#ENDSARS: THE SUGAR AND THE BITTER PILLS

For the past 2 weeks in our dear country, Nigeria, we have witnessed with mixed emotions, the unfolding events that may mar or strengthen our country depending on how we manage it or what we make of it. I will simply tag it,the good, the bad,the ugly. 

The Good
The good is the best protest ever organised in Nigeria branded as:#ENDSARS which reverberated across the world to draw government attention to the excesses and the brutality of the police, particularly, the Special Anti Robbery Squad, SARS. I don’t need to bore you with a list of their excesses as their disbandment without a second thought by the president, shows that Nigerians are vindicated.Like  the president said, a vast majority of the men and women of the police force are good and had working, therefore they shouldn’t be demoralised but the bad eggs amongst them are indeed very very bad.I have a reason not to mention the organisers of this wonderful protest,#ENDSARS in my rider. It’s because the organisers represent different interests.

– the genuine innocent youths – politicians(oppositions and disgruntled elements in the ruling party) – religion- internet fraudsters – freedom fighters – looters in the system – economic saboteurs- tribalism.
Because of the dynamic and diverse nature of the organisers, it was highly organised, sophisticated, and largely enjoyable at first because it’s been coordinated by unseen but known fingers.At this stage,it was beautifully peaceful.That’s what the this stage was designed to achieve so that most  people will buy into the movement. Because  of this,government accepted and agreed  to attend to the five demands without any resistance. In fact,government, to the dismay of everyone swung into action and disbanded SARS immediately and requested for time  to attend to the remaining four as soon as possible.At this stage everyone was united behind  the “youths”. Whereas the innocent youths with their genuine demands weren’t aware of the next stage in the agenda,the unseen hands took charge to move their plans forward. This takes us to “the bad”.

The Bad
This stage was where it began to turn sour. The politicians, past and present looters in disguise, fraudsters, tribal and religious bigots began to press their own buttons. This was why despite the positive response from the president, the IGP, governors, ministers, legislators and other well respected members of the society, the protesters refused to leave the streets. All appeals and cautions not to allow their “good intentions” to be hijacked, felt on deaf ears and the intensity of the protest became more charged than at the initial stage. Road  blockades were increasingly frustrating, commuters were suffering, economy was grounding and the country became tensed yet, the protesters will not retreat. Not even the  pro SARS or SWAT sympathizers organised to counter the #EndSars protesters was enough to make them shift ground. This stage was meant to allow political, ethnic and religious sentiments  to set in so as to discredit the government, turn the citizens and the youths against the government and generally expose the government to ridicule and tarnish what may be left as goodwill for the president and his party. This is when the protesters began to shift goal posts in the middle of the game. They began to add more demands to the list, began to call for good governance, rejected SWAT and in fact, began to call on the president and the IGP to resign. It’s indeed now very tensed with politicians swinging into action from the different divides. Those in government vs oppositions. Thugs were quickly drafted into the scene and violent sets in.

The second stage has indeed achieved it’s aim. But they were not done yet because the president was still looking comfortable and the government was getting as much praises as the protesters. The government was being praised for showing understanding and restraint from using force whereas the protesters was being praised for being largely peaceful. There was still one more stage to go and that is the real deal. This is to get the international community to pay attention to what’s happening in Nigeria as the weaknesses or otherwise of the government needed to be exposed. Police  officers, that we advocated for their welfare to be improved,trained  and properly equipped in our earlier demands suddenly become the target. They were being hacked down,police stations were being set ablaze,innocent citizens were being molested,maimed and killed. Thugs of politicians were engaging each other in open battles,tribal  and religious fight crept in. 

The planners were succeeding as the country  was boiling. At this stage,the attention of everyone,particularly  the undecided people  that were neither for or against government before now have  a  reason to turn against the government for her weakness and lack of adequate action. The same president that was accused of being hasty in giving approval for SWAT to replace SARS was now being accused of not acting fast enough to quell the crisis. The same security agencies we were aware that are overstretched because of their poor ratio to population size,poor training and welfare and with the enormous security challenges already on ground, were now being accused of not acting enough to protect the peaceful protesters and to stop the thuggery and criminals that has taken over. Some religious  leaders and politicians were beginning to issue inciting comments. Prisons and businesses were being attacked. 

Their bad narratives about the government needed to be exported to the international space. This was where it got chaotic and the real violence was unleashed. This takes us to stage 3, “the ugly” .

