THERE IS SOMETHING HAPPENING IN NIGERIA

There is something happening in Nigeria – #EndSARS. If you’ve followed my blog for a while now then you’ll know Nigeria is my original home. I’m usually one to avoid the news as a way of looking after my mind and mental health. That being said, there are just some things that are hard to ignore i.e. #EndSARS, especially since I grew up in Nigeria and still have family living there. I can definitely empathise with what is going on and has been going on for a really long time. And whilst #EndSARS is the current reason for the protest, I thought I’d give some perspective from my point of view as a Nigerian with lived experience now residing in the UK. But before I get into all of that, let’s talk about what SARS is and why Nigerians are calling for an end to it. SARS stands for Special Anti-Robbery Squad, a unit of the Nigerian Police Force, that are known for police oppression and brutality in the country. They have killed and continue to kill young Nigerians with no probable cause and in many instances violate women too. The youth have become their target and they continue to rob them of their rights and properties. Thankfully, they’ve refused to go down without a fight hence the current protests going on in the country.

But how did we get here? To a point were those chosen to serve and protect become the perpetrators of the very crimes they were set up to protect against? If you ask me I’d say it’s as a result of a combination of factors which I’ll touch on in the headings below.

Greed & Corruption

Ever since I became aware of how Nigeria as a country operates, greed and corruption at the very top has always existed. The effect of which has sipped through to communities, many of whom suffer in silence. Nigeria is very rich in natural resources compared to many countries in Europe. You’ll find oil, gold and rich agricultural soils there, yet, its citizens remain deprived of the spoils of the land. A luxury reserved for mostly those in power who were elected by the people. The leaders have become so greedy as they continue to loot from the coffers of the nation with little or no regard for the ordinary citizens. Budgets are allocated for basic needs such as good roads, healthcare, education etc, but still the roads remain bad, and healthcare workers and teachers go on strike for continuous lack of pay. My younger brother seeing the effects of the latter as he graduated much later than expected following his lecturers continuously going on strike. Even as I the protests began, lecturers had been on strike following lack of pay and owed back pay and the government did what they did best, looking after themselves alone as opposed to paying what was owed to their hardworking citizens. It wasn’t until the protest persisted, consisting mostly of the youths that they all of a sudden found the funds to pay their dues requesting that students resume school. This is just a clear example of the issue not being a lack of resources but more so the greed on wanting to keep it all for themselves. But seeing as the protest is being carried out by the youths which is beginning to hurt the pockets of the government, they’ve decided to get them back to their studies.

When you have a society where people are sometimes not paid or paid less than they should even after fulfilling their roles, that’s when they begin to find other unscrupulous ways of earning which further corrupts the system. Take for example, the last time I visited Nigeria, each customs officer I encountered at the airport kept asking me for money. They would hold on to my passport while they asked what I had for them, in other words, money. They had the power to keep you waiting a long while if you so choose not to indulge and they did just that as I refused to give them a penny in a show of my disappointment. I nearly missed my flight as a result of this. The same thing happens with the police as well. They are compensated poorly and seek to remedy that with their power. The more they get away with their illegal actions, which they often do as the leaders for the most part do not care about the ordinary citizens, the more their power becomes absolute which they continue to push beyond the limit.

Silence & Perception

I mentioned earlier on how the citizens of Nigeria usually suffer in silence. Religion allows many people to find solace in a country that makes it quite difficult for its citizens to thrive. Sometimes the silence is because some folks choose denial as opposed to speaking the truth. A good example of this was when I shared my disappointment about the behaviour of the customs officers asking for bribes during my visit in a blog post, I got some threatening messages from some Nigerians demanding I take it down as I was tarnishing the image of the country. But I did not oblige them in the slightest. Those who speak out against the evil that persists are deemed enemies of the state. You can see this behaviour with the reaction of the government who are threatening to shut down social media in the country because the protest is ‘making them look bad’ to the rest of the world. The leaders weren’t even taking the protests seriously until international media houses began reporting on it. You’ll also find that silence has gone on for too long because of the fear of what the government might do to them without consequences. A good example is one governor banning peaceful protests which is unconstitutional.

Very Willing Puppets

Even though many Nigerians suffer the same plight, there always seems to be folks willing to wreak havoc on their communities on behalf of the leaders. They are willing to instil fear by any means necessary. A good example is the infamous Boko Haram who continue to operate with little or no consequences. And very recently, thugs were sent in to disrupt the peaceful protests taking place across the country. This is how much the government doesn’t want these protests to happen hence why they’re adopting the usual divide and conquer strategy.

A New Generation

I must admit, I didn’t know to the extent of which SARS operated unchecked until my brother told me about his encounter with them a few weeks ago. It was a scary experience for him, one he managed to escape as he had recently gotten employment with a government parastatal and happened to have a government issued ID on him. But not many people get off so easily as we have seen some end up dead at the hands of SARS. But a new generation of Nigerians are cropping up. They are the ones leading the protests. They are the youths. Most of whom are saying enough is enough. They are tired of suffering in silence. They are ready for change. It would appear, SARS didn’t know they could or would fight back after they continue to be attacked. But this is just the beginning. While #EndSARS and #EndSWATS (the new team deployed to replace SARS) may be the chants on the streets, there is more to come as the people continue to let their voices be heard. More and more demands will be made. Demands that the citizens deserve like accountable leadership and the right to exist in a society that has regard for human life.

Nigeria is known as the giant of Africa and rightly so. This protest has already inspired other African countries to begin protests in their countries for issues that has plagued them. Truth be told, I didn’t think an uprising of this nature would come about in Nigeria because of how long evil has been allowed to thrive. It ‘s good to see that the people are beginning to see that they possess the power to bring about the changes they demand and rightly so deserve. The revolution is happening and it continues to be well documented under the hashtag #EndSARS.

Thanks for reading “There Is Something Happening In Nigeria“. You can keep up to date with the movement over on Twitter by searching the hashtag #EndSARS. You can also help demand justice for the victims of SARS by signing this petition on amnesty.org. For those looking to donate to the cause to help feed protesters and cover bail funds please use this link to make your contributions.