The last few days have been pivotal in our desire
for a Nigeria, where justice, equity and fairness are the order of the day,
where our fundamental human rights to life, personal dignity and humane
treatment shall be respected. Our leaders, neighbours and the international
community have heard our call to action.
Our biggest achievements however are we have
shown the world our capacity for demonstrating empathy towards each other,
courage, leadership, fellowship and unity. Over the past few weeks not only did
we take responsibility for the growth of our country but we organized ourselves
in a way never before seen by young Nigerians. Most importantly, we were able
to secure the commitment and action from government and the Nigerian Police to
#EndSARS and #Endpolicebrutality in Nigeria.
However, the events of the last 48hrs has
shown us that we have not achieved our goal, the response of security forces to
the peaceful demonstration of young Nigerians show that the problem is not only
the Special Anti – Robbery Squad but also the need to reform the Nigerian
Police and promote credible and accountable leadership in Nigeria.
The peaceful protests are a start in the right
direction and we must ensure that the legacies of our fellow Nigerians who paid
the ultimate price in our struggle for sustainable governance in Nigeria are
not wasted. That the sacrifice of everyone who participated in the #EndSARS
campaign, sustained injuries and were subject to threats to their lives are not
for nothing.
To achieve this I propose the following –
1.
The #EndSARS Protests
While protests is a
strong way of showing disapproval, as seen from recent events, it is not immune
to manipulation and can easily be turned into a riot. Holding a protest though
the most popular way of showing dissent is only one of the over hundred ways of
non – violent action and I urge young Nigerians to become creative in using the
peaceful protests to send clear messages. Demonstrators should become more
strategic with the protest, they must always be peaceful, organized and not
fall below the recent standards that have been applauded by everyone.
2.
Political Will &
Participation
You will agree with me that political Will is needed to create the type of democracy we want,
however, the political structures of today are in the hands of career
politicians who have led this country since the 70s and 80s and have shown time
and time again that their loyalty is to themselves. It is high time young Nigerians
grab this political structures and we can achieve this by participating
actively in governance and politics. Let us register to vote in huge numbers
and join political parties so we can influence the structures from the inside.
3.
Community Outreach
A lot of
misinformation has been peddled both online and offline. It is our duty to
begin to reach out to stakeholders in our communities and carry them along in
our plans for a better Nigeria. Those touts who are not engaged will be used by
unscrupulous politicians to scuttle any progress that is achieved, so it’s
important that we bring everyone on onboard as well. Like it is said, all
politics is local so we must begin to use our local contacts in asking for accountability
and governance from our leaders.
4.
Facilitators
The #EndSARS movement
has no perceived leadership structure but it has leaders, we successfully crowd
sourced a leadership structure that saw everyone taking responsibility. We had
people like @fkabudu, @moechievous and @adetolaov take up the responsibility of
organizing and in the process built a national legal aid structure. We had
volunteers in teams such as legal, emergency services, security, welfare and
others.
I want to urge everyone
to continue to lead by example. We are all stakeholders in the clamour for a
better Nigeria and the victory of one is a victory for all.
5.
Engagement
We cannot stop
engaging with stakeholders and government representatives as we have been doing
recently. In fact, we must increase our level of engagement at this time. Contact
any and all government representatives you know and engage them on their
respective deliverables. We must monitor and supervise the government and our
elected officials to ensure that they are carrying out their duties and
functions satisfactorily.
In the words of Patrick Lumumba, “The day Nigeria wakes up, Africa will never
be the same again”. Young Nigerians
have woken up and our struggle is not only for a better Nigeria but for a greater
Africa. The world is counting on us, our African brothers and Sisters are in
solidarity with us and it is time we show the leadership that is lacking in our
polity.
Thank you for reading. God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria. #EndSARS
Adedunmade is a Nigerian Lawyer, Author and
Blogger. Youcan contact him via @adedunmade on social media and via dunmadeo@yahoo.com