A woman standing feet apart, her clenched fist rising above the wall of bodies with arms interlocked behind her; her resolute stance and determined visage peeking from behind her nose mask coupled with her blue hijab matching the clear blue sky in the background makes her message very clear: “no” is not an option. Aisha Yesufu.

For even a casual observer of the #EndSARS protest, this image is sure to be familiar as it has been a sensational rallying point for the movement making some people name her Nigeria’s statue of liberty. What is more impressive is the fact that this image is neither a lucky shot nor a photo op. Rather, it is just another day in the life of this passionate occupant of the office of the citizen. As far back as 2012, Aisha Yesufu has been vocal in her demands for good governance in Nigeria. She is the co-convener of the Bring Back Our Girls, an advocacy group that centered its activities on bringing attention to the abduction of over 200 girls from a secondary school in Chibok, Nigeria, on 14 April 2014 by Boko Haram. She has been a consistent voice over the years and has been very vocal in the #EndSARS movement as well.

However, if a casual observer should think Aisha Yesufu’s apparently frontline role in the movement is an indication that the movement is just another civil disturbance that will peter out soon enough, he would be very wrong. This movement is different. What started as a laser focused demand for the disbandment of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) has morphed into a multi-sectorial appraisal of and dogged determination to end the generational impunity that has plagued Nigeria for decades, inevitably piloting the nation to this defining moment. What sets this movement apart from business as usual is its magnitude and the crop of people championing it: youth. Nigeria since independence has never had a moment as powerful and unifying as the candlelight service held across the nation where thousands of youth collectively mourned the victims of the dreaded SARS on October 17, 2020 and reaffirmed their commitment to the pursuit of justice and a total cessation of such ugly occurrences, just two weeks after Independence Day. The energy exhibited is reminiscent of similar movements that have sparked winds of change across nations and regions of the world, among them being the Soweto Uprising in South Africa and the Arab Spring in the Middle East.

Read more: https://thefederation.com.ng/2020/10/17/the-end-sars-protests-and-nigerias-uncertain-future-by-joshua-lawal/

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