#EndSARS, Protests And The Peril Of A Country By Adewale Adeoye

Those who fail to learn from history, are bound to repeat the same error. Nigerians should commend the #ENDSARs movement for its peaceful conduct; condemn strongly the savage killings either of protesters or of the police; condemn the destruction of assets in Lagos and elsewhere by criminals.

· Though the protest was against SARS, there are many more protests waiting: Electricity companies’ oppression, army brutality, mass poverty, unemployment, corruption and corporate greed that combine to enrage the people.

· Nigerian Government has no adequate thermometer to gauge the mood of the people. The police, DSS, NIA, PPP, DDD, FUFUFU and all the intelligence agencies failed to obtain intelligence on the boiling heart of Nigerians waiting to explode.

· Very painful people were killed. Assets destroyed are painful. The Nigerian state failed to protect the assets. The Federal Government that controls police should have known that those assets may be attacked; there should have been adequate provision for them.

· It is savage act to kill. It is barbaric to burn down private and public assets. BRT buses, 100 years old Igbosere court, Court of Appeal, High Court, all burnt, police stations, TVC, The Nation Newspapers, all burnt. Many of these assets provide sources of living for millions of poor Nigerians. The soldiers that killed innocent people and those who destroyed these critical assets must be found and punished severely.

· It is foolish to link the #ENDSARs protest to Tinubu. What will he gain? How can you expect him to set people against a government he built? How can he set the people against his own Lagos State? Presidential election is two years ahead. It is cheap logic and blackmail to link him with the protest. Was he also responsible for the protests across the country? If he was, he must be the most powerful politician in Nigeria. Those who promote this are mischievous. They can’t think deeply, but in politics lies are entitled to honour. They also want to darklist the noble objective of the #ENDSARs movement.

· Lagos and other cities have no strategic security architecture for their critical assets, bridges, economic arteries and veins, roads, water ways, her tall buildings and most importantly, the most treasured asset: The people. The neighborhood watch was helpless. Lagos state failed to connect with critical organisations, the self-determination groups, even as we speak. Too bad.

· It’s clear the FG cannot protect Lagos. Only the people themselves can. Nigeria is a fragile and highly explosive country occasioned by inept leadership, corporate and political greed of the managers and the drivers of the country. 

Nigerian people are left at the mercy of exploiters at all front: from politicians to economic managers, banks, communication companies, whose main purpose is primitive accumulation of wealth. Not only the political class is guilty, a lot of corporate organisations see Nigerians as bride to be raped and humiliated through their excruciating policies. Electricity companies are just one example.

Most elected leaders got to their positions by fowl means. They are not actually represented the people. This is a dangerous time bomb now that people are elected through bribing the electorate.

Every Nigerian sees the average politician as a crook, a criminal that swim the resources from the sweat of the people. This perception has to change. During the protest, those who claimed they were elected by the people could not visit their constituencies.

· What we saw was organised crime against the people and their heritage. My fear is that, if we could not respond adequately to hooligans, I pray this city will never come under attacks from Boko Haram.

· We should learn now, that the greatest security is investment in peoples’ education. The greatest security of leaders is not from armed soldiers and police, it is from the people they govern. No arsenal, no matter how mighty can protect a leader more than his people. Ghadafi and other fallen leaders should be a lesson to us.

· In Nigeria, security of individual politicians and big men in the corporate world is more important than security of the people. Politicians have privatized public security, leaving only very few to police protect me and you. But at the critical moment, me and you became safer than the politicians and all their armed men.

· The state governors should democratize security votes. It should go to economic and strategic security of the people and public assets. About N240 billion naira of security votes go into the purse of 36 governors annually.

·  A second wave of rage is possible. The National Assembly and political office holders should cut their salaries. Corporate organisations should put the interests of the people first. They should not wait for the second wave of rage. We survived this, are we sure we shall survive the nest round if it comes?

· Politicians should stop taunting us with their wealth. One of the senators was showing us his opulence. He dared us that you can be a billionaire so easily. All you needed was to be a member of the National Assembly. I thought he would have gone to address the protesters. He never did.

· Nigerians have their mouths stocked with the filthy hands of politicians and drivers of the commanding height of the economy. We are crying. They still mock us. How long shall we cry for you to know we are dying, how many times shall we shake our heads before you know that we are mourning?

· Governors of the North politicised the protests. To them, they said #ENDSARs was an attempt to topple the Federal Government. It was a trick to delude their angry, poor and desperate masses. Their actions stressed the division in the country and lower the prospect of consensus on critical issues. They want SARS, please, give them. For states that don’t need SARS, let them be.

· The Federal Government must take drastic steps now: Restructure, create state police, halt the increase in electricity tariff, enforce laws that will make corporations performing public functions to be responsible and stop the repression and traumatization of the masses all in the name of profit.

·  Invest returns from fuel price hike in health, education, and increase in welfare of workers, including health workers, police, soldiers and other relevant stakeholders.

· A word is enough for the wise, but for the foolish, a million words mean nothing.