this. The curfew strategy isn’t the route to ply. It will only boil up the polity, and it’s happening already.
Mr President, as you hold meetings with your security chiefs and other key people on this malevolent development, just know that it’s been documented in the chronicles that under your leadership, a number of youths protesting against police brutality were killed and many injured. This narrative would have been averted if only you had risen to the occasion and taken very critical steps to placate the protesting Nigerians. This development also casts a pejorative blemish on your administration. No matter the marginal wins (if any) you’ve recorded so far, this evil drowns it all. Posterity will judge you, Sir. The blood you’ve allowed to spill is in your hands.
To my fellow youths, I must applaud us for the display of valour, unity and persistence in driving the ENDSARS campaign thus far. Both the offline and online protesters. We have made a strong statement to the government and the international community. When we post videos of 20/10/20 online, let’s tag global bodies and figures like the United Nations, International Criminal Court, UN Secretary-General, CNN, BBC, etc. Let’s not see the curfew as a setback. Let’s keep the struggle alive. May God bless the souls of our departed youths who paid with their lives on 20/10/20, the Black Tuesday. We are enraged by the killings. And we shall not stop this struggle until we see substantial results.
Stanley Olisa is a Media and Communications Consultant who wrote from Lagos.
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