#ENDSARS: A TOWN RUN BY RUN TOWN
A quick focus on how twitter users and celebrities are leading activism in Nigeria
“Nigerians dey fear to protest”
is a famous phrase used to describe the cowardice of Nigerians when its comes to protesting against bad government policies, this hysteria is mostly driven by the coercive tactics employed by security personnel to handle and disperse protests. That alone explains why a lot of Nigerians are apathetic. But this hasn't been the case of recent, Nigerians mostly youths have been on the street for days protesting against the Police brutality.
How did we get here? (THE SARS STORY)
In 1992, the special anti-robbery squad (SARS) was created by the then commissioner of police with the sole aim of tackling the increasing armed robbery cases as at when it was created. Today we have seen more accusations and strong evidence against the SARS police for its disregard for human lives and property.
A report by amnesty international in June 2020 narrated that
In October 2018, 24-year-old Sunday Bany an amateur boxer was arrested in his home in Abuja by SARS officers and accused of robbery, he was held in detention for 5 weeks without access to family, lawyers, or medical care and was restricted from arraignment. While in SARS detention he suffered bone fractures and injuries due to torture and other ill-treatment.
This is just one of many recurring stories of brutality of the SARS policemen.
These brutal actions by the SARS officers have caused a lot of social media unrest over the years with the #EndSARS tag being the most used. Over time the response from the government has been mute coupled with opaque press briefings indicating the restructuring and dissolution of the SARS unit whereas nothing changed.
The catalyst of the current nationwide #ENDSARS protests
On the 6th of October, a popular Nigerian Afropop artist Runtown made a tweet
“Thursday is Thursday” which explained that the planned protest earlier
Suspended by fellow Afropop singer Naira Marley would continue. An action that produced more actions and tweets from the likes of Falz, Idahams and popular Twitter User in the country.
Different hashtag related to the End SARS movement trended on all major
Social media platform gaining attention from the international media and
With most international celebrities joining to make the call. Tags on social
Media wasn’t the only instrument that aided the movement, physical action
By Nigerians at diaspora followed. The protest was held in London, Washington Berlin and other major cities.
Is Activism Awake?
Activism isn’t a new thing in Nigeria, from Ken Saro Wiwa, Mrs. Funmilayo Kuti to Gani Fawehinmi (Human Rights Lawyer, Activist), we have seen a different wave of Activism. The number of activists alone tells the story of Nigeria’s activism history. But in the last six years activism has been at a slow pace even though there have been strong reasons while there should be one.
During these protests, we have seen something that reminds us of our activism history, and this looks even greater. From Lagos to London Nigerians are making their voices loud, to end the SARS unit. From Twitter influencers, Music Artist to Pastors. From south to the north, these movements know no bound.
The question of whether if the days of strong activism are back in Nigeria can even be answered by a blinded person. For sure this looks like something mighty.
To conclude, Nigerians have always wanted to protest but needed a leader
Who wasn’t going to comprise the movement, in the last few days they found
Not one but many.
What we have seen in the last few days was made possible with just a tweet.
Nigeria celebrities ranging from football players to music artist and even the Twitter
community has made this movement a huge success. Not forgetting everyone
That participated by retweeting or going out to protest. While the first goal of
EndSARS has been achieved, one can only imagine better demands in
The future.
ALUTA CONTINUA.
