We’re doomscrolling and memeing away the pain

Posted on by Tami Makinde

When Nigerians took to social media last month amid political instability and financial insecurity to reimagine what life would be like if superheroes lived among us, we knew instantly that we were masking our current pain through sharing memes. In the digital age, the stock response to any unfortunate news seems to have become a need to flood social media with memes in attempts to make light a terrible situation. Come rain, come world war, we found jokes to laugh at. Even when mysterious reptiles made away with millions of naira whole, social media became a channel to make light of our problems, which quite frankly, is a better use of our time than remaining miserable about what exists.

And now it seems we’re right back where we back to the same position we were in over a month ago. The past two weeks have been incredibly tense for many young people, as we took to the streets to fight against the violence constantly meted by the members of the Special Anti-Robbery Unit, aka SARS. For many of us, social media became the quickest tool to disseminate information on protests and any violations that occurred during the day from armed forces stationed across the country. When protesters in Abuja were shot and teargassed, we watched over social media in horror as everything unfolded on social media, shortly after, we say the attack from armed mischief makers all over the country, and then on Tuesday when the Nigerian army and police descended on protesters perceived to be in violation of a state-wide curfew, we watched in real-time how scary and violent those moments quickly became. Needless to say that social media had been missing that humorous element for quite some time, and for a good 10 + days, all we did was consume horror. That was until this weekend.

It first started after President Muhammudu Buhari’s address to the nation last week. At that point, tensions were high and violence had ensued all over the country by armed men who were allegedly empowered by the government to disrupt the peaceful demonstrations. It’s important to note that for well over 10 days, the only violence had come from policemen and other state security agencies, and amongst civilians, it had been going well for days before these mischief makers emerged. In his address, the president made no direct mention the lives of the protesters we had lost so far, choosing instead to exonerate the police officers who had lost their lives during service and offering a stern warning on continued participation in protests. Social media platforms like Twitter have become a safe space for young Nigerians to discuss with one another, and that Thursday, there was a palpable sense of pain and gloom after the President’s address.

 

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Rather than cry, memes flooded the streets, with many Nigerians calling for their fellow country people in the diaspora to engage in the next phase of the protests by asking for their hands in marriage. On a darker note, others called themselves ‘forza speciale’, a popular phrase from the latest Netflix Naija film ‘Oloture’ by Kenneth Gyang which is a term used in sex trafficking rings to separate the “wheat from the chaff” as we learnt from an anonymous sex trafficking survivor. Many people saw these memes as offensive and it’s not hard to disagree, as neither sex trafficking nor threats of violence from our governing bodies were humourous. However, these jokes and memes may not be instances of callous-minded individuals looking to make fun of particularly grave situations but rather people like you and me, trying to make sense of our current reality.

Thinking about the year we have had, the jokes make more sense within this context. Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic left many people working from home around the clock and left others without employment (another blow courtesy of the technologically averse Nigerian system) the daily ritual for those with internet access has been clear for all to see. We’re endlessly scrolling–or doomscrolling as some may suggest–through our social media in desperate need of some respite in a tumultuous year. And with the endless news cycle, it’s easy to fall into a pattern of unhealthily consuming bad news. I, for one, have struggled on many occasions during the last two weeks to peel away from my phone, out of fear that I would miss an atrocity taking place in real-time that would become the target of ‘fake news’ if I didn’t catch it.

On social media, there has not been a dearth of graphic images and videos of fellow Nigerians being killed and tortured on our timelines and we’re constantly consuming this on a daily basis. Nigerians have become so desensitised to seeing acts of violence being perpetrated that it has become common to stomach even the most gruesome of content in order to disseminate the cruel ways we are being treated by law enforcement. But how long can one consume such content until it becomes far too much? Well, for me, a tipping point has definitely been reached as my fears have now begun to manifest as nightmares. When I close my eyes, these graphic images appear in my dreams as I try to make sense of the callous ways many citizens of this country have been treated. It is deeply heartbreaking and social media has become a way to express my fears about the present – whether it’s in complete seriousness or in light.

It’s not even as though anything is actually funny about the way we are being treated by our government. Last night, a mysterious camera was located at the scene of Tuesday’s massacre by the former Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola. The news of this discovery comes nearly a week after several citizens have called for a swift and transparent investigation into what took place at the Lekki Toll Gate and around other areas in Lagos state. Many Nigerians felt insulted by the actions of the governor with many wondering how a sizable camcorder could just surreptitiously be located at an active murder scene after several days of looting and following a thorough cleanup by LAWMA.

The video of the ex-governor coming across the camera has now been widely circulated on social media and has given rise to the #FasholaChallenge as Nigerians try to emulate the actions and habits of the minister in an attempt to highlight how dubious it all seems. Trust Nigerians to make humour a coping mechanism and the evidence is currently awash on social media for all to see. But humour as a coping mechanism isn’t just something exclusive to Nigerians alone, in fact, many millennials and Gen Zers across a range of cultures and people have pontificated their fears and worries through humourous memes or tweets. So why is it only morbid when we do it? As long as there is no actual dangerous or negative narrative, I think we should let people find a way to express their pain, albeit without taking it too far.

Things have been bleak for a while and humour has always been a backdrop through which we have filtered such news. For me, true happiness won’t come till all our demands are met by the federal government but until then, we won’t hesitate to roast our leaders for the entire world to see.

Here are our favourite memes below:

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Tami is numb. Send me memes @tamimak_

ICYMI: The soundtrack of Nigeria’s reality has not changed in years

National Broadcasting Commission sanctions Arise TV, Channels TV & AIT for coverage of #EndSARS events

Posted on by The Native

In the past two weeks since #EndSARS protests erupted across the country, the coverage by a significant portion of the Nigerian press has been uneven. Newspaper publications and local television and radio stations have been found wanting on several occasions, with some of them initially ignoring the demonstrations altogether, and sometimes helping in the spread of misinformation and propaganda by the government.

Just yesterday, Channels Television was on hand to show the Federal Minister of Works & Housing, Babatunde Fashola, conveniently “finding” a camera at the Lekki-Victoria Island tollgate, five whole days after the Nigerian military attacked peaceful protesters. This sort of shoddy coverage has largely been effected by guidelines put in place by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), the regulatory body for media content in Nigeria. In the heat of the Lekki tollgate massacre, the NBC put out a statement outlining the rules for covering the #EndSARS “crisis”, basically urging the Nigerian press to not embarrass the government while reporting.

Evidently making sure their guidelines are being adhered to, the NBC has sanctioned Africa Independent Television (AIT), Channels Television and Arise Television, for some of their reportage of the events in the past week. The Acting Director-General of the commission, Armstrong Ichaba, announced these sanctions during a press conference in Abuja earlier today, stating that these stations had violated broadcast code, especially in their use of “unverifiable” video footages that have made it to social media. According to the DG, the sanctions will carry a fine of at least three million naira for each television station.

In addition, AIT has also been sanctioned for reporting untrue information of the Nigerian Christian Centre in Abuja being demolished and set on fire by hoodlums. The station has since retracted this report, which the NBC acknowledges, and it is unknown what the consequence for this sanction will be. While this particular sanction is justified, sanctioning television stations for reporting on tragic events using first-hand witness sources is bogus.

The spread of misinformation is a well-known downside of social media, but in the past few days, Nigerian citizens have used these platforms in documenting and spreading information of real-time happenings. It isn’t wrong to demand that media platforms do due diligence on the sources of their information, but punishing them for even using them at all sends a wrong signal that any and all reports found on the internet is unfit to be a part of news coverage.

Dennis is a staff writer at the NATIVE. Please share any useful resources for the #EndSARS protests with me @dennisadepeter

ICYMI: THE FIGHT TO #ENDSARS IS REALLY A FIGHT TO FIX THE NIGERIAN SYSTEM

Here’s what we know about the attacks in Kumba, Cameroon

Posted on by The Native

This month, the several injustices taking place across the African continent have been thrown into the limelight and it’s clear that there’s a lot to interrogate. Social media has accentuated the violations taking place in Congo, Liberia, Guinea, Ghana and more, allowing for us to watch in real-time how unsafe the world has become.

As we try to make sense of the next practical steps to take in the aftermath of the #EndSARS protests, we are reminded that many people near us are also facing grave problems at this time.

Cameroon has been under harsh global spotlight since its minority English speaking regions came under attack. The unrest initially broke out in 2017 when members of the marginalised English-speaking communities came out to protest against the government’s alleged failure to give enough recognition to the English legal and education systems in the North-West and South-West. Reports show that hundreds have been killed and thousands of others have been displaced since 2017 with many schools having to shut down in the region for over three years. Anglophone secessionists continue to demand their voices be heard under the French-speaking government of Paul Biya, but their methods have not always been peaceful.

Over the weekend, the situation in the country was exacerbated when a group of gunmen arriving on motorcycles and clad in civilian clothes, attacked a school known as the Mother Francisca International Bilingual Academy in the city of Kumba at around midday on Saturday. They opened fire on the school grounds, killing eight children in the process and leaving many others injured and hurt from the murderous attack. It’s not clear if the attack is linked to the continued struggle between government forces and secession groups in the English-speaking region, says a report on Al Jeezera.

Horrific images of injured and deceased kids have been awash on social media and it’s a painful reminder that justice is not enacted until every member of society is safe and free from harm and violence. We need to protect these children and make sure the world knows the injustices that are currently taking place in Cameroon.

Featured image credits/Twitter

Tami is numb. Do not tweet at her @tamimak_

ICYMI: Congo is bleeding and here are the details

The soundtrack of Nigeria’s reality has not changed for years

Posted on by The Native

When Tiwa Savage took to her Instagram Live last week to call on Beyoncé and other global artists who benefit from Nigerian culture to speak up about what has been happening in Nigeria, one thing she said struck a chord. Considering that afropop’s origin is traced back to Fela Kuti, who used his music as the weapon to discuss society’s ills in a way that made it appealing and digestible to everyone, Tiwa explains that beyond feeling duty-bound as a citizen to the country, she can’t call herself an ‘afrobeats artist’ without lending her voice and platform to what’s happening at the moment. Fela did not cower from calling out the government’s iniquities through his music, and it’s insane that listening to a song which was written and recorded nearly 3 decades ago is speaking to the exact reality we’re currently faced with in the same country.

We know the legendary status of Fela’s music, we read about it and see how widely celebrated it is all over the world. However, as the youngest of the millennial generation, I can’t honestly tell you that listening to the actual lyrics ever resonated with me before today. In this climate, revisiting a song like “Sorrow, Tears & Blood” which I’ve heard my whole life, immediately took me to Burna Boy’s “Ye”, which was an anthem #thatyear and captured how any young Nigerian was feeling at the time. I remember listening to “Ye” in the shower every morning, belting out ‘I no wan die, I wan enjoy, I wan buy moto, I still wan turn up’, as I amped myself up to face gridlock traffic on the way to work. I’m sure this is how the youth in 1977 felt about their reality, when the song “Ye” interpolates dropped, and it’s interesting that both songs released so many decades apart managed to capture the respective zeitgeist.

Now, having lived through the most politically tumultuous time I’ve experienced as a conscious adult, both songs have found new meaning. If the past few weeks have shown us anything, it’s that Nigerians can put their blood, sweat and tears into something to achieve a common good, and still get no results. Nigerian societal beliefs and codes are built to bend you into shape, punish anyone who won’t take that shape and the Nigerian government has shown us through their reaction to the protests that they are the enforcers of these beliefs. Young Nigerians took to the streets on the 8th Of October to protest for the police to stop killing innocent citizens unjustly, and instead, the response from the Police Force even more killings with absolutely no one held accountable.

