The Harbingers of Chaos #EndSARS

 Nigeria is currently making headlines across the globe and sadly not necessarily for something  great or that we should be happy about. I dare not say it's not for the  right reason. What had begun as a very peaceful protest had turned very violent with wanton destructions of both lives and properties. It is a situation that bleeds the heart especially when considered that what it had culminated into was easily avoidable. While counting the massive losses across the nation, we can only ruefully bite our nails and sigh, if only the president has addressed the protesters as a father just few days into the protest. His silence and aloofness only spoke loudly that he cared less thus, the distrust of the promises by government to address the demands of the protesters. 

A major problem of the political class and indeed all sectors of Nigeria is abuse of office and power. Political office holders abuse their office by taking advantage of the people. Civil servants abuse the privilege of their small offices simply because they are in positions to do one or two things for citizens, they talk rudely to people and demand gratification and so on. The abuse of office is in every place; government, civil service, public and private workplaces, religious institutions to even the security man at the gate. Abuse of office is a forerunner to chaos in the long haul.

It is the abuse of office and privileges that engender the corruption we talk about in this country. People in government abuse their offices not to serve the people and to steal heavily. The police and the military abuse their powers as uniformed security agencies to harrass, molest, extort and brutalise citizens. It is the abuse of power by the now disbanded rogue Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS outfit of the police that resulted to #EndSARS protests that spread across the country. It is abuse of office that neither the president nor his Minister of InIerior came out to talk to the protesters. The latter was not even heard from during the two weeks long protests or even during the violence that followed. The minister seemed to have gone underground for the president to carry the burden. 

It is abuse of office and power that armed soldiers were sent to confront unarmed youth protesters at Lekki Tollgate and shoot at them with live bullets. So, we see that if some people did not abuse their offices, powers and privileges to serve, the protests would not have happened, the other fallouts would have naturally been avoided and life would have continued normally. It is sad.

At many points in the buildup, the issues would have been peacefully settled and life would have gone on and those dead would still be alive but the government's body language was that when the youths were tired, they would go back home. Transport Minister, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi said the youths were having fun and that was clearly the position of the government afterall, the government had said it would look into their demands and had disbanded SARS.

What the government did not take into consideration was that there were many interests in every protest even unknown to the protesters. There were the genuine protesters, there were those not in the protest but hanging around the protest, looking for opportunities to foment trouble, most time to vent their deepseated scores, there were also the criminals looking for avenues to start looting, there were those who were there too as saboteurs, usually sent by somebody to infiltrate and undermine the objective of the protests. All these hooligans or hoodlums as they have been tagged in the latest happening, look for a point where something would go wrong with the protest so they can hijack it and carry out their plans.

Of course, as we all know something went wrong with the original peaceful protests when soldiers invaded the unarmed youths at Lekki Tollgate plaza and shot at them. Since the Lagos state governor has said that the CCTV cameras were not removed, it beholds on him to show us footages of what happened last Tuesday night. After the shooting and killing of youths by the army, all the miscreates waiting for this sore moments seized the opportunity to unleash mayhem in the guise of protesting.

They began to burn public properties, loot shops, banks and businesses that were largely unconcerned with the protests. One of the demands of the original protesters was to reform the police and improve their living conditions. How then did burning of police stations make sense? It is grossly barbaric, it is criminal and I believe those behind it were purely criminals who wanted to weaken the police so they can unleash violent crimes against the people without the police to stop them.

They burnt Lagos high court. Why? Another case of sheer criminality. The crimes were so coordinated and well targeted. Aiming the high court may be sponsored by people who have cases at the high court and destroying the court and burning it down was a way to obliterate their cases especiall when the files have been razed down.

Then the looting of shoprite stores and other shops is just a clear case of criminality. The nation has witnessed the disruption of EndSARS protests by armed soldiers which has generated into the chaos and even to a state of anarchy. That is what abuse of power and office bring.

There is a difference between legitimate protests and hooliganism. The original protests were peaceful but upon an assault on the protesters, hooligans swooped in and the result is what we are witnessing at the moment.

Amidst the nationwide breakdown, warehouses storing Covid-19 palliative were discovered and the subsequent looting told stories of both the deep corruption in governance and the horrific hunger amongst the people. The Covid-19 had brought untold hardship to Nigerians. People had starved with nothing to eat yet state governments were hoarding foodstuffs meant to be shared to the people. This is a shame on the part of the state governments. No  excuse or lie will suffice because these distributions ought to have been done since May. A Case of abuse of office by governors.

While the looting of warehouse where covid-19 palliatives are kept went on, criminality which is always the consequence of disorderliness and anarchy which in turn are consequences of abuse of office, set in as criminal forces began to look for warehouses to loot, they even began to burst into drug stores to cart away drugs. Bottom line is that the failure and dishonesty of government has been unearthed. It is crime against the people.

EndSARS protests have led to people's discovery of the ills of government and if only the youths accept it, it has brought a reawakening to them that when they are united, they are unstoppable. As 2023 approaches, they must galvanize and form a strong and formidable front to take over leadership of this country through the ballot.

The old foxes are watching them and are thinking of how to divide the youths. They know that if the youths are divided, they will continue to hold this country at neck-break strangulation. Nigeria will only be salvaged by the the enthronement of good governance that the old foxes have flatly failed to provide. The generation of change agents is here and as a force, the youths can change Nigeria.