#EndSARS Anniversary: 5 ways Nigerian youths can immortalize the legacy of fallen heroes -By Victor Winners

More than 365 days ago, Nigeria witnessed one of the biggest civil disobediences in its 61 years of nationhood tagged; #EndSARS protest.

It was a massive campaign, one of the first of it’s kind in West Africa, a stand against tyranny, abuse and misuse of power.

For more than 10 days, Nigerian youths endeared themselves to other young people across the world as they came out in their numbers to demonstrate against incessant abuse of power by SARS, a now disbanded squad of the Nigerian Police Force.

Without any form of fear, even in the midst of intimidation, the nation stood still as the youths demanded for a forthright leadership from it’s leaders, an event that has hardly ever taken place, prior to that time.

Looking at it, a lot of us were filled with so much pride. The coordination, the pragmatism, the sheer show of leadership and unity was heart warming.

For some of us, it was like a dream come true. Right In our eyes, we were beginning to see the Nigeria we’ve been waiting for. So with high hopes, we cheered them on.

Our celebrities were not left behind. As usual, their voices were heard far across streets outside Africa.

Our international friends and well wishers were not left out. In a flash, they almost outdid each other in showing solidarity. And then In unity and unison, the hash tags #EndSARS topped the trend charts in countries around the world.

To us, this was our moment of pride. It was that moment where we watched our youths and held our heads up high beaming with smiles from ear to ear.

This was our state of happiness for 10 days, until all of a sudden, it felt like the carpet was being pulled from under our feet.

Out of nowhere, in the middle of a solemn display of solidarity, the media made reported gun shots, bullets flying around, people running helter skelter. And then all hell was let loose.

Like sheep without a Shepherd, the protesters scampered into safety in shanties and hideouts. Violence rained for days as the famous protest wined down to a complete end.

After the carnage, it became a big struggle to decide whether people were killed or not. Yet, history was made.

Today, 365 days after; slowly, the clock ticks to a halt as Nigerians count the cost and gains of the famous #EndSARS protest.

In the midst of the denials and asserted victories, I want to share with you 5 ways Nigerian youths can immortalize the heroes of the #EndSARS protest…

1. Holding leaders accountable

Accountability is the right of the citizen. Normally we are not supposed to request from our leaders. But unlike the western world where there are adequate systems put in place to checkmate unilateral abuse of office, in Nigeria until you request for accountability, you may not get it.

This is why it took series of request before the former SARS squad could be disbanded.

If this is to teach anything, it can teach us that with consistent requests for accountability and the right leadership, our leaders can take steps to make things work.

2. Contesting in Elections

With the “not too young to run bill” recently signed into law, a lot has been set in motion for younger people to contest for leadership positions.

But for the records, the Not too Young to Run Act alone will not do the job. People will have to go to the field to contest elections.

Register in political parties and buy their forms to take up leadership positions. That’s the only way we can have younger people in government.

If you’re too young to be the governor, you might not be too young to be a councilor, local government chairman or member, state house of Assembly. We need to start from somewhere.

3. Voting During Elections

In democracy, power belongs to the people. The electorates are the ones with  power. And no matter how bad it is, their decision still counts in determining who becomes the elected leader.

I understand in Nigeria, like most places in Africa, our electoral system is yet to get to where it aught to be. But, instead of focusing on the inadequacies alone, we can take a step to fix things.

Instead of thinking about what votes will count and the ones that won’t, as a way of immortalizing our lost heroes, we can take a step to vote in elections, protect our votes and make it count.

Enough of using election days to play street football and turning out to blame bad leaders for our mess.

4. Taking Responsibility

Seeing the Nigerian youths organize the #EndSARS protests, co-ordinate the daily rallies, raise funds and everything without rancor was such a sight to behold.

It showed that not only are there Nigerians with conscience, there are people who are willing to take responsibility to reposition this nation. This is a big lesson. And this lesson should not be lost on us.

As a way of remembering our lost heroes, we can use this day to take responsibility once again, to fix this country.

5. Being intentional about choosing leaders

While most interested candidates may not become the president due to age, as the life wire of the country and largest voting block in the electoral system, the youths can single handedly decide who will rule their country if they decide to be intentional about making that decision.

And there’s no better time to do it than now. 2023, the next election year is by the corner. Yet, if you ask around, a lot of young people do not have their voters card.

A good number of those that have the permanent voters card will rather use it for other things than vote with the card on election days. And this is not right.

Habits like this can only lead to a regurgitation of the bad leaders we don’t want.

If we really want the right leadership then its about time we Intentionally make a decision to promote and vote for the candidates that can represent well.

As the youths remember their fallen heroes today, I think the best memorabilia they will love to see is a better country. Better leadership. And a better future for generations left unborn.

This is the biggest way to immortalize their legacy.

Victor Winners is a Legal Analyst, Author and founder of  VictorWinners.Com.