 

Nobody can deny the patriotism young Nigerians felt over the past few weeks. I personally have never felt more proud to be a Nigerian and to play my part within the fight for our people’s emancipation from oppressive governance, however as time passed, Nigeria reminded me why I had never felt that pride before. From the fact that we all knew why the Feminist Coalition had to retract their statement about supporting LGBT rights to the tragic massacre of the peaceful protestors at the Lekki Toll Gate, it was a jarring reminder of the broken system and the fact that it is built intentionally so to benefit certain people.

“Them leave sorrow, tears and blood, them regular trademark/that is why everybody run run run, everybody scatter scatter” Fela sings and we can all agree that perfectly captures the current mood of the country. Lagos, where I live is currently on its second lockdown of the year, and people are being killed in the comfort of their homes, bullets are flying in through kitchen windows and roofs into people’s bedrooms, while others are awakened with the sounds of gunshots. In other places, business owners are having their shops looted and items stolen, cars being burnt, and a general sense of unease throughout the state. Elsewhere in the country, the story is no different, and we are all living in a constant fear of what’s to come. This is all because some audacious youth managed to take the government to task, and demand to not be killed. As Fela’s song continued, I couldn’t help but finally resonate with the lyrics when he says: ‘My people sef dey fear too much, we fear the thing we no see. We fear for the air around us, we fear to fight for freedom, we fear to fight for liberty, we fear to fight for justice/ We always get reason to fear, we no wan wound we no wan quench, we no wan go’.

Before things became this bleak, we all celebrated Davido’s “Fem” becoming the sound of the protests. Following a viral video of protesters at Alausa playing the song when the Lagos State Governor took to the stage to present us with empty platitudes that didn’t reflect what we were demanding from the government, everybody, whether you were at the protest grounds or not, collectively agreed that the song was the sound of the moment. “It be like you don dey do too much, small talk you don dey talk who talk, fem” the song goes, and while Davido might have dropped it a few weeks ago as a diss track, the song’s targeted lyrics manage to capture everything we collectively feel towards the government. It might not speak to the direct reality we’re facing, however, many things he says manage to capture our feelings, such as when he says “I dey live my life, man dey turn am to shoot on sight”. This is the reality we face with the Nigerian Police, and instead of curbing these killings, the police and other security agencies continue to wreak havoc on Nigerian citizens with aid from the powers that be.

We’re telling the government to ‘fem’ with their empty promises and general lack of regard for what has happened, but we should also channel this energy to the people among us who are intentionally being incendiary. It seems as though we have failed to realise that we have one common enemy, and social media has been rife with comments, videos and many more things that incite tribal divisiveness. Anyone who listens to rap music will agree that a lot of the music resonates with the reality black Americans face with their police system. In the heat of the Black Lives Matter protests earlier on in the year, Lil Baby dropped “The Bigger Picture”, and donated all the proceeds from the song to the BLM movement. While the song was directly targeted at the movement, other songs such as Meek Mill’s “What’s Free”, 21 Savage’s “Nothin New”, Kendrick’s “Alright” and many more interrogate the system that enables the hindrance of a black people’s forward motion in society. ‘We all screwed ’cause we never had the tools’, Jay Z raps on “Family Feud”, and it rings the same sentiment as Lil Baby rapping ‘it’s bigger than black and white it’s a problem with the whole way of life’ on the chorus of “Bigger Picture”.  It would do those who are trying to be divisive, and others who are falling for the tricks well to meditate on these lyrics and understand that efforts have been made to create this kind of division between us. We’re better off together, and it will serve us well to realise that it’s bigger than where we’re from, what we identify as, who we’re affiliated to and like Lil Baby said, ‘it’s a problem with the whole way of life’.

Music is a universal language, and the unity it brings for Nigerians is undeniable. Afropop is laden with happy-go-lucky, dance-driven songs, and it takes a critical listening ear to hear any pain when it’s present. Harrysong’s inescapable 2015 hit, “Reggae Blues” comes to mind, where he repeatedly sings “after the Reggae,  play the Blues” on the catchy hook. This line is probably dismissed as a mindless bit of wordplay, however, you could also interpret that he’s saying it’s best to dance and be jolly when “the blues” show up. Since Fela used music as his weapon against bad governance, and to provide his generation with the ammunition of knowledge, there has been an onus placed on Nigerian artists to use their platform for the same. Rapper, Ladipoe tells me: “For me, the real responsibility is in knowing where I stand on any given issue and unapologetically communicating it through whatever I deem fit, despite the fear of repercussions or condemnation” when asked why he feels the need to speak about police brutality in his music. From his debut album, ‘Talk About Poe’ he says on the hook of “Win Win” “I’d rather greet police before I need ambulance”, and any young Nigerian can agree with that sentiment. It takes absolutely nothing to fall victim of police brutality, and it’s usually as easy as greeting them nicely to escape death. In the same way we can relate with Ladipoe’s 2 year old bar, we can relate to Trybesemen when Timi started their 2001 hit “Plenty Plenty Nonsense” rapping ‘Oh I don tire for police dem wahala no dey seize’. The whole verse plays out a hypothetical story of the police who stops them for driving a Benz, and ends up with he and his guy being brushed. While humorous and hypothetical, this is real life in Nigeria and real people have died for this reason.

While the protests started after the unjust killing of a young man in Ughelli, Delta, and mainly called for the Nigerian government to End Sars, the problem became bigger than police brutality and unearthed a wider issue, bad governance. We all know the song “Mr President” by African China, where he’s urging for those in positions of power to do what they are supposed to do for a better Nigeria. ‘Lead us well, no let this nation to fall inside well’, he sings on a 14-year-old song, and today, it feels every bit as though the nation has fallen inside well [sic].  Rapper, D-O tells me “I honestly feel like it’s my duty as a citizen of this country to use my voice as a weapon against the corruption, injustice and poverty”, and the evidence is undeniable in his music. Probably most glaringly with a song like “Chop Elbow”, where he calls out the system, and actually directly speaks about SARS telling them to do as the title says. He continues saying “the first track I ever dropped that I feel was a weapon was “Chop Elbow”, and when I recorded it, Police had been disturbing me for like weeks straight. When I go through things like that I know I have to use my platform to speak about it”. Nigerian rappers, much like Black American rappers have channelled the weight of their systematic oppression into forms of expression that we can all relate to as a society, and we’ve seen the attempts to gaslight us and erase our current reality. More than bops, these songs serve as documentation of our communal mourning, and evidence of the potential that comes to die in Nigeria.

Showdemcamp’s Tec believes that the Nigerian system is not built to benefit Nigerians, and through his music, he wants to ensure that it is made clear. Rap’s most important tenet is the ability of the rapper to reflect their reality, and Tec believes that there is not one thing that works for the betterment of Nigerians, whether it’s medical, educational, or literally anything else that’s supposed to. He says: “In my current mindset, I think systems are here to stifle, and it’s not enough for us to just exist like we’ve been asking for. They want to stifle us and we have to speak on it”. We confirmed as a generation this week, that the Nigerian system is built to break you with no regard for your rights and zero accountability for those who are in positions to enable society’s progress. Regardless, we must remember that they can bend us as far back as they want to, but we must never break the way they would like us to. After this week, it’s easy to be broken by what’s happened, however, we have history to learn from, as this has happened before and they managed to break the last generation who tried. Here we are today, fighting the same fight our parents attempted in 1993, with the music we’re currently listening to saying a lot of the same things the music then did, and more jarringly, what Fela said in 1977.

An older adult once told me that living in England, with no real proximity to the racism their Nigerian friends in America faced, they listened to songs like Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” at parties with no reflection on what he was actually saying, however, watching the death of George Floyd made them realise what the lyrics meant decades later. A wise man once said on a track, ‘where I’m from the police so corrupt, your last name alone get you a bullet in the gut, and if they don’t know you, a bullet in the gut, and if you don’t drop shit, a bullet in the gut’. I want to play a song like that for the future generation as a memento, to show them how far we’ve come in the fight against systems put in place against us. I hope for a Nigeria where unlike I have done with Fela’s music, the next generation can’t relate to music that was made to reflect a time when they didn’t exist.

Featured image credits/Spin

ICYMI: How Tekno is the voice of a broken Nigerian generation

DJ Switch shares her account of the Lekki tollgate massacre

Posted on by The Native

The past week has been a particularly tumultuous one for Nigerians everywhere, especially for those of us who have been invested in the protests against police brutality in the country. On Tuesday evening, a new low was reached when soldiers of the Nigerian army violently attacked peaceful demonstrators at the Lekki-Victoria Island tollgate, killing over a dozen and injuring hundreds more with live bullet ammunition.

Shortly after recorded videos of the vicious attacks began to spread on social media, we were getting real-time updates through an Instagram Livestream by DJ/artist, DJ Switch. Pulling in over 150 thousand viewers from all over the world, we witnessed the extremely hostile environment the army had effected, and even got to watch the tragic passing of a protester from a gunshot wound—the army allegedly kept ambulances from getting to the grounds until over two hours after they attacked.

 

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Somehow, though, this national tragedy has been vehemently denied by the Nigerian federal government, the Lagos state government, the army and several Nigerians, even though the evidence is irrefutable. In the days since the attacks, several survivors have come out to share their accounts of the gory event. Yesterday, in a series of videos, DJ Switch shared parts of her experience with the public, giving us a first-hand perspective of what happened.

In the videos, she recounts how submissive the demonstrators were, assuming that being non-threatening with waved flags and singing the national anthem would quell the soldiers. She recalls one of the protesters acting as a human shield for her, and the hunt for shell casings by those alive, since the army was bent on erasing evidence of their presence, by picking up the shells from the bullets aimed at protests. She also remembers spotting fifteen casualties, noting that the number of deaths will probably remain unconfirmed since the soldiers took away the corpses.

While it clears up some of the news that has been spreading around, including the unconfirmed count of 78 deaths and the untruth of her cousin passing away in the tragic attacks, DJ Switch’s account remains consistent with the fact that the army attacked peaceful protesters, and she even goes on to display some of the shell casings she picked up. In fact, her account and approach tallies with one of the survivors who was interviewed by BBC, a day before. The survivor, identified as Akin, recounts the predatory nature of the attacks, while also displaying shell casings recovered during the massacre.

In a bid to sweep this tragic event under the rug, the government and army have adopted a dual strategy of denial and silence, as evidenced by press appearances of these parties in the days since. Apart from the fact that the whole world watched it happen, the seams of this approach might just be wearing off with each day. On Thursday, an alleged phone call between the Lagos state governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and a foreign envoy surfaced on social media, and it finds the governor admitting that soldiers were indeed present and were the attackers, a fact he’s yet to publicly and officially admit.

On the same day, the Vice President of the country, Professor Yemi Osibanjo, received a visit from officials of the U.S. state department, who later put out a statement saying that their meeting with the VP was to ensure thorough investigation of the instigators of the Lekki tollgate massacre. Until now, the government and army still hasn’t officially acknowledged this grave crime against humanity on its own soil, but young Nigerians are determined to ensure that the truth is well documented and doesn’t get covered up by lies.

Thank you, DJ Switch and Akin, for sharing your stories. Rest in peace to all those that died at the hands of the Nigerian military, may their memory never be diminished or forgotten.

