Abiola Kilanko, Editor, LASU Conscience
We all know the year 2020 to be a year that shook the whole world, and almost brought her to her knees. It felt like goddess Pandora herself had decided to open her box of troubles and woes at that point in time.
So far, no year in the 21st century has been able to match the onslaught perpetuated by that fateful year. Nigeria was also not left out. From the COVID-19 lockdown to the END SARS protest, and down to the One Million Boys mob rampage, Nigeria also had her own dose of these troubles administered to her like malaria drugs.
One event that stood out for Nigerians in the year 2020, and will forever go down in history as the time when the citizens stood together as one, was the ENDSARS protest of 2020. The ENDSARS protest also embodied other agendas such as the #endbadgovernance and #endpoweroutage.
The citizens of Nigeria came out en masse to protest against police brutality and fundamental human rights violations suffered at the hand of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad popularly known as SARS.
THE BUILDUP to the protest officially kickstarted in Lagos on October 8, 2020, after SARS officers were filmed assaulting and shooting a young Nigerian on October 3, 2020 in Ughelli, Delta State. The video went viral on social media and the citizens all decided they had borne the brunt of these murderous officers long enough and it was now time to put an end to them in the only language the government understood: a peaceful protest, or so they thought.
Citizens would gather at strategic locations around the country everyday, screaming their lungs out so the government could hear their cries and pleas for the dissolution of the SARS unit of the police, and a total reform of the Nigerian Police Force.
The protesters cooked together; laughed together; cried together; got punished by the harsh weather together, and even slept together as some of them decided not to go back home to their beds until the mission was accomplished.
THE WEEDS AMONG THE WHEAT
One of the strategic locations during the protest was the Lekki Tollgate in Lagos. Everything was going as planned. The powers that be were beginning to stir in their seats, and were beginning to pay attention to the protesters.
And then hoodlums joined the protesters and began vandalizing government property and anything that was worth vandalizing. Some people said this was a political move to disperse the protesters as the hoodlums were also suffering from the brutality, and it would be illogical of them to be on the opposing side-but we would never know the truth of the matter.
Try much as they might, the original protesters were losing the war to these hoodlums as you could not tell who was who. They had all now fallen under the umbrella of Soro Soke ENDSARS protesters. It was at this moment the government felt something had to be done, and quickly also.
BULLETS FOR DINNER
It was the evening of October 20, 2020, twelve (12) days after the commencement of the protest. The protesters were about their daily activities and the hoodlums were also playing their unwanted role. Lekki Tollgate had by this time become the protest headquarter in Lagos. The government had lost a lot of revenue and their purses were bleeding profusely. Then came the men in khaki like thieves in the night.
According to eye-witnesses, the CCTV cameras and floodlights at the tollgate had already been put out of operation long ago. There was pitch darkness everywhere. What we witnessed next from the video recording was muzzle flashes from guns.
Without provocation, the soldiers started shooting upwards towards the direction of the protesters. They forgot the law of gravity which states that whatever goes up must come down. Like Kamikaze planes, the hot bullets came down bearing death with them and cut deep into the midst of the protesters. Some of the bullets hit the hard ground, some hit the barricades and yet sadly, some found their targeted audience —the protesters— and made a split second decision to feel at home in their bodies.
Tears, sorrows, and blood followed. It was as if the legendary pioneer of Afrobeats, Fela Kuti, saw this day coming when he sang a song with the same title in ’77. Bodies were scattered all over the protest ground, lifeless and unmoving. Some still had life in them, but no one could come forward to their rescue for fear that the soldiers might open fire once again.
A particular video showed a protester who couldn’t escape the killer bullets lying almost lifeless, the angel of death standing over him, readily waiting to reap his soul. The white part of the Nigerian flag which he held had turned crimson red —red from the blood of the citizen it was meant to protect, as it was a known law that anyone holding the Nigerian flag should not be shot or killed.
THE UNANSWERED QUESTIONS
Who ordered that the CCTV cameras and floodlights at Lekki Tollgate be put off? Who gave orders for the soldiers to leave the barracks and come to the protest ground? Who ordered the shootings? Sadly, these questions remain unanswered till today as such a person(s), does not have the dignity to own up to their bad deeds. Instead, they hide like cowards, waiting for the questions to slip out of the minds of Nigerians.
THE LIES
The then Minister of information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, called the ENDSARS report “fake and tales by moonlight,” stating that no one died during the protest and that the protesters were merely injured.
This is like saying that the eyesight of over 233 million citizens of this country had gone bad and that we couldn’t tell the difference between a living and a dead person from the various videos still available on social media.
Judicial inquiry panels were set up, guilt was established, verdict was pronounced in favour of the protesters, promises of compensation were made but never saw the light of day.
HAS THERE BEEN ANY CHANGE?
The answer to this question is stark glaring. The only reform that was made, was the changing of the name of the police unit from SARS to SWAT —a change in name only which doesn’t extend to a change in the officers themselves. The boy who shouted the phrase “peace and unity” with his last breath before giving up the ghost would be rolling in his grave now if he saw that the country he died for was still her same old self, even worse.
Should we now say that the martyrs of Lekki Tollgate died in vain? Did their death make the perpetrators of evil in our society feel remorseful? Five years have gone by since the Lekki Tollgate Massacre; five years of waiting earnestly for justice to be served, and for reforms to be made but it seems a whirlwind has blown out the candlelight at the end of the tunnel.
The cry for change has since left the lips of Nigerians as most have resigned to their fate and only hope that in their next lives —if there is— they will never come back as citizens of this country. Yes, that’s how bad it has gotten.
This article is in commemoration of the heroes of our time who were brave enough to stand up to the government and say enough is enough. Their blood has since dried, but like the blood of Abel, it still cries to the heavens —since the government has failed them— for justice to be served. They may be gone, but their memories shall remain with us till the end of time and we shall always sing their praises to the skies.
Long live the martyrs of Lekki Tollgate and every Nigerian who has died as a result of bad governance and police brutality.
Idowu Araoluwa, Editor, LASU Conscience