The Ugly

This is where the situation got to it’s peak as designed by the unseen fingers. It got really chaotic at this stage. It was indeed an urgly scene everywhere you turn.  Once some  of the state governments saw the looming danger in stage 2,they were concerned and quickly announced the enforcement of curfews to slow down the rampaging criminals  thugs,freedom fighters and their likes. At this stage, some informed and law abiding youths heeded the words of wisdom from across the land and from well meaning people, and retreated by going off the streets. But the other “youths” were still being used as the sugar coat to wrap the urgly intentions of the unseen fingers hence, the youths at lekki toll gate refused to move. They were still being urged on by the master planners. Since government was still very lenient at this stage and still showing serious restraint, something needed to happen. This was the genesis of the lekki toll gate shooting. The shooting must take place to serve as a trigger to unleash stage 3 to get the attention of the international community and indeed, the whole world. I say this with all sense of responsibility that the shooting at Lekki toll gate was stage managed. Surely, someone may have died, there will definitely be injuries, there will be panic, tension, empathy and sympathy, there could be a stampede or at least people will be running halter-skelter for their lives. At this stage, the planners succeeded and what followed was the open ticket to unleash mayhem, destruction of selected properties and facilities owned by government and certain “individuals”. Whether those military men were from Nigeria army or not, they didn’t go there to kill. They may be aware of the plot or not. They could even be fake military officers. How do you explain putting off the floodlights and CCTV cameras before action, how do you explain pictures of people that were immediately circulated to have lost their lives, how do you explain the video clips of past accident scenes ,even scenes from movies were circulated in no time. Blood stains were manufactured from nowhere yet,we ar yet to see bodies of the so called massacre or genocide. 
At this point ladies and gentlemen,time,investigations and events will confirm my position. 
While everyone is free to view the situation from different angles, the truth cannot hide forever.
The battle right now is to take control of the soul of the country which is represented by the youths as our major assets and political weapon towards 2023 elections or if possible, a change of government even before 2023. 

MY LITTLE ADVICE:

FOR THE YOUTHS 
I am totally in support of the youths and indeed, Nigerians for demanding good governance. Agreed that #EndSars was a trigger to ask for other things but since the original #5 for 5 was accepted by government without any  disagreement nor resistance ,we should allow government a little time to address the issues then return for a follow up if necessary. Don’t allow the same people that brought us to this level in the first place to use your bloods to settle scores and use your heads and energy to destroy the little infrastructure they have been able to put in place over the years. They and their children don’t use BRT buses for instance. The buses are for the common man on the streets. When it’s time to renovate and replace everything destroyed with public funds, it’s the elites and their children that will bid and win the contracts and possibly, at inflated costs. You and I will not be part of it. It means more money for them. The lives that has been lost cannot be replaced, while some injured people will never be the same again. Let’s resist violence at all costs and strategise on how to use the abundant talents and energy at your disposal to participate in the next elections and be involved for good.Even if the whole political positions or offices are handed over to you today, from president to vice president, from legislators to ministers, governors and the rest, the system will consume you if the fundamentals are not right. As we clamour for reform in the police force, bring forth another area needing reforms soon eg INEC,Salaries and wages of political office holders etc so as to leverage on the current momentum so that government is constantly put on her toes. State governments should be tasked by the youths to allow local governments to run as enshrined in the constitution. That tier of government is much  more closer to the people than the state or federal government. It’s worrisome that the state governments has swallowed them and their allocations. Let the right things be done. 

FOR POLITICIANS, RELIGIOUS AND COMMUNITY LEADERS
Remember that no one take charge of the youths forever. If BAT,the Jagaban can be a subject of attack now,then it can be any of you tomorrow. Stop setting the youths against their country or political opponents. Nemesis and law of karma is nearer to us than our skin. The youths have a mind of their own to pursue what is right when it’s right. 

FOR THE GOVERNMENT
The recent happenings should be an eye opener and a  clarion call to redouble efforts on all fronts. The government is currently running below expectations.Government should take practical steps to address issues rather  than the usual political talks. There are some of the political officers that are just holding on to the goods of their offices without adding tangible values to the system, it’s time to move them on and rejig the system for optimum results. Let the immediate demands of Nigerians as championed by the youths be solved within the shortest possible time and let their be openness and feedback mechanisms to integrate people oriented programmes and projects into government’s workplans.
The youths should be engaged in governance in practical terms for them to understand the dynamics and to tap into their skills,talents,professions and energies to get things done in a way that is different from the usual government bureaucracy. For instance, government can quickly take inventory of all the dilapidated police barracks across the country and get the youths in the various states where  they are located to take charge of the renovations without the usual complex procurement procedures. Organising them and documenting their bio data for the purposes of payments should be a problem. Soon, there will be competition amongst the youths on who delivered faster and to specification. Others could be used for public schools, health facilities etc. Government should be more transparent and open for public scrutiny in budget implementations. More relevant reforms should be initiated to aid the delivery of dividends of democracy faster.Government should be proactive in sniffing and using the power of intelligence gathering. Certain institutions particularly our the intelligence units of our security architecture,  has lost focus and not performing optimally otherwise,certain looming crisis should have been nipped in the bud.

FOR ALL NIGERIANS
In the midst of crisis, real men act responsibly. Let’s preach peace. Let’s encourage people to always choose dialogue first. There is no need fighting before dialogue when we know that everything will still return to dialogue. We must be vigilant and be united behind our country. Leadership and system of governance is a process and very soon we shall discover the one that suits us most. We have all it takes to be the best country in the world. It’s our strong hold on anti developmental vices that’s holding us back. The country that is just rebuilding her economy after the ravaging impact  of the economy is now thrown into another needless crisis.  This is not the time to allow crazy sentiments to possess us. Nigeria is ours to build. 
May God bless Nigeria.

KBN writes from Abuja.