Dennis is a staff writer at the NATIVE. Please share any useful resources for the #EndSARS protests with me @dennisadepeter

ICYMI: WE WILL NEVER FORGET WHAT REALLY HAPPENED AT THE LEKKI TOLL GATE

The Congolese call for an end to genocide over natural resource, cobalt

Posted on by The Native

Despite decades of emancipation from colonialism, and Africa’s wealth of natural resources it feels like we’re still catching up with the rest of the world. While unrest ensues all over the continent from Namibia to Nigeria, The Congo is also experiencing some tough times. About 60% of the world’s cobalt, the metal used for making batteries for smartphone and other electronic devices, is found in the Democratic Republic of Congo, however, unfortunately, the revenue and benefits from the sales of these resources aren’t spreading to the average citizens. According to the world bank, in 2018, 72% of the population, especially in the North West and Kasaï regions, was living on less than $1.90 a day.

Much like we’ve seen with #EndSars and #ShutItAllDown, since last Thursday, people from Congo have taken to social media to use the hashtag, #CongoIsBleeding to raise awareness on the genocide happening in their nation. The hashtag seeks to highlight the child slavery, deadly conflicts and corruption spawned by the quest to feed megacompanies with minerals to the benefit of some an detriment of most.

The Democratic Republic of Congo has been in conflict for decades, and between 2016 and 2018, 4.5 million people were displaced by the conflict between the military and fragments of ethnic militias, fighting for dominance. Amidst all of this, the country has the world’s most prolific cobalt mines, and they produce about half of the cobalt used all over the world. It’s very possible that the device you’re reading this post in was formed by the mines in Congo, and the lucrative nature of cobalt mining means that all efforts to ensure production should match the effort put in by demand.

The east of the DRC, where the mines are located, is home to nearly 40,000 child labourers digging for the minerals that would eventually be utilized by giant corporations. The people of Kawama have grumbled that too much of their land has been sold to mining firms who restrict the people from digging freely. The sites where the people are still allowed to dig have concessions that miners have to sell to them at a rate of $7 for a day’s work.

However, the value of cobalt has plummeted since the pandemic took off. It now costs barely a third as much as it did at its peak. Big companies like Telsa are trying to stop using cobalt in order to avoid ruining their reputation by patronising Congolese miners. This is because child labor is often employed at different mines, where tunnels sometimes collapse and kill the unskilled workers.

In addition, the people of Congo believe that the state-owned mines only serve to enrich corrupt politicians. Though the owners of the big mining firms make fortunes, the actual miners live in poverty or worse, get arrested for mining illegally. With the little media coverage for these people losing their very basic human rights, some have referred to it as a silent holocaust.

Social media continues to serve as an important tool for raising awareness of the injustice happening across the world. The Congo crisis came to light on Twitter just a few days after Nigerians reignited the #EndSARS movement on Twitter to protest police brutality in Nigeria. In both cases, the problem has its root in the general lack of transparency and corruption from the nation’s leaders. The people have stopped being so passive about being oppressed and are using their voices to appeal for justice.

Though these issues of bad leadership, genocide, violence against women and children, rape and police brutality are far from new in Africa, there’s a sense that a revolution is at hand and it’s being televised on social media.

 

Featured Image Credits: Twitter

We will never forget what really happened at the Lekki toll gate

Posted on by The Native

On the evening of October 20, 2020, soldiers from the Nigerian army prevailed upon peaceful protesters at Lekki-Victoria Island tollgate in Lagos, shooting at these unarmed civilians from shoulder level and at point-blank range. Contrary to what the Lagos state government and Nigerian army have maintained, the atrocious facts of this heart-breaking incident are irrefutable, with eyewitness accounts and videos disseminated via social media acting as strong evidence.

The Lekki tollgate massacre has been, perhaps, the lowest and most harrowing form of targeted violence to beset Nigerians who have simply dared to take to the streets in protest against the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), and police brutality in general. Prior to Tuesday evening, there had been multiple nationwide reports of harassment and physical assaults on campaigners by the police and alleged state-sponsored vandals, which according to Amnesty International, has culminated in at least ten deaths and serious injuries to many more. The arrival and subsequent shooting by the Nigerian army, which reportedly led to the deaths of over a dozen people and wounding over many more hits different – not just for the brazenness and heartlessness on full display, but also because of the preceding activities.

Just after midnight on that day, former Lagos State governor and National Leader of the APC, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, took to Twitter to acknowledge the agitations of concerned Nigerians, putting out a public address for the very first time since the ongoing wave of #EndSARS protests began. In the 24-tweet thread, he validated the concerns that triggered the movement against police brutality, before appealing to the Nigerian youth to call off protests, asking them to give the federal government time to begin implementing the #5for5 demands they have publicly claimed to accept.

It was a familiar appeal young Nigerians have been hearing for days from prominent political figures after sustaining the protests for the whole of the previous week. The response from the youth was a firm “NO”, as it had been with similar requests, and the reason was simple: the government and the police have paid lip service to abolishing SARS and reforming Nigeria’s policing system many times. It was made crystal clear that for protests to end, tangible signs that they would be taking the demand to #EndSARS seriously this time around were needed.

In this particular case, though, the rebuff was a little louder due to the subtle threats dressed as an appeal to protesters in the thread. In addition, Bola Tinubu’s alleged status as Kingmaker and one of the economic powerhouses within the state led many to believe that the motive behind his address was largely financial. The Lekki Concession Company, which is in charge of the blocked toll gate due to the sit-in protests has been reported to have lost about N234 million all through last week. It is widely rumoured that Tinubu is still involved in the company’s affairs.

Due to the intensity and decentralised nature of the protests, traffic in Lagos became worse over the course of continued demonstrations, leading to increased difficulty in mobility and carrying out business. With its importance as the economic capital of the country, several appeals for the suspension of protests by top government officials harped on the need for commerce in the city to go back to normal, with the sinister warning that these peaceful protests might very well descend into chaos. And they did, following some alleged orchestration by the government.

By late last week, there were already reports of sponsored thugs terrorising and physically harming campaigners and destroying their property. Depending on who you ask, peaceful protests suddenly descending into chaos is believed to be a ploy by the government to create motive for executive decision that would prohibit the protests altogether. On Monday, the Edo state governor Godwin Obaseki announced a state-wide curfew, after several inmates allegedly escaped from a high-security prison with the help of these mischief-makers disguising as protesters —a claim that has come under intense scrutiny on social media.

On Tuesday, Lagos State Governor, Sanwo-Olu took the same route, announcing, via Twitter, an indefinite 24-hour curfew that would begin at 4 pm on that day. This was after a police station in the Orile area of the state was burnt by an angry mob, and several of the buses at the Oyingbo BRT bus station were set on fire. The announcement was made via the Governor’s Twitter account just before noon, giving citizens all of four hours to move from wherever they were to their respective homes. Immediately it was announced, criticism started to pour in, such as the initial medium of dissemination being via Twitter as opposed to a broadcast on television or radio; the relatively short period of time to commute on an especially traffic-congested day. In addition to these concerns, it was also believed that the curfew would be giving leeway to the Police and other security agents to brutalise people, which is exactly what we were protesting in the first place.

Even with the announcement of the curfew, several Nigerians were determined to continue protesting, notably at central demonstrating locations in the city – Alausa and the Lekki-Victoria Island tollgate. For those who were at the latter location, the idea was to continue the sit-in, translating their stationary presence as a non-violation of the curfew. Towards the deadline, there were genuine fears that these campaigners were in grave danger, and it began at around 3:30 pm, when images of LCC equipment staff disconnecting cameras at the tollgate began to spread on social media. This development was especially foreboding, with many fearing that a cover-up was well underway even before any violence.

Soon after 4 pm, many protesters remained at the tollgate, with videos of them chanting the national anthem and waving the Nigerian flag, going around social media. About three hours later, those boisterous chants were disrupted by gunfire from soldiers of the Nigerian army, which was captured from multiple angles by onlookers and brave, scampering protesters. These videos were immediately shared to social media, which raised considerable alarm. Notably, the lights from the billboards at the tollbooths had also gone out, something that had never happened at the site before then, which led many to believe that this was a pre-planned attack on unarmed Nigerian citizens.

To put it simply, it was a massacre.

In one of the heart-wrenching videos that went around, protesters were singing the national anthem while being intentionally attacked by bullets, and you can even hear the raw fear in the voice of a person close to the recording device. Days before, there were rumours going around that soldiers would not attack anyone holding the Nigerian flag and singing the national anthem, and from the looks of things, that isn’t true. Maybe they were just dead set on bringing carnage regardless.

All the short-length video evidence culminated in a virtual gathering on the Instagram Live of DJ/artist, DJ Switch, who showed what was happening at the tollgate in real-time. During the live stream, well over a hundred thousand viewers from all over the world witnessed some of the cruelties DJ Switch and the other protesters were subject to, especially as they were trapped on both sides by the soldiers after the first wave of shootings. This allegedly led to ambulances being blocked from entering the grounds in order to treat those who had been injured, and it meant that protesters were left to their own devices, while under the danger of another attack. In what was perhaps the most harrowing moment of the live stream, thousands watched one of the protesters die from a gunshot wound, an ending that could very likely have been avoided if professional medical help was allowed through.

Amidst all of this, the official Twitter handle of the Lagos state government announced that the curfew had been extended till 9pm for traffic-related reasons, meaning that those shot at the Lekki-Victoria Island tollgate were not even remotely violating any orders by being there at the time of the shooting. That announcement made an already gut-wrenching night even worse. None of this should have happened.

Throughout that night, people living miles around the tollgate, especially Lekki Phase One, reported intermittent gunshots which kept them awake. Thousands more kept vigil, loudly pondering the level of atrociousness we virtually witnessed, while uneasily waiting to hear or read an official statement from the state government or the army. By 4 am the next morning, nearly nine hours after reports of the violent attacks began to surface, Governor Sanwo-Olu delivered a statement via a Twitter thread, which we can all agree meant very little.

In bemoaning the attacks, he identifies the instigators as “forces beyond our direct control”, sharing photos of his visit to injured victims who eventually made it to hospitals, while failing to mention anything about those who lost their lives. Hours later, he made matters even more confounding with his live broadcast statement, going on national television to claim that no lives were lost to the shooting, implying that the video evidence we all saw and live-streamed were completely false. He also decided not to implicate the Nigerian Army, keeping them away from his speech altogether.

If Sanwo-Olu’s approach was perplexing, the Nigerian army’s was downright maddening. Initially forgoing the need for words, the army simply grabbed every news headline clipping they could find, branded it “Fake News” and shared it on their social media accounts. According to the army’s own version of events, no soldier belonging to the military was present or involved in the bloodbath we all witnessed. Rather than feign ignorance or even attempt to muddle the truth, their denial has been outright and seem unbothered, even when the FACTS are to the contrary.

In a press conference around mid-day on Thursday, the army finally broke its silence through Defence Spokesman, Major General John Eneche. Not only did they double down on their narrative of non-involvement, the Major General determined all video footage to be lies aimed at denigrating the Nigerian military, claiming they had all been doctored, and even though he didn’t specifically mention it, DJ Switch’s live stream that thousands watched in real-time seems to be among the alleged falsehood. These boldface claims align with reports that the army had also committed to clearing evidence, by collecting the bodies of those who were killed during the massacre.

It’s known that one of the negative effects of social media is the relative ease of misinformation, a tool used for the spread of propaganda all around the world, and the army is using this downside to scoff at our collective witnessing. Just over an hour before the Nigerian army’s press conference, Sanwo-Olu was on Arise TV to field questions about the Lekki tollgate massacres, and in the hour-long interview, he declined to implicate the perpetrators of this heinous act, basically confirming our suspicions that the government was colluding with the army to cover up something that ideally cannot, and should not, be covered up.

