BY: KHALID SUNUSI KANI
The tension and the pressure we are witnessing these days from the Youthfully active citizens on the Nigerian Government is so strange and weird. These eldritch actions have brought myriad positive and negative speculations in the mind of patriotic Nigerians that are trying to fully understand the scenario and navigate the outcomes of the end game.
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As true nationalists, we must sympathize with the innocent victims of some clueless military officers that had used live on the unarmed peaceful protesters in Lagos State. It is quite saddening! And the military had shamelessly infringed on the constitutional right of Nigerians at the wrong time when the country is at its fragility and boiling point stage.
Nevertheless, there was an impregnable conjecture from some intellectuals (which I am not excluded) that believed #ENDSARS protest was built on some secret ulterior motives or mental reservations but that doesn’t shield us from voicing out the truth if Government is trying to jeopardize the rights of the people.
Generally, it is arguable that the cases of police brutality in Nigeria are as many as the stars in the sky. Which even the Inspector General of Police if asked the data, would have it a very tedious task. These uncountable cases had subsequently resulted in the accumulation of anger, grievances, hatred, and browned off the victims and their relations.
However, they (the victims) have been working silently and peacefully for decades pursuing their rights(or compensation) from the Nigerian Police Force but all the effort aborted and to no avail. The lingering uncaring attitudes from the Police led to the unanimously organized #ENDSARS Protest that we are seeing at this point.
Moreover, despite all the above mentioned points that do not mean the #ENDSARS Protest is for the amplification of Nigerians. The Protest is full of ambiguities, confusion, and misleading information. The movement is seriously lacking a genuine organogram or the leadership structure that could champion the outstanding goals of the movement which is totally in disarray with the imitated #BLACKLIVESMATTERS Protest in the United States Of America.
The major gross difference between #BLACKLIVESMATTERS and #ENDSARS are the “demands”. The first, the demands are intellectually constructed while the latter are ignorantly formed and it is because of the abysmally low legal literacy of the abstract or virtual conveners. The major demands of #BLACKLIVESMATTERS are “Take action now and call on USA authorities to make sure that all those responsible in the death of George Floyd are held accountable” while the major demands of #ENDSARS are “The disbandment of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad(SARS)” without looking into the legal consequences and lives they do (SARS) protect in different parts of the country.
Moreover, the demands of #ENDSARS protesters are increasing day by day. As a result of the movement being hijacked and impoverished by visionless and mission less abstract individuals. That’s why the movement has no specific, measurable, achievable, realizable, and timely goals.
#ENDSARS as a scalar movement, the protesters had continued propelling the protest across Southwest even after the Government had scraped the SARS Unit. Which we thought after the pronouncement of the disbanded SARS, they would periodically take off the streets for peace to reign on the planet. Some think it that the protest kept lingering because of the abstract ulterior motives they deafly dealt with the IG’s decision head-on.
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Why did #BLACKLIVESMATTERS protesters not demand the disbandment of the whole police unit? This is the critical question we should ask ourselves, now! The answer is very simple. Most Americans know their limits when it comes to security issues, possessed legal literacy, and a full understanding of their constitution that contained three irresistible words” WE THE PEOPLE”.
Nevertheless, we are not arguing that SARS is not controversially linked to extrajudicial killings, extortion, torture, framing, blackmail, kidnapping, illegal organ trade, armed robbery, home invasions, rape of men, and women, child arrests, the invasion of privacy, and many more allegations. But we are calling for all those SARS operators involved in such unscrupulous acts to be held accountable for them to face the wrath of Justice. But we are still unapologetic to the police “REFORMATION” ideology we have subscribed to.
We believe SARS, which has helped to reduce criminal activities in the country, was created as a unit in the police force with noble anti-robbery intentions. We hoped that the police authority, as promised by the IGP, will re-evaluate, restructure, rebrand, and rebuild confidence in an efficient and effective anti-robbery tactical unit in the force. And he finally came up with a Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT). After consultations, in-depth analysis, and scrutinizing the building blocks of SWAT, all well-meaning Nigerians would overwhelmingly and unanimously agree to the philosophy, wisdom, and ideology behind setting up SWAT.
We do call on President Muhammad Buhari, to the inquiry committee that will investigate the unlawful act by the law enforcement officer before and during the protest. And to compensate the victims of circumstances for pacification coexistence in our beloved Nation.
And finally, I would like to conclude by saying antagonizing the Government ceaselessly is not activism but rather recidivism. We do hope the Government will protect the lives of Nigerians without hurting their lives at the same time. Our Heart Goes With The Unarmed Peaceful Protesters!
Khalid Sunusi Kani
is a public affairs analyst and
National Coordinator Of Kano State Coalition Of Youth Groups. Can also be reached through drkani001@yahoo.com, 07030631259.
