#EndSARS protest and the making of dictators

BY OGUNTOYE OPEYEMI

We can’t shy away from the fact that every citizen across the globe wants a better life. Also, nothing can be farther than the truth as we all constantly voice out to demand a better society through the dividends of democracy. Most often than not, citizens go overboard to enjoy the kind of life they couldn’t get through government interventions.

In the early ’80s, Miguel Felix Gallardo was an ordinary police officer, who though was smart, didn’t use his intelligence for the good of his profession or country. He was aware that the resources in his hometown (Culiacan, Sinaloa) was highly in demand across the globe and that the marijuana business could have been one of the greatest sources of income to Mexico if exploited properly. However, knowing that the government wasn’t ready to associate with the business directly, he built an empire in the whole of Mexico, with the support of his brother, Amado Carrilo, Rafael Quintero, Ernesto Fonseca Carrilo, Arellano Felix, etc.

The undoing of “El Padrino” as fondly called was his involvement with the Medellin & Cali cartel, which gave him an undue image across the world, even though his associates advised him against his vision to switch business. But you know what they say about power? “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely”.

Miguel Felix’s power grip wasn’t only his downfall but the beginning of his many other evil atrocities. He was becoming a monster that many of his followers and family couldn’t fathom. As a result of his strange transformation, and in order to stop the madness, they conceived with the corrupt government to rope him. What was surprising was the fact that the DEA agent who was responsible for Felix’s downfall, Walt Breslin, visited him at his prison to know how he was easily arrested. Felix however, gave him the shock of his life with his response: “I have heard the plazas will become their cartels, they will work separately, at first they will work together, but then they will all want the best routes, products, access to top government. Watch out, war will break out, they will start fighting each other. The madness has begun and no one can stop it, without me, no one can stop it”.

The special anti-robbery squad (SARS) was a branch of the Nigeria Police Force that was created to end all sorts of unlawful activities in the country. No doubt, the squad had its good sides. However, the problems its officers created, coupled with their unregulated, unchecked behaviour culminated and Nigerians wanted a change. The citizens had on several occasions come up with various strategies to address the excesses of the special unit but powers that be took everyone for a fool. Hence, it was obvious that Nigerians weren’t ready for another failed promise. It was due to this that all individuals – Christians, Muslims, Hausa, Igbo, or Yoruba, took to the streets to demand the removal of the cancerous unit. Ordinarily, no one would have had any issue with the law and order because we understood the functionality of the whole security architecture. However, while a lot of Nigerians believed that disbanding the unit will bring a solution to the insecurity, harassment, killing, corruption, etc, and were desperate to remove the danger, little did they know that they were creating another monster.

Suddenly, the government listened and the president addressed the nation on the five-point agenda raised by the coalition of the EndSARs movement (which was presented by the Lagos state governor to the president). While one would expect Nigerians to leave the street after the assurances, some decided to stay back and suddenly change the scope of the movement. Among many, were the Feminist Movement, Biafra Movement and Revolution Movement, etc. Some prominent influencers voiced out, pleaded with various factions to leave the street but none listened until the night of the deadly shooting.

Like Felix Gallardo noted in his diary, “they always wanted more” and that obviously necessitated the breaking down of law and order. Different factions were receiving orders and at every 100 meters, roads were blocked. My colleague who was seven months pregnant was in shock when by the time we were about to close from work, all roads were blocked by different hoodlums who were busy extorting the citizens. Another friend had to drive her home. At any point where they reject the money, the friend would remove his clothes and join them. Fortunately for my colleague, she survived it but the pregnant woman in Abuja who was denied access to the hospital through various roadblocks didn’t.

In Oyo state, two days after the Lekki shooting, two policemen were killed and their bodies roasted. Nobody could control the manner of danger and anarchy in the land. The instigator continued to gear protesters on and most of the private businesses were looted. Chukwuma Innocent (Onesoul) went on record to douse the tension about the shooting but he was bullied and threatened. Governor Sanwo-Olu was the first governor to visit the #EndSARs protest. On several occasions, he reassured the people of the effort being made by his government to control the situation. In fact, on one of his visits to the state secretariat in Alausa, he was overpowered and his message was lost in the euphoria for the protest. Questions often arose on how to address a situation where the people concerned are no more interested in the solution to the prevalent issues but stuck with the funfair. Even though there are constitutional ways of ending the menace, all voices of reason were thrown in a deep blue sea.

Unfortunately, the story changed after the event of October 20 when the victim became the oppressors and then the prophesy of Felix came to pass. The people who were at the receiving end got hold of power and couldn’t let go of it for days. Major foreign media houses reported the incidents from a one-sided view and this caused a whole lot of chaos in the land. Some of the dailies had to embark on fact-checking to sieve the truth from a whole bunch of lies being spread on social media. Some even believed that the international media and big technology platforms contributed to the menace as they couldn’t refrain from the incidents.

If history is something to go by, the collapse of empires, nations, and kingdoms all over the world should have taught us a series of lessons. The most recent among many is the fracas ongoing in Ethiopia. In August 2020, Amnesty International reported an erroneous event in the country that the government wasn’t happy about, and as a result, it instantly cautioned Amnesty International. This geared-up many issues in the country and emboldened the opposition against the country. Amnesty International later apologized but the damage has been done and just yesterday, the rebel forces had advanced towards the capital of the country. Surprisingly, all the foreign nations started to leave the country. What this shows is that the people who instigate war will eventually leave you to your problem.

No one can runway from the aftermath of October 20. Whether we like it or not, it has brought a change in perspective to many Nigerians and emboldened the monster in some people. Oftentimes, when influencers write on crucial issues on their page, Nigerians give varying opinions and are careless about the insults and bullying. In fact, some influencers enabled it. Just a few days ago, some Nigerian skit makers visited the vice president to apprise him on the news industry and some of them even took advantage of the opportunity to table several issues bothering on insecurity but the children of “anger” felt that the visit was a wrong one and bullied everyone involved in the meeting to apologise. This made it clear to everyone that with the new breed of people on social media, nobody will have an opinion either of themselves or anyone.

When Felix Gallardo was arrested, many rejoiced as it seems like the end to corruption, insecurity, and drug menace, not knowing that the people who replaced him were worse off. One practical example was the murder of Cardinal Juan Jesus Posadas in an open shooting in Guadalajara, Mexico. Some believed that the people who wanted change are better than the current leadership, not until the Lekki shooting happened and the aftermath was total chaos. Those that wanted change had no experience on how things should be done properly and neither can they control the people they pushed out.

As a country, we want something better – a safe country. However, we’ve seen the other side of the people who so desire to see the change. We have seen the effect of the external forces on our nation also and all those had taught us something. We have to truly understand what we want before we embark on an impossible mission. We have to collectively defend this country, address the lingering issues peacefully, and proffer solutions for the overall interest of all. The people of Ethiopia are waking up. Hence, the people of Nigeria must wake up as well to defend their country.

Oguntoye can be reached via [email protected] or @Equityoyo on Twitter