As aggravating as it is, it tallies with the Nigerian government’s attitude towards honesty: they obviously don’t consider it to be the best policy, and much of the local, traditional press hasn’t helped either. For the near fortnight of nationwide protests, a significant portion of the Nigerian has bungled coverage of what has been happening, from totally ignoring the protests to muddling facts, especially when it comes to acts of violence against peaceful protesters. With the exception of digital and satellite news channel, Arise TV, who have tried their very best to be transparent, many other TV stations, especially terrestrial, and newspaper publications have been found wanting, with headlines and stories ostensibly aimed at diluting the #EndSARS movement.

It speaks to the weakening of the press’ freedom in Nigeria, something that shouldn’t be a topic of contention in a democratic society. In the first week of agitations against SARS, rumours spread that radio presenters weren’t allowed to talk about the protests, since radio stations were alleged at risk of incurring fines from the National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC), the regulatory body for media content. This was more or less confirmed on that unfortunate Tuesday evening, as NBC put out a statement while Nigerians were still dealing with the horror and shock of unarmed civilians being killed. The statement was a guideline for covering the “crisis”, and it can simply be summed up as a warning for members of the terrestrial press to desist from any reporting that could be deemed as embarrassing the government.

In a society that adheres to the tenets of democracy, the press doesn’t only document stories, we are here to serve as a vanguard for the truth. On the night of the Lekki Toll Gate massacre, most of the press stood up to the occasion by reporting what was actually going on, but at that point, social media had already become the only trustworthy medium for what was happening in real-time. If an important section of the media refused and was being prohibited from effectively doing their job, Nigerian citizens were taking it upon themselves to document events, even while actively trying to stay alive.

During all this melee, international support for the #EndSARS movement poured in, alongside global condemnation of the brutal killings of unarmed peaceful protesters. There were also widespread calls for the president of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, to address these senseless killings and the overall agitation. On Thursday evening at 7pm, about 48-hours later, the president finally broke a 9-day radio silence with a pre-recorded broadcast, where he read a statement that lasted all of ten minutes.

In his statement, General Buhari, a former military dictator in the ‘80s, glaringly did not acknowledge the Lekki tollgate massacre. His speech can be considered to be a regurgitation of Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Twitter thread, albeit with far more conspicuous threats against those who would dare continue to protest. “The promptness with which we have acted seemed to have been misconstrued as a sign of weakness and twisted by some for their selfish, unpatriotic interests”, he says at one point during the all too disturbing speech, claiming that the demands of the protests has been fully accepted by the government—even though the Nigerian youth populace is unconvinced about the implementation, and rightly so.

The omission of the killings that happened at the Lekki and Alausa that night is clearly not accidental, especially as he acknowledged the few police officers who died in the line of duty while terrorising citizens who were peacefully asking not to be subjected to their abuse of power. I remember my mum used to tell me that you needed more lies to cover up an initial lie, however, it seems like this government administration are hell-bent on covering up their lie with silence. Momentous times like this one adjusts the perspective of history and the fact that the telling of many stories are controlled by those who were in power and reinvented by those who didn’t live through it.

During my endless scroll on Twitter, a platform that has helped bring a sense of community during these past days, I found a comment from someone who wondered if, decades from now, Tuesday night’s event will be deemed as a riot, provided they’re not altogether erased. It brought to mind the Aba Women’s riot of 1929, which, in reality, was an uprising against unfair taxation by the colonial government at the time. A lot of the time, history has been revised by to alienate what really happened to victims of its time. After all, Napoleon Bonaparte did say that “history is a set of lies that people have agreed upon”.

This time around, though, the people haven’t agreed on the set of lies being peddled by those in power. In fact, it’s this disagreement and vehement dedication to the truth that will ensure that what really happened on the night of October 20, 2020 doesn’t get revised or totally erased. I feel sorry for the previous generations who have had to endure this fate, but we now have the Internet and technology, an eternal tool that will help in documenting one of the gravest crimes against humanity we have witnessed as a generation.

Collation and diverse digital storage of evidence is already happening, and as the days go by, extensive research into the minute details of that unholy night will only come to the light. Thursday evening’s speech by the Nigerian president has caused jitters to creep into the mind and hearts of Nigerians dedicated to seeing an end to police brutality, and it’s anyone’s guess how the next few weeks of this struggle pans out, but the one thing I can say with a level of certainty is that we will not let the truth of the Lekki tollgate massacre go away. We all saw it and we will ensure future generations see it, too.

Dennis is a staff writer at the NATIVE. Please share any useful resources for the #EndSARS protests with me @dennisadepeter

ICYMI: THE FIGHT TO #ENDSARS IS REALLY A FIGHT TO FIX THE NIGERIAN SYSTEM

ICYMI: Here are the takeaways from Buhari’s address to the nation

Posted on by The Native

For the past 12 days, young Nigerians have been out protesting the extrajudicial killings by a unit of the Nigerian Police Force, SARS much to the dismay of the Nigerian Government, who have yet to acknowledge the demands of the Nigeian youth who have made exactly what they want very clear.

Each day, those who are protesting have been faced with some kind of adversity or the other, from brutality from the Nigerian Police and Army Force, to state-imposed curfews which have brought these demonstrations to a complete halt. In all of this, we have heard from the Inspector General of the Police, several state governors and the Vice President, however, President Buhari has only addressed the nation once in the midst of all this chaos, even following the death of many innocent Nigerian lives at the hands of the people who are meant to protect them.

Things have gone awry, and violence has ensued all over the country by armed men who were allegedly empowered by the government to disrupt the peaceful demonstrations that had been going well for over 10 days before they emerged. Following this, Lagos, Edo, Plateu, Ekiti and Delta states have been placed on a curfew, as the state governments announced a State Of Emergency in their respective constituents. As a result, the issue has escalated and many people were calling for the attention of the President who has been considerably quiet this entire time.

Finally tonight, at 7pm, he addressed the nation about the past few days of protests. Here are the 5 key points we took away from the protests.

They’ve given us money, so we should be grateful

Now I can’t tell you I remember anything about Buhari’s policy when he ran for President, but apparently, one of them was a robust plan to sustain MSMES with a robust plan. The Federal Government recently approved a 2.3 trillion Naira budget to sustain the economy during the pandemic, in the face of the imposed disruptions the lockdown caused for SMEs. The president in his address basically reminded us that they were doing a nice thing for the people, so essentially, what I took away from that was that we shouldn’t really be taking them to task about the fact that innocent citizens are dying en masse by the people who are put in these positions to protect us.

They believe they have done what we want

Buhari maintains that we have been listened to, and our demands have been evaluated by scrapping SARS, but still keeping these officials who profile, murder, extort and harrass innocent citizens by changing the initials of their unit from SARS to SWAT. He said that measures are being put in place to address our other demands, however, for as long as we’ve been protesting, the very thing (police brutality and senseless killings) we have asked to discontinue has continued, and lives are still being lost.

Protests should be called off

Not much to dissect here. Bubu said we should all go about our business and stop causing a raucous on the streets.

That Social Media Bill is dangerously close to being passed

Since Tuesday, the powers that be have made particular efforts to make us and the rest of the world believe something that is not true. The Governor of Lagos state maintains that no lives were lost during the Lekki Massacre, however, we all saw through live footage of the incident that people had been shot and killed. Eyewitnesses gave accounts of the events which unfolded and how they did, however, we are being told that these videos have been ‘cropped’ and edited to spread a false narrative.

In Buhari’s address, he doubles down on this notion that there is false information being spread via social media, and this means to me that our access is going to be curbed. We all know and understand the power of social media, especially in the past fortnight and given that they have been clamouring for this for a while, this seems like a prime opportunity for them to double down. Here’s everything you need to know:

No word about the massacre at Lekki, Alausa and other parts of the country

While Buhari did mention that he is saddened by the loss of innocent lives, there was no mention or acknowledgement about the allegations about the military’s hand in these killings. News over the past few days has maintained that the army were not present at the Lekki Toll and in Alausa, therefore the President not acknowledging this incident explicitly suggests that this is the stance he is also taking. Given that this is such a pivotal arc in the narrative of these protests, it’s a bit deep that he did not.

You can watch the full thing right here:

Here’s how you can help the family of late tech designer, Oke Obi-Enadhuze

Posted on by The Native

Nigerians are dying en masse, and it appears that this is the doing of the very people whose job it is to ensure it doesn’t happen in the first place. For the past week, peaceful protestors against SARS and the extrajudicial killings of innocent Nigerians have been under the threat of attack from either policemen or allegedly sponsored thugs, and it all came to a dark peak this Tuesday, when the Nigerian military opened fire on peaceful protestors following a state imposed curfew in Lagos. This led to the death of over 12 lives, as reported by Amnesty International leaving several others injured and in critical condition.

Social media has provided close proximity to the pain of others, regardless of how near or far away we are,  as we’ve watched people lose their lives in real-time over Instagram Live and recorded videos shared on social media. One of such victims is young tech designer Oke Obi-Enadhuze who died yesterday at Mafoluku, Oshodi.

The whole state has been in civil unrest for the past two days, with several accounts of killings, lootings and robberies rife. The city has been on lockdown since, while it becomes more and more unsafe to merely be alive. Reports of bullets flying through civilians roofs in the comfort of their own homes has become commonplace, and it has come to a point where people’s homes are being invaded and even more innocent people are being killed.

Oke is one of such people, who was abiding to the rules of the Lagos State government as they allegedly restore the city to order, yet, his life was still taken in his own home. According to a Twitter thread by Oke’s brother, Oke died by injuries sustained from a knife attack in his Oshodi home, as he was trying to hold off men ransacking the property.

Though there was initially speculation about the perpetrators of the attack, Oke’s girlfriend Derin, who has very publicly expressed her pain at the loss of her significant other, corroborated his brother’s story.

Read the account here:

“The police station at Makinde [Oshodi] was attacked by thugs who wanted to destroy the station, I and my mom and brother were holed up in our house, The attack went on for hours before the thugs eventually breached the police and proceeded to set the station on fire, after accomplishing this they set their sights to the barracks and began the assault, they proceeded to destroy every car in the barracks, my mom’s 2 cars where destroyed and set on fire and then they infiltrated our house by breaking the door. they then proceeded to ransack the house and carted away with everything we own, my brother on trying to get them to take everything but spare us was pushed to my mom’s room and stabbed on the neck, the attacker then proceeded to attack me but missed my neck…We were finally able to put him in a wheelbarrow and took him to a hospital where he was rejected because “he was already dead” unfazed we moved him to another hospital where he met the same treatment this was where he bled his last drops of blood and died, his body has now been moved to a morgue…”

The family is now crowdfunding for resources to help them rebuild their lives after losing everything in the attack. You can donate to the Obi-Enadhuze family here.

Featured image credits/Derinmama

Tweet Me Your Experiences On Protest Grounds Around The Country @tamimak_

ICYMI: Nigerian artist, King Mimz shares an account of her time in police custody

For Us By Us: This is what the Feminist Coalition’s role in our society is

Posted on by The Native

Throughout the #ENDSARS protests, the NATIVE will be collecting stories and opinions of Nigerians from all walks of life, from all over the world with the aim to connect our wider community at this trying time. With our new series, ‘For Us By Us’, we will be hearing directly from each other, speaking about the different issues we are all facing and tackling together, in the aim for a better future for ourselves and the next generation.

