By Ayo Kehinde
Nigerian youths are saying they are ready to sustain the almost two-weeks protest against police brutality until they see concrete action that shows a remarkable departure from the past.
By concrete action they mean arrest and prosecution of culpable police officers and not dismissal; compilation and publication of their names and not mere circulation as it is been done on social media; formal nation-wide broadcast on television by President Muhammadu Buhari, naming the victims of police brutality, the concrete measures underway so that most Nigerians who do not use or frequent social media as well as the global captive audience can hear and see the government position; and the involvement of the victims and relations of police brutality in judicial panels that have been set up to speed access to information, ‘from the real side.’
Speaking during a Channels’ TV programme, Rubbin’ Minds on Sunday, the youths Ms Awazi Angbalaga, Mr Tomi Obanure, Ms Tobi Ayeye, Mr Chidi Okereke and Mr Macaroni, separately said that the measures taken by government so far fall short of expectation and cannot go far to cure what they called the systemic rot behind the problem fuelling the protest. Mr Ebuka Obi-Uchendu anchors the TV programme.
Angbalaga who attributed the successful organization of the protest to social media, which has helped, “to spread the protest in Nigeria and globally among celebrities and thus spurred the youths into immediate action,” urged the government to, “take us seriously because with the youths banding together for the first time shows government has no option than to listen to us.”
Explaining further, Obanure said with the ongoing protest, Nigeria is heading in the right direction.
“A lot of us are educated to a degree and we know what a country is supposed to be. We label our country the Giant of Africa. I think the youths can propel us there. We have the time, the energy and hope the right things would be done. The protest have sparked off from decades of grief, SARS is a place to start.”
On their insistence on nation-wide TV broadcast by the President, Macaroni, said the recent 2-minute video clip by the President on the raging issue, was not enough.
He said; “It is like when we see government fixing roads, we clap. But that is part of what they were elected to do. The atrocities perpetrated by the police are part of the general impunity in the country. Leadership in Nigeria is awful. As far as I am concerned, we have not seen concrete action been taken by the government. As we speak people are still being intimidated. One Ayomide was arrested and put in prison until someone who knew about it raised the alarm and yet police officers there kept denying any such arrest. They are still treating us as nuisance in the streets. Youths want to feel secure in Nigeria. And we have not seen any action that points in that direction.”
Reminded of some actions taken by states like Lagos, which has set up N200million fund, Anambra that has dismissed a security aide and many others that have set up judicial enquiries and given matching orders to the police to conform to ethics of the profession, including the apology by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, the panelist still insisted more has to be done.
“Apology on twitter handles is different from a nation-wide broadcast. Why is it hard for the president to do so,?’ Macaroni asked. “During political campaign, he travelled almost all the local Governments and 36 states of the country, making promises. Did he use twitter an social media alone.? Is what we are asking not part of his job description?
For them, “ this talk about the youths, youth as if only the youths are the only ones affected by police brutality and other endemic problems in the country, should stop.”
On how long the protest would go on given the organic nature of the protest with no central leadership, Ayeye said until decisive action is taken about reform on the long term. She said there has to be clear timeline on actions to be taken and victims of police brutality, “should be members of the judicial panels for the government to get concrete evidence to work on.”
“It is good we do not have any central leadership or caucuses that government can influence and stop us from pushing our demand for change,” Okereke said, adding that, “the energy is the major sentiments sustaining the youths to stay on the protest until government do the right things.”
When asked about the blockage of roads by protesters, which many Nigerians complain has been discomforting, Okereke retorted: “ So far nobody has been violent. Blocking roads is for everybody to be temporarily uncomfortable for all of us to be comfortable. When you are in Lagos as I am, you have probably been in traffic for long hours before. In Abuja, when government officials are going out traffic is cleared for them and every road user is uncomfortable. Everybody must feel the current pain to call for action.” He said music, football, dancing and other forms to attract more youths into the ongoing protest would be deployed to effective use.
