THE ENDSARS PROTESTS AND MATTERS ARRISING.

BY OLIVER OKPALA
A PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR


There is no doubt that citizens have the right to protest any unfavorable or abhorrent situation or policy in their country.

Dissent is a part of every democratic process and should be accommodated for the overall good.

It was an American rights champion , Dr Martin Luther King who said it is those who disagree that often move society forward.

But this should be done in an appropriate manner that would promote a stable atmosphere at the end of the day. We must never lose sight of the fact that the end of every popular struggle must be to acheive good governance and peace in the final analysis.

The EndSARS protest should not have be hijacked by criminals and miscreants who hid under the agitation to wreck harvok and all kind of crimes.

From what happened, it is clear that great damage have been done. Many have lost the source of their livelihood and no amount of money can restore the level of tangible and intangible damages.

In the future when youths or any group gather to carry out protest they should be wary of infiltrators who may take advantage of the situation.

This is to ensure that the essence of their struggle and the genuiness of their fight is not compromised or hijacked by criminals who seek to hide under such cover to unleash mayhem on other law abiding citizens and steal properties belongings to others.

Yes, it is accepted that there was a genuine cause to protest about, but Many of the things that happened during the protest and its fallout were absurd.

It must not also be lost on us that the reason for the protest was briskly addressed by the federal government as the Special anti robbery squad SAR, over which the protest began was disbanded by the Inspector General of Police, a move which President Mohammadu Buhari quickly approved in a nationwide broadcast.


But as if there was something else underlying the protest, some of the youths quickly continued the upheavels under the guise of expanding their demands from End SARS to End police brutality.

When the government, including some state governements began ro address these issues, and setting up commissions of enquiries over the activites of the police in their domains, some of these youths turned their slogan to 'End bad governance', a clear departure from the very essence of their initial struggle.

This in itself was an error in both strategy and in the palance of democratic nation building.

Of a truth, after SARS was disbanded, there was no rationale for continuing the protest. It was unfortunately for the protests to have lingered beyond its vision and deteriorated into criminality.

How could people go to other peoples houses and wreck harvock and cart away properties acquired with their hard earned resources in the name of protests? That was daylight robbery!

That cannot be classified as demonstration. Those private houses do not belong to any government. They are private concerns belonging to individuals like those who pounced on them.

Let us for a moment accept and assume that some of the youths targetteed the warehouses where the covid 19 palliatives were kept, but what was the essence of invading private residences and setting many of them ablaze?

What was the reason for setting BRT buses ablaze in Lagos?
The buses are very vital public infrastructure that even those who destroyed them would need to commute?

Indeed, those actions could clearly pass for treason.

People's private warehouses containing their lifelong sweat, shoping malls were broken into and their goods stolen. Was that a protest?

These clearly amounted to criminality and we all must rise with one voice to condemn it.


We are all Nigerians and we should be supportive of any movement or crusade aimed at puting the government in power under pressure to do what is right and thereby improving the living conditions of our country and her peoples, but not after the issues at stake have been addressed, miscreants would be allowed to have a field day.

This is unacceptable!


It was a shame that they derailed from the essence of the struggle and started attacking and burning police stations and prisons, thereby setting prisoners free.

DPO'S were killed and other Policemen subjected to deadly attacks. Till date, many of those who survived have not found the courage or morale to resume work.

They forgot that the police is saddled with the responsibility of protecting the citizenry. When an arm of the force has fallen foul of the law, and the arm has been severd due to the protest, the right thing to do was to stay action and monitor the implementation of the new direction.

Members of the youths should at that point have even been involved in the development of a new police force that would be civil in their operations and activites as well as being more responsive to the security needs of Nigerians. That was the right way to go!


Don't forget that most of these police station located in rural areas which were burnt, would now be faced with the challenge of fixing them in an already highly beleaguered economic environment.


Who would therefore guarantee the security of lives and properties in those areas and beyond ?

This no doubt amounts to cutting one's nose to spite his face.

Even if those police stations are rebuilt how can we guarantee the morale of the Policemen and women posted there?

The yuletide, a usually security challenging period is fast approaching. Who would provide the much needed security?

There were also reported cases of stolen firearms during the mayhem, if these hoodlums turn against the people with these same weapons, as is likely to be the case, who comes to their rescue?

Who defends the people from the hands of the released hardened and murderous criminous now walking our streets free?

Many of our roads no longer have police presence, who would guarantee the security of commutters during the yuletide season?

Most of the youths who orchestrated the unleashing of these mayhem may be in urban centres, but their aged parents are at home in rural communities. Who would tack care of their security now?

It seems to me that we have done ourselves more harm than good in attacking police stations and their personnel.

We should therefore resolve as a people never to allow a repeat of this kind of widespread jungle justice and mayhem in our country again. It esposes us to international riddicle, cast us as a banana republic and project us collectively as a lawless society.

Now that we are at this palous state, there is the need for government at all levels and their agencies to quickly find ways of reviving and rebuilding what have been destroyed.

The police authorities should take their setback with equanimity and see whatever has befallen them as an opportunity for a fresh start.

The force should look beyond the perpetrators of these heinous crimes and see the generality of the interest of Nigerians.

Let them forgive the assault against their sensibilities and find forgiveness to return to their duty posts accross the country.

They should consider the interest of the teeming citizens who apprecuate tjeir work and sacrifices as well as understand the difficult circumstances in which they often have to operate.

The federal government should take it as a serous emergency to embark on quick win measures to ensure that the right atmosphere is created for the police to fully return to work.

Police brutality is condemenable acroos the world, but the youths must however thread with caution so that they don't throw the baby with the bath water. Wisdom is profitable to direct.


By Oliver Okpala
A public affairs commentator

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