Founded in July 2020, Feminist Coalition is a group of young Nigerian feminists dedicated to intersectional activism for women’s rights in Nigeria. As organisation around the #EndSARS protests grew all across the country, Feminist Coalition patriotically offered up their platform as a resource base for Nigerian protesters in every state, fundraising and transparently distributing donations for medical bills, food and drink, security at protest grounds, legal aid and much more.

Becoming one of the lifelines of the movement, the Feminist Coalition have received several threats over the past couple of weeks, in the hopes that by dismantling their influence, the #EndSARS movement as a whole will be silenced. Today, with Twitter rife with rumours of plans to make scapegoats out of Feminist Coalition members for being an activist group at the forefront of Nigeria’s current civil rights fight, the girls address all supporters through an open letter shared with NATIVE.

Read below:

We are scared young Nigerian women who were never a threat. We just wanted to contribute towards Nigerians exercising their constitutional rights safely, by providing food, water, masks (for COVID 19), paying medical bills and supporting legal aid for arrested protesters etc.

We do not plan protests, we simply donate to the needs of peaceful protest organisers so that they are safe. We have made it clear in our statements via our website and our social:

Over the course of the past week, we’ve had restrictions placed on our bank accounts and many people who have donated to us or received donations from us have also alleged and complained of restrictions placed on their accounts by certain banks. This is what forced us to move to decentralised payment platforms and only accept donations in Bitcoin using BTC Pay. Please see more details here:

There have also been threats to the safety of coalition members, FK Abudu, other Nigerian civilians as well as general concerns for the safety of peaceful protesters. These threats have been due to misinformation and defamation of who we are and what we stand for by bad actors.

We received donations towards the #EndSARS movement from well-meaning Nigerians and supporters of the movements both here and internationally. People have donated because they are all passionate about building a better Nigeria. All we asked for was an end to the killing of Nigerians at the hands of the police and that the government take real action and hear our cry as people of Nigeria.

Here is our statement on the killing of peaceful protesters in Lagos Nigeria on Oct 20, 2020:

Featured Image Credits: Feminist Coalition

Here’s what happened at Ikoyi Prison earlier today

Posted on by The Native

Following the curfew declared by the State Government, Lagos state has been under chaos for the past two days. When a number of armed military men descended on locations from Lekki to Alausa on October 20th, several young Nigerians lost their lives and social media was awash with graphic images of dead bodies and an aftermath of the brutal shootings.

Since then, blood has filled our streets as the violence continues, in addition to several lootings and robberies all over the state.  While the whole city remains in unrest, more reports of shooting and unrest across different zones in Lagos including  Yaba, Ikorodu, Ketu, Surulere, Mushin, Ajah, Oyingbo, and Isale Eko.  The unrest has still not quelled, and each day brings with it another new development, and today, Ikoyi Prison has allegedly been set on fire by prisoners in a bid to escape.

If this was to be the case, this would be the second account of a jailbreak in the country following the situation in Benin earlier this week. Footage from the scene shows a small fire brewing as inmates and officers evacuate the building and converge in the prison’s courtyard for safety. More footage also shows army officers sectioned around the vicinity guarding its perimeters to catch anyone who was attempting to get away.

With the heavy security personnel at the prison, it’s unlikely that any inmates were able to break free. Residents of the area told The NATIVE that they heard the sounds of gunshots around 9 am, and they became more intense at about midday. According to another set of people who live nearby, the sounds of gunshots have ceased, and the visible thick smoke has calmed down.

This is a developing story and we are currently monitoring the situation closely. Please check back here for updates throughout the day.

Featured image credits/Guardian

Tweet me any leads on the #EndSARS Protests @tamimak_

ICYMI: The fight to #EndSARS is really a fight to fix the Nigerian system

Police brutality continues throughout Lagos, following attack from the military

Posted on by The Native

The #EndSARS movement has escalated into mayhem, thanks to the powers that be who are ensuring that we . What started as a peaceful demand from civilians to end police brutality, has now resulted in the senseless killings of innocent Nigerian citizens en masse, as last night, we watched as the Nigerian military opened fire at peaceful protesters all over Lagos State.

As though that wasn’t enough trouble, this morning, the police continued to wreak havoc by shooting at unarmed protesters at Adekunle bus stop, Yaba, at Oyingbo, at Ajah as well as in Isale Eko, where 4 people have been pronounced dead from this morning’s attack.

People have shared videos and images of uniformed police officers firing bullets and tear gas at civilians across social media to warn others of the violence on the streets. There is also footage of burning tires, buses and roads filled with smoke as the city continues to look more like a war zone.

The protests in Lagos were largely peaceful until thugs and hoodlums hijacked the movement and began to attack protesters. This prompted the Lagos State Government to impose a 24-hour curfew which started at 4 pm yesterday. However, reports of the death toll have multiplied since the curfew was imposed less than 24 hours ago. We urge that protesters stay safe by taking up the movement on social media until the curfew is lifted and it’s safe to go out again

.

Featured Image Credits: Twitter/i_ayanfee

Tweet Me Any Leads On The #SARSMustEnd Protests @debola_abimbolu

ICYMI: The fight to #EndSARS is really a fight against the system

The fight to #EndSARS is really a fight to fix the Nigerian system

Posted on by Tami Makinde

Yesterday was a dark and traumatic day for Nigerians. Following the state-imposed curfew in Lagos state, young Nigerians at the Lekki toll gate decided to make a bold statement, and continue to peacefully protest. Unfortunately, they were met with attacks from the Nigerian Army, who opened fire to disperse the crowd, leading to several getting shot and undisclosed amounts killed. This is all because young Nigerians have been asking the Nigerian Police Force to stop killing innocent Nigerians, for no just cause.

The timeline of the ongoing fight against the havoc the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) has wreaked on every day Nigerians has been a tumultuous one to trace. Dating back to 2017, Nigerians have been contesting the existence of the rogue unit which has extorted, attacked, and killed many of the country’s young citizens quietly. Today, young Nigerians decided to take charge of this problem, after several promises from the government to disband the unit came to no fruition. Things began to look up a few weeks ago when we took their incessant cries online to popular streets in Nigeria demanding to have nothing less than the complete dissolution of SARS, until yesterday when things took a dark and traumatic turn.

The protests which have sprouted up in over 25 states across the country were sustained well over a week, despite continued efforts posed every day to derail the peaceful demonstrations. Over the course of 12 days, young Nigerians have poured their anger against the system of oppression which has been notorious for their unsupportive outlooks to modern youth culture in the past. These peaceful gatherings which were mostly a melting pot for citizens from all walks of life, backgrounds, religious beliefs, and sexualities– would be a gold mine for any SARS personnel hungry to carry out their usual modus operandi to profile young people as criminals because of their dressing and hairstyle choices. The way young Nigerians banded together with a common goal dispels everything we were told about ourselves by the powers that be, and efforts were definitely made to ensure that we don’t realise or much worse, use our collective power.

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The attitude these SARS operatives, and policemen in general exhibit are emblematic of a societal system that created, upholds, and enables the system of rot we are fighting against today. Nigeria has always been a very conservative and puritanic society, especially throughout the lifetimes of many of the young adults protesting today. Traditional and religious beliefs are deeply interwoven in our moral fabric and we are socialised to take what we get without questioning authority on any level. Young adults grew up being told what to do, say, and what to think, and anything that dared to stray from the beliefs set down by parents, the church, and schools was met with some form of punishment. Even things that are out of a person’s control, for example, being sinistral.

Punishment was largely corporal. You disobeyed instructions and you got a smack from your parents or guardians and in some cases, brutal beatings involving dangerous nearby objects. You failed a test and you were beaten by those in charge of guiding your reasoning and mental advancement. You ‘sinned’ and fear became a tool by churches to make sure the masses remained docile and unable to fight for themselves because they would be judged by an omniscient higher authority. The Nigerian psyche has been primed to manage, adapt, suffer and expect the worst from everyone, ranging from our family who are the people closest to us to our political leaders and others with any sort of state-given power. This is why years and years of having to adapt to sporadic government policies without seeing tangible results have bred an inevitable feeling of distrust between the government and the people they rule and serve. So it follows that law enforcement agencies do not exist to serve citizens but to protect personal interests without much regard for human life. All we have been asking for, these past few days is to not be killed, and what we have got in response is more people being killed.

This is a direct consequence of colonialism, which left the Nigerian people unsure of who they are, adopting another country’s cultures and beliefs, whilst theirs were being demonised. Today, Christians will tell you those who practice traditional worship are diabolical when that used to be the order of the day for our ancestors. We are told to dress modestly in a way that doesn’t attract attention, but modesty in clothing from what we know today about fashion had more to do with the trends of the time, than anything about actually being modest. Nigeria seems to be stuck in a time capsule, and from the systems in operation to our culture, we haven’t moved forward or advanced since our independence over 60 years ago. What the ongoing fight against SARS shows is that the rot doesn’t start and end with the unlawful operations of a rogue unit alone, but actually begins at every level of the Nigerian society which enables and rewards abuse of power and disproportionate use of force.

 

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#endsars #endswat #endsarsbrutality #endpolicebrutality

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SARS and the entire Nigerian Police Force at large are birthed on the belief system that young people do (and should) not have autonomy over their lives and what they choose. Given that the way in which authority is flouted and abused, and the way that we generally treat each other is widely atrocious, proximity to callous abuses of power is nothing new to many Nigerians. From home, we’re constantly told of the value of physical correction methods, and very often, you’ll often hear phrases like ‘spare the rod and spoil the child’ in conversations surrounding discipline and correction. Outside familial disciplinary methods, the average Nigerian on the street lauds power over others who they come across in their daily routine. From security guards at popular housing estates to NYSC officials, and even to the police themselves, everyone with some power will do as much as they can to exercise it over the next person. Run-ins with the police typically involve the use of force, and many people have reported being slapped and attacked with police weapons if the police ever felt like they had been disrespected by a younger person or someone who they believe that they have power over. On top of it, they have no accountability, and usually get away with any level of violence, and this is what has led to the years of strife. To the police, they are well within their rights to act without consequence seeing as they have done so for years, therefore, they cannot believe the audacity of some ‘children’ to demand better treatment.

Seeing how the Nigerian Government reminded us very clearly what they are really about yesterday, and even at the moment as the Police are still wreaking havoc all over the streets, it is not surprising to see why so many older Nigerian adults think and behave the way they do. Many of the earlier generations of boomers and millennials grew up in a society that enabled oppression, and largely infantalised people who are of legal voting age. A number of Nigerians in these generations were also raised on heavy religious ideals, turning them into moralistic cheerleaders who would rather sit back and pray than tackle issues of injustice head-on. Religion birthed concepts like purity culture where women were chastised for wearing certain clothes and were constantly told to be modest and subservient to their male counterparts. Men were socialised differently to take and demand anything they wanted, reinforcing a harmful power divide in many older Nigerians. Outside religion, traditional culture helped propagate these ideals further, for instance, Yoruba culture heavily demands respect to anyone who is older than you, even by minutes.

This culture of upholding respect for any older person is evident in the responses that we see today from many government officials and many of the older generation. In the past few days, government officials have responded online to protesters’ demands for police reform by calling on the parents of these ‘wards’ rather than recognising them as adults of legal age who have a right to vote and be voted for in this country. The infantilisation of Nigerian is a typical response from the older generation used to trivialise and demean our contributions to society by reinforcing gerontocratic ideals. That’s exactly why those in power — including the police — can’t believe the audacity of young Nigerians who are daring demand for better than they are currently receiving in society. This is the effect of a system and society that does not value young people and sees them as inferior and collateral damage, only because they are older.

