‘This was a long time coming’: British-Nigerian musicians respond to #EndSARS

nrest over Nigeria’s Special Anti-Robbery Squad, known as SARS, came to a head last week. According to Amnesty International, “credible but disturbing evidence” came to light that security forces in the Lekki district of Lagos had fatally shot protesters who were demonstrating as a new 24 hour curfew came into effect.

The days prior had seen protesters march in cities across Nigeria under the banner #EndSARS, after a video circulated showing a man being beaten, apparently by police officers from the special unit. Social media lit up with anger, including many prominent members of the country’s diaspora.

“It breaks me deeply to witness the footage broadcast across the media, and to know that my people are going through such a hell,” says Not3s — real name Lukman Odunaike — though the Hackney singer-songwriter, rapper and actor, 22, is hardly surprised by what he is witnessing. “I’ve seen how dramatic the SARS officers can be. I’ve been a victim of their assault rifles being pointed at me from different directions while I was over there. I wasn’t as scared as I should’ve been because I didn’t know what they were capable of at the time.”

For London-based musician Obongjayar, real name Steven Umoh, the #EndSARS movement is not the beginning of anything, but the culmination of years of governmental neglect of the Nigerian people. “[It’s] about the injustices that people face on a day to day basis,” the 28-year-old explains. “I was born in Nigeria. You don’t get constant electricity, there can be no water – standard things that we are so used to over here. So I think it was also born out of anger for that. It’s been a long time coming.”

South London rapper Funmi Ohio, 27, better known by her stage name FLOHIO, sees the police’s alleged singling out of young people with expensive-looking cars, clothes and, according to some reports, iPhones, as testament to the socioeconomic issues Nigeria faces. “My generation are a collection of brilliant minds,” she says. “If the country has nothing to offer, the youth create their own opportunities, become their own bosses. This mindset shouldn’t be envied by the Nigerian Police, but that is what it is – they don’t support this go-getter attitude of young Nigerians.” As Odunaike puts it, “it’s not a crime for the youth to shine, and that’s what it feels like it’s become.”

According to Ohio, however, it would be short-sighted to simply blame the police for what is occurring. “The Nigerian government should do more to ensure [they] are well equipped and respected,” she explains. “Raise their fees, renovate their barracks, and reform the whole institution.” Odunaike similarly sees a lack of economic support as a catalyst, explaining how “in reality they are in the same earning brackets as those they are committing these terrible acts towards. There’s no middle-grounding in the economy, which is what is needed for balance.”

“It’s the people who are in power and have the money to escape whenever they can that are inciting these things,” Umoh agrees. “You know they’ll be living a life one millions times better – they’ll be fine. Their kids will be fine. But you on the other hand? You’re f***ed. They’re stealing, they’re looting all the money, but they’ll only give you pennies to go and kill your brother. Who wins? The people who stir the pot. The people who shake the pot”.

All three artists hope that the protests can inspire broader structural change in Nigeria, with both Ohio and Umoh bemoaning the centralised decay of the current government. Ohio speaks of “too many rotten apples contaminating the structure” while, for Umoh, “the root is rotten so you can’t just chop the stem, you need to uproot everything and start again.”

“That is where I think real change will come,” he continues. “The idea of protests is great, but it is [also] starting initiatives and getting people to believe in their country again. The educational system in Nigeria is one that prepares you more for the West than for the country that you live in. It is just the way it is set up. Because you don’t recognise what you have learnt, you can’t put it into practice for the most part.”

While many have called for international diplomatic involvement, Umoh is weary of foreign interference. “When you look at it, the reason our country is like that is because of [international involvement]. All of these things are tied in with international interference. I think Nigeria needs to figure out a way to sort itself out rather than leaning on the West for help. It is a problem that the West can’t solve. The Nigeria problem is a mentality problem – it is a pride problem. I think that we need to have pride in ourselves, rather than thinking individualistically.”

To achieve these changes, Umoh says his generation must figuratively plant seeds for trees under whose shade they might never sit. “It definitely won’t be in my lifetime or the next generation,” he states frankly. “It is a process that needs to start now, and we will only start seeing results in… who knows? Two or three generations down the line.”

While the process is a lengthy one, for Odunaike, this longevity is necessary. “There’s always ways to keep these important movements going as topic of conversation years to come,” he says. “History lessons in school should be on subjects like such, so those from another background can digest and understand the pain that a particular skin colour or nation or community goes through.”