The “aftermath” of the #EndSARS protests has not only left many sour tastes in our mouth but has also gotten emotions flying around the place. Tempers are flaring with so much angst during these tough days. Whilst many young people feel “defeated”, “disrespected” or “betrayed”, on the other hand, the government now feels “threatened” as it has never had it this hard-hitting since the civil war. Howbeit the theories on whether the protest was successful or unsuccessful continue, this might be the right time to remind us of the two salient outcomes every protest herald – ANARCHY OR SANITY.
 
For one thing, I would believe the overarching aim of the #EndSARS protest by young Nigerians was to demand new institutional reforms in the country (SANITY). Conversely, protests in their very nature if left unchecked can spiral to revolts and rebellion, against the established government that is capable of ripping our nation apart (ANARCHY)
 
As we go round the world a bit to see the outcomes of protests, permit me to plant the question in our heads – ANARCHY OR SANITY?
 
In the MIDDLE EAST ten years ago, protesting the same police harassment, Muhammad Bouazizi, a Tunisian street peddler, set himself on a fire that will spread to other Arab nations heralding and spurring series of protests, revolution, government overthrows, and bloody civil wars that gave the moniker “Arab Spring”. Many years on, the spring has backfired as the nations of Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, Syria, Tunisia, and Yemen are still imploding and burning with civil wars, high spates of terrorism, and the collapse of central governments.
 
WHAT DO YOU WANT? ANARCHY OR SANITY?
 
Since the last quarter of 2019, the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) regions in SOUTH AMERICA has witnessed economic and political discontent triggered protests with many young people calling for the head of their leaders. So many months on these protests that took place in Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Colombia, with roughly 400 dead, 15,000 injured, and incarcerated have failed to produce the much-needed institutional reform. According to the IMF, the LAC regions grew an anemic 0.1% in 2019 — the worst economic performance of any major region in the world.
 
WHAT DO YOU WANT? ANARCHY OR SANITY?
 
In ASIA, Hong Kong's protests started in June 2019 against plans to allow extradition to mainland China. Though the Chinese government complied with the demands of the protesters and the bill was withdrawn in September 2019, the demonstrations continued, propelled by the constant smearing of the Beijing and Hong Kong governments by Western media sources and backed by external funding. Consequently, the protests became increasingly violent, with shops vandalized and boarded up, and many subway station entrances charcoal-black from fires set by protesters.
 
WHAT DO YOU WANT? ANARCHY OR SANITY?
 
Fuel shortage in mid-September 2019, on top of spiraling inflation, lack of safe drinking water, and food scarcity caused protesters in NORTH AMERICA’S Haiti to block roads, set fires, destroy property, and loot businesses. Police responded with tear gas and live rounds which left many injured and at least 42 persons dead. The protest led to the resurgence of gang violence, crime, and an increase in police brutality. The Disruption crippled the delivery of basic services which pushed the country further towards a humanitarian crisis.
 
WHAT DO YOU WANT? ANARCHY OR SANITY?
 
Seven years ago, in EUROPE’S Ukraine, civic protests against the government’s decision to end talks on a Ukraine-European Union Association Agreement led to a widespread crackdown on protesters. There were reports of assault, kidnapping, unlawful arrest by security officers even as protesters threw rocks and Molotov cocktails, set fire to cars and buses and used the debris to build barricades in the streets. Follow events within this period morphed into the Ukrainian Revolution and the eventual outbreak of the Crimean war.
 
WHAT DO YOU WANT? ANARCHY OR SANITY?
 
Months of unprecedented street protests that took place in AFRICA’S Sudan forced army generals to step in and topple the government of Al-Bashir in April 2019. Demonstrations, however, continued well after Al-Bashir’s downfall, with protesters demanding that power be handed over to a civilian administration. The Khartoum massacre which led to the death of 128 protesters represented the brutal military crackdown that ensued.  Up to date, Sudan remains politically and economically unstable.
 
WHAT DO YOU WANT? ANARCHY OR SANITY?
 
Now let us come back home to NIGERIA and spotlight the “aftermath” of the #EndSARS protest that is now characterized by clashes between the authorities and suspected hoodlums, perpetual arson, random destruction of public and private properties, and widespread looting. Yes, the destructions seem to swing at the system, but the blow is now on the peaceful protesters.
 
As a researcher, I do not like to foretell the future, but we can certainly identify viable trends based upon present circumstances that these uprisings if unbridled will teeter the state on a knife-edge.  As hesitant as I am in predicting the timing or sequence of a “Nigeria Spring”, I am extremely certain of its inevitability given the resurgence of authoritarianism and the obstructive demands and unguided outbursts by young citizens.
 
WHAT DO WE WANT? ANARCHY OR SANITY
 
You choose…
 
©️ Segun Oduyemi, Lagos Nigeria 2020
 
This article is sponsored by SAME GROUNDS, a movement that advocates that young people should organize more intelligently.