Years and years of socialisation of this kind led to the profiling that we see today, young people have become the susceptible target for police harassment and aggression. This is where Nigeria is stuck in a time capsule comes in. We belong in a digital age, where most interactions happen via the internet and through technology. Most young people everywhere in the world have advanced gadgets to keep up with the times, yet in Nigeria, some people have been labelled as criminals for doing what young people all over the world do.

As a result of this digital age, white-collar jobs are not the only means to make money anymore, as has been the case in the country for decades. There are job opportunities in many different walks of life, and people who are not required to present themselves as the corporate world demands also get into trouble for freely expressing themselves. Men who decided to grow out their hair, women who wear the kinds of clothes they want to, are looked at with raised eyebrows, and much worse, sometimes killed, raped, extorted for just existing.

The actions of social activist, Segun Awosanya commonly known as Segalink who has been sowing seeds of discord to the wider public against the efforts of the Feminist Coalition who have been monumental support to the ongoing EndSARS protests. Over the weekend, The Feminist Coalition tweeted that they support the LGBTQ protestors, which is a stance you would expect any progressive and radical group to take to protect the interests of marginalised groups in society. Unfortunately, being from a stifling and moralistic country like Nigeria, there was no room for this progressiveness, as they were met with backlash for taking such a leftist stance, which is ironic during a fight for liberation. Nigerians have consistently failed to understand the intersection of the queer community and violence from the police, where they are targetted for being ‘perceived queer’.

Sunday set a dark cloud on the movement and showed that the country is not ready for progressive change yet, opting to leave LGBTQ+ issues in the darkness because the law does not protect them and criminalises their existence. While people like Segalink used this as a means to demonise the movement which no longer idolised him, others used this as an opportunity to show their queerphobia and push these very real issues queer folk face to the side. What people fail to realise is that we can’t talk about one leg of oppression without the other and the fact that the Feminist Coalition had to retract their statement in a utilitarian measure shows that we are not in the clear and are still being oppressed. Although the climate in Nigeria explains why things played out the way they did, it sends a very clear message to the queer community that we are just going to have to bend to Nigerian ideals, and that is what this system does to us.

As is constantly reinforced, the fight is not a sprint but a marathon and the only way forward is a complete reform of Nigeria. Being Nigerian places an unjust and unfair limit on you, and one can’t break through a glass ceiling they can’t see. The social contract between young Nigerians and their leaders is disintegrating and it is only through youth empowerment and inter-generational equity that we can forge a way forward for the Nigeria that we all deserve.

May the souls of those who have been killed in our fight for liberation rest in perfect peace.

 

Tweet Me Any Leads On The #SARSMustEnd Protests @tamimak_

ICYMI: The fight against oppression does not exclude the LGBTQ+ community

Here’s how you can continue the #EndSARS protests from home

Posted on by The Native

The ongoing #EndSARS protests have taken a turn for the worst after weeks of young Nigerians protesting against inadequate governance and police brutality. We’ve watched in horror as anti-SARS protesters and alleged sponsored thugs swarm peaceful demonstrations which led to the local governments calling for a state of emergency in both Lagos and Edo States. We’ve seen people we know and love get falsely imprisoned for exercising their right to protest and others injured and worse, killed for daring to challenge years of failed government from our elected leaders.

The youth of Nigeria are tired and many of our demands are still yet to be met. Following the lockdown enacted by the Edo state government after convicts were let loose from a prison in Sapele Benin City yesterday, the Lagos state government has now followed suit and enacted a 24-hour curfew after unrest in the city today. This comes after news that mischief-makers had burnt down a police station at Orile Igamu where there were no #EndSARS protests scheduled to hold.

Regardless, they have now succeeded in ensuring that no further protests be held in Lagos as the 24-hour curfew seems to be scheduled indefinitely. But this doesn’t mean we should stop applying pressure to ensure we get what we want, and we will, by taking the #EndSARS protests online. The motive is to amplify and get the message out using the #EndSARS hashtag online. No matter where we are, we can keep the momentum going to ensure that our voices are heard and our demands are met. So here are some ways you can get involved with the protests from the safety of your home.

Engage with the #EndSARS hashtag online

You can join the protests online by making sure you tweet, retweet, like, and amplify all tweets with the hashtag. International publications like The Guardian are monitoring this hashtag to amplify the message to the world.

Donate! Donate! Donate!

The Feminist Coalition is crowdfunding for donations to help #EndSARS protesters around the country and with the level of violence people are facing on the frontline, donating to the cause would go a long way to ensuring that their medical and legal bills are taken care of. You can also donate directly to the Abuja protesters here.

Educate your parents/family

Many of the older generation have refused to hear the cries of young Nigerians who are the main victims of harmful profiling by the rogue SARS unit and the Nigerian police. With traditional media channels which they are typically tuned into, painting a less than accurate picture of what exists, many of the older generation are not privy to the well-detailed, fact-checked information coming from new media houses. Now is the best time to educate them and show them the stories of those whose lives have been gravely altered by the Nigerian police.

 

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Read the stories of Nigerians affected by police brutality

Young Nigerians are doing an excellent job of recording and documenting the injustices that they have had to face in the hands of SARS and the Nigerian police. You can now visit gist.digital and endsars.com as well as soresoke radio for live accounts on police brutality. Don’t forget to amplify this message.

Sign petitions

There are a number of petitions now circulating to gain the attention of international bodies to intervene or enact sanctions on Nigeria for the harm and injustice it has caused to its citizens. We will continue to update this post with more petitions as time goes on.

Featured image credits/Feminist.co

Tweet me any leads from #EndSARS protests in Lekki @tamimak_

ICYMI: Protests continue in Lagos despite Lagos State imposed curfew

Nigerian military opens fire on peaceful protestors at Lekki toll gate

Posted on by The Native

Earlier today, the Governor of Lagos state, Jide Sanwoolu declared a 24-hour curfew, effective from 4pm today. The curfew meant that the #EndSARS protests happening in Lagos would come to a halt, after violent attacks from thugs and hoodlums masked as protestors posed a threat to citizens’ security. Regardless of this, some peaceful protestors decided to continue their mission and take up space at the Lekki toll gate.

These brave young Nigerians remained adamant as they continue to demonstrate against the oppression of young people by the police. They were seen waving the Nigerian flag and singing the national anthem, minutes before everything went awry.

At 6:44 PM, Nollywood actress, Omoni Oboli tweeted “they are shooting at the peaceful protesters at Lekki toll. Please help.” which set alarm bells going on the Internet. Shortly after, videos of the incident started to flood social media, with clear view of a military squad opening fire from a distance at peaceful protestors.

Shortly after at 7 pm, the Lagos State Government announced that the curfew had been shifted until 9 pm, to enable people who would get stuck in inevitable traffic get to their destinations.

Social media has remained a useful tool for young people to speak up against the dehumanising atrocities, and shortly after cameras at the Lekki Toll gate were disconnected and removed, and street lights switched off, we saw via Instagram Live that there was unrest at the scene following the Nigerian military’s attack.

In these videos, we see people who have been freshly shot being attended to by other civilians in a bid to save their lives. We also see a bloodied Nigerian flag, showing evidence of the bloodshed at the scenes. It is important to note that given that the state government had extended the curfew to 9pm, there was absolutely no justification for the military to open fire on innocent protestors.

FK Abudu, shared via Twitter that the ambulance services had been blocked from getting into the toll gate area to help those who have been hurt and possibly killed by the Nigerian military. They have now been let in, and people have been taken away from the scene, and more are on the way to help. We must never forget that several people have been reportedly shot, with an unconfirmed number of deaths from these shootings by the Nigerian Military led by General F.O Omata.

It is believed that the army are making their way to disrupt the protests at Alausa. Please head home if you are there!

This story is developing and will be updated with more information.

Featured Image Credits: Twitter

Governor of Lagos State imposes 24 hour lockdown on citizens

Posted on by The Native

It’s been 10 days since Nigerian youth all over the country banded together to make a collective demand known to both federal and local government. Following several extrajudicial killings by Nigerian Policemen, the youth have decided that enough is enough and are demanding for the government to end police brutality in its entirety.

Protestors all over the country have remained peaceful, whilst being attacked and arrested by the policemen who are sworn to protect. We have documented accounts of those such as Nigerian musician, King Mims, Ojah Bee, Treasure Nduka and more, while many have lost their lives while fighting for the betterment of our country, such as Jimoh Isiaq, Anthony Unuode and many others.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CGa0tIIl6Yl/

For the past 10 days, protestors have peacefully held up their placards, chanting their need for the government to #EndSars, whilst making no trouble, and apart from attacks from the police, have also been attacked all over the country by armed thugs who have allegedly been sponsored by the government. Now, there is civil unrest all over the country from Abuja to Orile, and the peaceful protest grounds have now become inhospitable after being hijacked by mischief makers who are posing as protestors.

Yesterday, the Edo State declared a state of emergency, following the sudden release of a large number of prisoners. Between then and now, government officials have come out to plead with protestors to cease the protests, to give the government enough time to examine our demands. Today, news of violence all over Lagos from the lynching of a policeman in Orile to terrible fights in Ajah, Alausa and other places, which has now led the government to declare a 24-hour curfew on the people of Lagos.

Given that the major hot spots around the state have been blocked by peaceful protests, operations in Lagos have been kept to a minimum. Protestors blocking the Lekki-VI toll gate has meant a huge loss of revenue for the state, and in addition, they have ordered the closure of schools. Now, following this seemingly orchestrated unreast, the entire state has been put on stand still.

According to Sanwo-Olu, nobody must be seen on the streets of Lagos after 4 pm today for the next 24 hours. This will mean that peaceful protests can no longer hold all over Lagos State and the government’s wishes for the protests to stop are gradually being forcefully granted, whilst giving the Nigerian Police Force something else to enforce. All we asked for was to stop being killed.

#SustainTheProtests: Why Nigerian youths remain steadfast in the protests to #EndSARS

Posted on by The Native

On the latest episode of the I Said What I Said podcast, Jola Ayeye and Feyikemi Abudu are joined by Falz. Following an opening half-hour of comic relief, the trio engage in a lively conversation made evident by the plain-stated title of the episode: “The #ENDSARS and Nigerian Police brutality episode” For about 90 minutes, they discuss the ongoing wave of protests aimed at railing against the constant, grave mistreatment of Nigerian citizens by the Nigerian police force, especially personified by the notorious and now dissolved Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).

In a free-flowing discussion that finds the intersection between impassioned and clear, Jola, Feyikemi and Falz delve into the circumstances behind the intensified agitation against police brutality, the response from the Nigerian government and the police itself, as well as ideal solutions which will indicate that reforms are well and truly underway. For those who are familiar, this discussion is a nuanced collection of several facets of the conversations around police brutality. For the unaware, I’d like to imagine that the episode was an encompassing and educative insight into this particularly toxic situation Nigerians at home and in the diaspora are fighting to change.

In what is perhaps the most riveting part of the episode, a young lady anonymously shared the story of her wrenching ordeal with SARS. In the final twenty or so minutes, she recounts being waylaid by SARS operatives in Ibadan, which was swiftly followed by her abduction and transportation to the SARS headquarters in Abuja—a near 10-hour journey by road. In her heartbreaking story, she described the atrocious tactics the operatives employed in a bid to exploit her, from trumped up charges to illegally gaining access to her social media accounts, as well as the horrendous living conditions she had to endure for several months.

