In a responsible and conscientious government, the leaders would have resigned by now or certain people removed from office.
But…
The Nigerian government has failed.
And, it is not a responsible and conscientious government.
The fundamental duty of government, bestowed upon it by God, is to punish evil and reward good. This broad duty boils down to securing the lives and property of people under that government. Where a government does not fulfil its basic duty, that government has failed.
Now, Nigeria has not only failed in this duty but the government itself murders its own people. So either we have persons whose consciences have been cremated, whose minds are twisted as to what good and evil are, whose bodies are fed fat with corruption and greed and who have no souls, or we are being ruled by mannequins. The latter option is a compliment.
We all have to agree that Nigeria is a failed state. They score F in governance. The plot had been lost from the beginning. The government plays politics and does not do governance. Governance is about preserving the lives and property of the people. Politics in Nigeria is about securing the lives and amassing the property of the masses for politicians.
So what can we do?
The thing is that as a society, we don’t understand the concept of being made in the image of God. We over value material things and place little value on what really makes a person human. Things like integrity, hard work, health, truth, justice, knowledge, family, right to one’s own property, dignity, fidelity etc are undervalued. People sell their political power and will for their stomachs. People build houses that are made to collapse. People sell fake drugs that kill. This has to end.
This is what the #EndSARS protests have been about. Life is valuable, regardless of what, who or where a person has been. Our government cannot deny us basic human rights and keep killing young people anyhow for what they own. Let the glamorisation and overvaluation of material things desist. Let our leaders focus on building a sustainable and prosperous nation based on truth, love and excellence. And this cannot happen except we have leaders and a society that in its majority see human life, including their own, as valuable, more valuable than things.
I praise the brave youths who understand that their future and lives are at stake, and the future and lives of their generations are at stake, and have risen to face the monstrous government in Nigeria. These protests have been largely peaceful (and well-organised from my observation of videos on Twitter) by the participants involved which is highly commendable. I pray that their bravery would not be in vain and that at the end of all these, it would not only be #EndSARS but #EndCorruptionInjusticeKillingsLawlessnessUnaccountability.