Newsie Events:- #Opinion
The high-handedness, criminality, brutality, and inhumane activities of SARS, a rogue arm of the Nigerian Police have sparked outrage and condemnation from Nigerians for a long time now. This has given birth to a social media movement called #EndSARS. Recent activities of the dreaded operatives of SARS resurrected the #EndSARS campaign on social media and this time, the campaign has metamorphosed into street protests in Lagos, Delta, Ibadan, Abuja, and other major cities.
The #EndSARS demonstration has shown once again that the Nigerian youth are capable of taking action against injustice but however, in my own opinion, this #EndSARS is not the protest that will lead to a revolution or a complete overhaul of government insensitivity to the plight of the people.
There is no denying the fact that no force is stronger than the force of a people United. A critical look at the dynamics of the #EndSARS protest shows that only a particular section of the country are interested in this #EndSARS movement.
For most persons in the North, SARS is not their problem. This is because the security outfit has largely displayed its notoriety in the southern parts of the country. While people in the south are actively pushing forward social change under the #EndSars emblem, their counterparts in the North are passive at best, or at worse, make mockery of people in the south campaigning against SARS. In another angle, there is a striking division in the campaign against SARS as some groups want reform while others are adamant about the termination of SARS.
These little cracks and disagreements are simple reasons why the #EndSARS cannot transform into a national revolution. Unless the protest is exploited by people from a different political divide and expanded to cover other issues that a larger number of Nigerians can identify with, I do not see the potentials of the #EndSARS movement birthing a revolution in Nigeria.
The day the youths will come out en-mass to protest #EndPoverty or #EndUnemployment, then we can talk about a possible revolution. Poverty and Unemployment is a national problem. It is the problem of the north and the problem if the south. It is the problem of one, it is the problem of a thousand, the problem of hundreds of thousands, and the problem of millions. It is a common front, one that majority of Nigerians or youths share. The day Nigerian youths will protest #EndPoverty or #EndUnemployment with the same energy being deployed by protesters of #EndSARS, the leaders of Nigeria will know that their time is up.
Caleb Onyeabor writes from Enugu and can be reached on WhatsApp via +2347032829241
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