This is one of the very many stories that have surfaced over the past two weeks, more evidence that the police reforms we are clamouring for needs to start taking effect immediately. Last week, the Inspector General of Police, Muhammed Adamu, officially announced the dissolution of the Special Anti-Robbery Force, following up an initial statement from the previous week banning the unit from several activities. Upon declaration, Nigerians were quick to scoff at the “audio” disbandment of SARS, citing previous, similarly veiled announcements from the past three years.

#EndSARS has been a rallying cry for the young people of Nigerians since around 2017, with signed petitions and sporadic peaceful protests taking place every once in a while since then. Each time these agitations happen, the government and the police either disband SARS or promise reforms, neither of which has happened every single time. It’s fair to say that they’ve earned the scepticism of every concerned Nigerian still yelling “End SARS” on the streets, even after a dissolution has been announced—for the third time in four years. We’ve been here before, but this time around, it’s clear that affirmative, tangible actions are the only way to satisfy this ongoing wave of agitation.

On cue, after the announced dissolution of SARS, digital cards carrying the exact demands of Nigerian youth were disseminated to avoid any form of ambiguity. While it is more or less a condensed version of the list of demands, the items on the #5for5 cards serves as a great starting point to ensure the government and police understand the precise nature of what is being asked. There have been a few dissenting voices questioning the validity of the continued protests, due to the “dissolution of SARS”, but the overwhelming majority have remained resolute in their activism, since there has been little show of enthusiasm in the government’s dedication to implement these demands, while the police continue to pay lip service to talks of a reform.

In the roughly ten days since #EndSARS protests started, the police have replied peaceful campaigners with a show of force, injuring hundreds and killing over a dozen people so far. In the cases of Jimoh Isiaq, the 20-year old protester killed in Ogbomoso, and Ikechukwu Iloahamuzo, a bystander killed at the Surulere protests, the police commands in Oyo state and Lagos state, respectively, initially denied firing the live rounds that killed these men, before the governors of both states went on to confirm what many already suspected and even witnessed via social media. From Ojahbee to Treasure Nduka and much more, hundreds of protesters have been indiscriminately arrested and severely tortured by the police, while initially being denied bail until there’s intervention from prominent political figures.

All of this indicates that the Nigerian Police Force is still averse to transparency, accountability and calls to end the unjust use of undue force, all of which are central triggers to the ongoing protests. Amidst these reports of police brutality, the IGP announced the formation of Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT), a unit which in summary, has been created to take over the duties assigned to SARS. Immediately, Nigerians began to deride this “new” unit, excavating previous reports of SWAT’s not-so-novel existence in the country, and the hashtag ‘EndSWAT’ swung into popularity within a moment’s notice.

https://twitter.com/kikimordi/status/1316293019616903171?s=09

To many young Nigerians, the announcement of a “new” unit while there’s still uncertainty as to the complete overhauling of a previous, notoriously feared unit is very sinister. SARS was initially formed in order to respond to serious criminal activities like armed robbery and kidnapping, but it quickly morphed into a terror squad, tormenting, assaulting and even killing the very citizens it was created to protect. While SWAT is meant to come in and fulfil those same righteous intentions, there are concerns that they might transform into a new version of SARS, and it speaks to the sheer level of distrust the Nigerian Police elicits from Nigerians.

Due to the gory reputation it has garnered, SARS has been the focal point of these protests. However, an equally immediate and potential effect is that this is also a means of reckoning for the Nigerian Police Force, an institution who have become a burden to many Nigerians. For decades, the force has adopted “Police is your friend” as an unofficial slogan, but it’s become popular ironically, because very few people actually see the police as their “friend”.

Part of this stems from the abuse of power that has become the norm, from seeking petty bribes on the roads (the twenty naira note was once synonymous with regular police extortion) to demanding money before carrying out any investigation after a crime is reported. The other part stems from the general cloud of ineptitude the entire policing system seems to have fallen under, mainly because the institution has refused to evolve. It’s not difficult to see how both these sides feed off each other to create a system that grossly fails to serve and protect Nigerians.

One of my favourite police-related quotes is by the great American-British detective fiction writer, Raymond Chandler: “Police business is a hell of a problem…It asks for the highest type of men and there’s nothing in it to attract the highest type of men”. Part of the #5for5 demands includes increase in police salaries, which has proven to be divisive: on one side, there are people who believe better compensation will ensure that police officers will carry out their duties judiciously; on the other side, it’s the idea higher salaries won’t change behaviours since the abuse of power seems deeply ingrained. Regardless of where you stand this argument, the one thing we can agree on is Nigerians deserve a police force that we’re afraid of.

This is the reason #EndSARS protests are still on going, because lip service has always been paid to reforming the Nigerian police. So far, the government has said it’s fully accepted the #5for5 demands and prominent political figures like the Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, have called for an end to the protests “to allow government time to implement the demands” however, those calls have fallen on deaf ears. As they say, actions speak louder than words, and the actions of the government and the police haven’t tallied with their promises.

So far, peaceful protesters are being terrorised by police and alleged state-sponsored thugs, and no arrests have been officially made for prosecution, even with the wealth of evidence flooding social media. Families of the victims of police brutality have yet to be attended to wholesomely, with the Lagos state government claiming to have set up a N200 million trust fund being the only tangible development at the moment. The Nigerian police has already started training for SWAT operatives, while keeping relatively quiet on calls to ensure the prosecution of high ranking officers, like former commander of the infamous Akwuzu SARS unit, James Nwafor, for alleged roles in atrocious human rights crimes.

It is very understandable that the demands for police reforms will not happen overnight, however, the youth are looking for a tangible sign of good faith that shows the government and police are willing to go the nine yards being asked of them. Without showing a level of readiness, young Nigerians have clearly determined to continue applying pressure through as many channels as possible.

For the past week and counting, there has been a permanent sit-in at the Lekki-Victoria Island tollgate, as well as holding up traffic at other tollgates on the Island in Lagos. According to Punch, the Lagos State government has lost at least N234million due to the closure of these tollgates, a significant amount that will no doubt impact the state’s coffers. On the very first day of the sit-in, Lagos State governor Jide Sanwo-Olu visited the protest grounds to address protests, after three days of protests at the state capital, Alausa, which called on him to address the outcry of Nigerian youths. His appearance at the Lekki-Victoria Island tollgate protests confirmed the importance of this chosen site.

Across the country, protests are being situated in strategic places, stunting the flow of traffic and inevitably impacting economic activities. Abuja protesters have taken to the airport road in Lugbe several times already, and they’ve gathered at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) building since last night. Despite being terrorised by armed thugs in the wee hours of today, they’ve already regrouped, restricting traffic in and out of the CBN building. Peaceful protests in Abuja have been subject to constant violent attacks by the police and thugs, but campaigners have refused to stop demonstrating out of fear, emblematic of the defiance that has come to define protests all over Nigeria.

From Egypt to London to Houston to New York to several cities in Canada, Nigerians in the diaspora have also joined in the protests, increasing global awareness around the #EndSARS agitations. Even online, #EndSARS has remained a global trending topic. All these efforts are culminating into the multi-faceted approach in ensuring we cross the finish line of ending police brutality in Nigeria, no matter how long it takes.

At the moment, there are no official statistics of the number of people who have suffered abuse at the hands of the SARS and the Nigerian police by extension, but there’s a general understanding amongst Nigerian youths that police brutality happening to anyone, at any time, should be deemed as one time too many. #EndSARS is symbolic of the good and just fight to ensure Nigerians can move around freely within the country, without the fear of being harassed, sometimes viciously, by the men and women whose duty it is to serve and protect them. Till we start to march towards that ideal, it will always be a good day to protest against police brutality and advocate loudly for #EndSARS.

Dennis is a staff writer at the NATIVE. Please share any useful resources for the #EndSARS protests with me  @dennisadepeter

FOR US BY US: QUEER LIVES MATTER AS WE ALL FIGHT TO #ENDSARS

Key moments from the #EndSARS protests over the weekend

Posted on by The Native

The ongoing #EndSARS protests have now entered their second official week as the youth of Nigeria demand for the dissolution of the now-defunct unit Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), swift prosecution of all offending SARS officials, wider reforms on the police force, and compensation for all those who have been affected by the rogue unit’s extrajudicial killings, extortion, and inhumane torture.

While we’ve handled a myriad of spanners in the works that have been thrown at peaceful protesters including the deployment of armed thugs in Abuja and Lagos, unlawful use of force by police officers who shoot and teargas protesters, and even imposing mandated curfews after a swarm of prisoners have been released into regular society, the Nigerian people are still relentless in their resolve. The past few weeks have seen the rise of the Feminist Coalition, the newly formed group which has risen to the cause of sustaining the protests by crowdfunding the cost of legal, medical, and logistics for the ongoing peaceful demonstrations.

Nigerians seem more strengthened than ever before, and for many young people, this feels like a watershed moment in the country’s history where they demand the change that will be necessary. To highlight the many amazing strides being taken by Nigerians all over the globe, we are bringing you a shortlist of the key positive moments from the #EndSARS protests from over the weekend.

The Festival of Lights

Towards the end of the last working week, there were concerns that the spirit of the #EndSARS protests was being diluted, especially at the Lekki-Victoria Island tollgate site. With reports of copious amounts of alcohol being passed around and fumes from hydroponic buds filling the air, as well as alleged plans to turn the protest grounds into a club/concert on Friday night and a football viewing centre on Saturday, many feared that campaigners were “losing focus”.

On Friday night, though, those fears were expelled. From around 7 pm, a candlelight vigil took place to commemorate the memories of those who have paid the ultimate price for police brutality. On the night, stories were shared, tears were shed, songs were jointly belted and beautiful mementoes for the dead were created. “I heard some stories and none of this has to be in vain, SARS needs to go”, a friend who was at the tollgate turned protest grounds told me over WhatsApp. Within hours, clips and images from the vigil began to circulate on social media, reminding us of the reason for this ongoing struggle and strengthening the resolve of many Nigerian youth.

The candlelight vigil was also observed at the Alausa protest grounds on Friday, seemingly following the same format. Over the weekend, more vigils held in Abuja, Ibadan, London and New York, inevitably reinforcing the sense of community that has been integral to these protests. To the souls of the departed, may their sacrifice never be forgotten, especially as they reset our focus on the end goal of eradicating police brutality.

The movement is decentralised.

A year ago or even a month ago, many of the millennials and Gen Zers in Nigeria could not have known that they would passionately rise to the clarion call and demand better from our government and law enforcement agencies, but here we are today sustaining a protest for over 10 days. The government has yet to aknowlege and fix the genuine concerns of her citizens, however, young Nigerians have shown that they won’t be letting their feet off the government’s necks any time soon. A genuine fear from the ongoing protests was how we were going sustain them, in the long run, seeing as government response has not been swift or favourable. But a group of young Nigerian women have risen to the task to fight for injustice through fundraising and social media organisation.

The Feminist Coalition is giving the government a run for their money and we couldn’t be more thrilled. In over a week, the newly formed group has been able to pool collective resources by crowdfunding for donations that would be necessary to sustain the protests. They have donated funds collated in Lagos to help protesters being wrongfully imprisoned in Oyo State or funded those that called for food, cleaning equipment and water for protesters across 25 states in the country. As the government continues to crack down violently on protesters, the demands of the Feminist Coalition and their demands have grown more lengthy with each passing moment. But despite the new pressures, the FC hasn’t rescinded on their promises to help the Nigerian youth, rather they have risen up and outsourced duties to a range of protesters willing to step up and take active roles in securing our new Nigeria.

