We Must Never Forget #ENDSARS Protest & ’20–10–20′ -By Muhammed-Bello Buhari

It’s two years since the thinly veiled threat issued by the military high command, wherein the unacceptable move in the name of operation crocodile smile was made to crush #EndSARS protests. Such a threat was ill-conceived in the face of legitimate citizens’ protest and a threat to constitutionally guaranteed rights.

My thoughts and prayers are with those who lost their lives, loved ones, sustained injuries, or sustained other losses at the Lekki Toll Gate and at various locations in Lagos and around the country when security agencies were deployed to clamp down on the protests and non-state actors took advantage to cause chaos and mayhem.

No doubt, the right to life, to protest, to publicly question and force the government to answer, has never been and will never be a crime — It is a fundamental political right of the people that flows directly from a democratic reading of Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and Article 11 of the 1981 African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

It is worrying that despite the acceptance of the ‘5for5 Demands’ by the Federal Government, nothing has really been done to resolve the issues that caused the protests in the first place.

None of the policemen accused of brutality, torturing and extrajudicially murdering Nigerian citizens have been brought to justice — there has been no marked improvement in the funding or quality of equipment available to the Nigerian Police Force and these incidents of torture continue in many security facilities nationwide.

Today, I join millions of Nigerians to stand for #EndSARSMemorial. Our Nation deserve better, Nigeria must be safe in Nigeria, let’s us [youth] take the lead.

Young people are not just the future of Nigeria. They are Nigeria today. We must therefore have no despair for the future. Let’s have no fear about the outcome of our struggle in Nigeria, even if our motives are presently misunderstood. Let’s not be interested in blaming our corrupt and incompetent leaders. Let’s be interested in changing the kind of system that produces them. Let’s be interested in changing the narratives. And we can only do that through active participation in decision-making process. Let’s get involved!

This is not an opinion, this is a fact of life — Peaceful assembly is not a criminal act.

— Muhammed-Bello Buhari is a freelance journalist and fact-checker. He writes from Kaduna and can be reached via embbuhari@gmail.com

#EndImpunity #EndSARS #EndPoliceBrutality #EndBadGovernance