In an effort to make the process run smoother, the Feminist Coalition now has a fully-functioning response unit that covers a different focus area from funds and mobilisation to medical aid support, loss and damages, legal aid support, and more. There are detailed forms where people can express their interest to volunteer or help out, forms for those who have reported a friend or family member missing, those who need free therapy sessions with a professional right down to those who are helping to fact-check false information circulating online around the protests. The best part yet is that not all of these were formed by members of the Feminist Coalition, services like the Post Protest Organised Care was set up by a group of women including Adedoyin Adeniji and Jola Adeboye, two women who sought to help protesters or survivors of SARS brutality to find post-protest therapy sessions and self-care packages.

It is important to note that the actions of private citizens in sustaining the protests hints is one that is to be immensely congratulated and welcomed. Any Nigerian citizen would tell you how difficult it is to donate funds to others when the state of the Nigerian economy is crippling by the hands of our government but young Nigerians and their allies have continued to show support and volunteer their services to the cause. In over a week, the Feminist Coalition has raised over 62,643,663.05 NGN which has been used to support 100 peaceful protests in 25 states. They have saved lives and compensated families of the deceased, they have provided security to protesters and fixed damages sustained from clashes with thugs and they continue to do so through the generosity of well-meaning people and concerned Nigerians who want their voices to be heard and their demands to be met. Even in the face of heavy push back from the government such as facing restrictions on their bank accounts and having to opt for bitcoin, the message remains the same, we are calling on the government to #EndSARS and we will not be intimidated because we are tired.

Mother’s March

Noticeably missing from conversations around the ongoing #EndSARS protests are the efforts of the older generation, the boomers who have let years of failure, and silence go by without standing up for the advancement of the Nigerian society. To make it worse, traditional media and the terror that is parent’s Whatsapp has been circulating fake news that fuels anti-protesters propaganda to the wider Nigerian public.

But there has been some hope amidst the chaos, this weekend our mothers showed up to help the cause by organising a mother’s march in Surulere. They lent their voices despite some pushback from state governors over the weekend asking parents to advise ‘their wards’ against taking part in protests while the government work to take action to amend the steps.

 

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Fikky’s SARS anthem

Music has been a powerful tool for activating and energising protesters of the EndSARS movement. The aggressive energy of Davido’s latest hit song, “FEM” has allowed it to emerge as the song of the moment to soundtrack our collective frustration at the state of the country. However, there are no shortage of Nigerian songs that speak more directly to the police brutality at the heart of the EndSARS protest.

Serval generations of Nigerian artists, Fela, African China, Eedris Abdulkareem, Burna Boy, Falz, and others have been lamenting the unlawful state of affairs, and Fikky joined the ranks of those legends over the weekend, after a moving and riveting freestyle performance at a protest.

His lyrics vividly detailed how SARS officials profile young Nigerians and extort money from them and the young boy’s talented wordplay prompted Adey to reach out and offer to produce the song for free. Adey layered Fikky’s vocals over a groovy bear inspired by the trendy street-hop genre, Zanku. The beat also incorporates a brief sample of the national anthem at the start. Over the weekend, Adey shared the song with a lyric video made by Rasheed and he promised that the streaming profits will go to Fikky and his family.

ICYMI: THE KEY ROLE WOMEN HAVE PLAYED IN THE FIGHT TO #ENDSARS

Liberia declares national emergency as the country records spike in rape cases

Posted on by The Native

TW: This post contains details of sex and gender-based violence against women.

Africa is bleeding. Many nations across the continent are reportedly expressing bouts of revolt against injustices, as citizens demand better governance and accountability from their democratically elected leaders. While Nigeria battles decades-long negligence, which has fuelled police brutality on its citizens, reports from Congo unearth a silent holocaust that is wiping out millions, Ivory Coast and Ghana are both dealing with the alarming rise of sex trafficking cases and Namibian women are out on the streets determined to #ShutItAllDown in order to avenge their fallen sisters who have died as a result of sexual violence.

It seems that all around us, the general mood of the world seems to have shifted. People, particularly the dominant youth generation are no longer turning a blind eye to the many injustices that we currently face in today’s world. And this seems to be reflected across various people and countries, including Liberia where rape has now been declared a matter of national emergency after seeing huge spikes in the number of reported cases this year.

 

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In August, the city of Monrovia was rocked when thousands of Liberian citizens took to the streets to protest the alarming rise in the rates of rape and sexual assault in the country. The protests which were termed a March for Justice kicked off following the tragic news of a 19-year-old boy in rural Liberia allegedly used a razor blade to mutilate the genitals of a 3-year-old girl, which he reportedly thought would enable him to rape her more easily.

Women and allies came out in numbers to protest this case and the cases of several other women who have lost their lives since the government-mandated lockdowns to prevent the coronavirus began. The director of Liberia’s Women Empowerment Network, Margaret Taylor, said last month that her NGO had recorded 600 cases of rape between the months of June and August. These figures represent a 60% increase in the number of reported cases in the country from statistics collated earlier in the year.

The protesters demanded a decentralised system for handling rape cases, stricter capital punishment for those prosecuted on counts of rape and sexual assault, and the building of safe houses to accommodate survivors of rape and other SGBV cases across the country. After protesting and being tear-gassed by police, the president of Liberia, George Weah finally responded to the peaceful demonstrators and honoured some of their demands from the government. In a statement, Weah said that the country was “witnessing what is actually an epidemic of rape within the pandemic, affecting mostly children and young girls across the country.”

Additionally, Weah said he would install a special prosecutor for rape in Liberia, as well as set up a national sex offender registry. Also, the government will also establish a “national security task force” to deal with matters relating to sexual- and gender-based violence. At the moment, it is yet to be ascertained whether any of these measures have been put in place to protect women and young girls but Weah’s administration says it is committed to riding the country of rape by 2022-23.

Featured Image Credits/AllAfrica

Tweet Me Your Experiences At #EndSARS Protests Around The Country @tamimak_

ICYMI: #ShutItAllDown: Namibians stand against gender-based violence

Edo State on 24 hour lockdown following prison break in Benin

Posted on by The Native

Throughout the week, nationwide peaceful protests against SARS have been compromised by alleged hired thugs, and violence from the Nigerian Police Force with the aim to disperse protesters. There have been countless videos of police officers firing live bullets and pressured water at peaceful protesters, which have caused heightened tension in the country as the youth enter day-10 of protests to #EndSARS and police brutality.

Every day, there has been a new development throughout the country, aimed at stifling the protests, and the atmosphere is tense with citizens knowing their safety is not ensured as they take the streets. Protestors have been allegedly killed and brutalised by the police, and today amidst the restless atmosphere, there have been several reports that there has been a jailbreak this morning at Sapele Road in Benin City.

Videos accompanying the report showed as inmates scaled over the fence and joined the crowd of presumed protesters who were holding palm leaves and makeshift clubs. We can also see the prisoners fleeing the scene, thanking the presumed protesters as they join the crowd, however, it’s a bit suspicious that no police officer was seen in any of the videos that captured the jailbreak.

The jailbreak in Benin has led the governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki to declare a state of emergency, noting that “hoodlums have taken laws into their hands to cause mayhem on innocent citizens and the state.” He shared a statement on Twitter, advising everyone to stay at home.

Prisoners being let out of jail whether they broke out themselves or were broken out confirms the youth’s sentiment for total and complete police reform. Men who have been convicted and should be behind bars are now running free in the streets, and from what we are seeing in the videos, it appears that the police did nothing to stop it.

In addition, the timing of the jailbreak is also suspicious, as it provides incentive for the government to distrust the peaceful protests and continue to label protestors as mischief-makers. We urge those protesting to stay safe and use the helplines when necessary and report suspicious activities.

This story is currently developing. We will keep updating this post as we hear more, please keep checking for updates.

Featured image credits/Twitter

ICYMI: Here are ways to support #EndSARS Protestors and call for justice

For Us By Us: Queer Lives Matter as we all fight to #EndSars

Posted on by The Native

Throughout the #ENDSARS protests, the NATIVE will be collecting stories and opinions of Nigerians from all walks of life, from all over the world with the aim to connect our wider community at this trying time. With our new series, ‘For Us By Us’, we will be hearing directly from each other, speaking about the different issues we are all facing and tackling together, in the aim for a better future for ourselves and the next generation.

Written by Anonymous 

As I write this, I am terrified, exhausted, shaken, drained and angry. This week has signalled the dawn of a new era in our country. The past week has seen the Nigerian youth rise and say “enough is enough.” The past week has seen us stand up and fight
for our country. I read somewhere today “we are the ones we’ve been waiting for.” And those words have never rung as true as they do right now.

For years, decades even, Nigeria has been on this rollercoaster ride of deterioration and dereliction. Our parents used to tell us stories of a gorgeous black nation, where anyone with a dream, could be a titan. They told us great big stories, one of which, painted a picture of how we built an entire city for an arts festival. They regale tales of how we were held in high esteem all over the world. Brands and companies known the world over flocked here and found a safe haven. People were joyous, money was not
an issue, and life was incredibly forthright with jubilations to come. The most populous black nation on earth. Apparently, we had our own moment.

Scientists and psychologists always say that the human memory is one that should never thoroughly be relied on. Nostalgia provides catharsis in moments of crisis but is a dangerous drug around which to build an existence. They forgot to tell us about the dark days. The dark days that oddly and almost prophetically, coincided with the birth of this generation. For 60 years Nigeria has been taking 10 steps forward and 40 steps back. We have leaders who continue to treat the country like their own personal trust fund. They feel they owe us no communications, no accountability, no transparency. We are beneficiaries of this trust, and very few of us can honestly say we have benefited.

Our currency has been heavily devalued, even without the actual action. Inflation is at an all-time high. Our youth cannot even find jobs to help keep them alive. On top of this, the forces that are supposed to be protecting us, are killing us. For having the audacity to live, to express ourselves, to thrive, to live and love how and who we want. To say that the LBTQ+ community in Nigeria have been unaccounted victims of the same brutality under the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) is the biggest understatement of the past decade. For years, queer men, women and individuals beyond the binary, have been attacked, raped, extorted, harassed AND murdered because of profiles that the previous generation have taught the nation to attack and hate. For being different. Nobody wants to be ostracized. We didn’t choose this. It chose us.

https://twitter.com/feminist_co/status/1317894985656696834

I would be lying to say that I have experienced the same kind of treatment that a lot of the members of my community face when it comes to police brutality. I however will not try to hide behind any privilege that I may have and say that because it couldn’t happen to me, it would not be an injustice. We have been fighting for the past 6 days. In that time the government has shown no regard for us. They have killed us. Despite the fact that we didn’t bear any arms. There have been no reports of vandalism. Our protests have been peaceful. Yet they have murdered people and illegally detained many others. We have fought for their release. We showed up for each other. No one knows which way this is going to go just yet. It is in equal parts terrifying and exhilarating.

However, we know now more than ever what we want. A lot of us have no idea if we’ll be dead tomorrow. But one thing remains true about our generation. We have proven, time and time again, that there is WAY more that connects us, than there is that divides us. To the ones that have fallen in our quest for a world that should have shown up for them, for as long as we sweat and fight, we are singing your names to the heavens. We remember you. May your journey on the other side be peaceful. We will continue to fight to ENSURE that we thrive in a world that we did not make.

Featured Image Credits: Instagram/the_amarion

Please share any useful information about #ENDSARS protests @nativemag

ICYMI: The LGBT community are not left out of the fight against systematic opression