One week later…….
I woke up this morning on what felt like the wrong side of my bed. I just hadn’t been able to shake the gloomy feeling all morning and then I got to work and I decided to check twitter for updates on the current state of Africa (great idea Oby!). Too much has happened in such a short time and most of us are still trying to process all the details of the negative news spewing out of Africa.
From issues in countries like the Congo, to Cameroon and to our very own Nigeria, It has all been so overwhelming, to say the least. We were all just trying to recover from the horrors of the Covid-19 pandemic and to finish the year 2020 on a more positive note, but the 2020 madness just won’t let up.
Demanding for our basic human rights to be respected and for the freedom to go about our daily business without getting attacked, sexually abused, or even killed by the Nigerian police (specifically SARS) for simply existing seemed like the barest minimum at the time…..or so we thought. We weren’t asking the government for any economic benefits, or healthcare and education reform, or for more accountability (which are all very valid requests), all we asked for was protection from the very organization that was put together to protect us, protect Nigeria’s future….the YOUTH.
The current generation of Nigerian youth have managed to survive with zero help from the government. Our generation has never enjoyed any of the past benefits our parents and grandparents talked about, we never saw the so called ‘good old days’ of Nigeria. In our very eyes, Nigeria has gone from bad to worse and I think we’ve finally hit rock bottom as a country and even as a continent.
I say rock bottom because it has now become very apparent to us, with all the events that transpired since the 7th of October, that we are truly on our own. What started off as a peaceful and well organized protest spun into a very dark moment in our country’s history. We were all hopeful because for the first time in a very long time, the Nigerian youth found its voice and shattered the culture of deference in our society. We were finally demanding for change and the peaceful protests seemed like a conduit for the youth to begin laying out further issues with the people who have been in charge of our country for decades.
So as I sat down at my desk, going through all the tweets and seeing messages like “RIP to all the fallen heroes”, “We will never forget!”, “You didn’t deserve this”, or the worst one “Imagine not being able to find closure because the corpse of your loved one was stolen to hide evidence”, I was reminded that I am only able to see these tweets and stories all over the news because I’m alive.
I’m alive and I have the privilege of waking up on the wrong side of my bed, of thinking about what I want to have for lunch, of thinking and worrying about the future. We continue to live and breathe and they DON’T!
It’s been exactly a week since peaceful protesters were shot at and killed at the Lekki toll gate, while sitting on the ground, singing the national anthem and waving flags (So many others around Lagos and around Nigeria were also killed on that tragic day and days following).
With each passing day the government changes it narrative on the Lekki Massacre, they lose what’s left of their credibility. While we continue to mourn and try to get justice for all the fallen heroes, we must remember that our strength lies in our united voice and we must make sure we never lose it again.
We must garner the goodwill of the people into one united front in preparation for the future (specifically the 2023 elections). We owe this, not just to ourselves but to the many families that were torn apart, the many dreams that were cut short and the many Nigerians who paid the heaviest price with their lives.
**RIP to all the fallen heroes! We will continue to fight for a better tomorrow for Nigeria. We will tell generations to come about your sacrifice and your death will never be in vain, so help us God!**
**And to our brothers and sisters going through various crisis in other parts of Africa, We continue to stand with you in prayer and in solidarity **
- If you are interested in reading up on other current updates on the #EndSARS movement and other crisis around Africa, I have attached various links below:
- #EndSARS: https://time.com/5902112/nigeria-endsars-protest-shootings/
- Lagos Judicial Panel proceedings begin: https://www.arise.tv/lagos-judicial-panel-begins-inquiry-into-lekki-shooting-police-abuses/
- #Congoisbleeding: https://face2faceafrica.com/article/congoisbleeding-new-hashtag-draws-attention-to-deadly-exploitation-in-congolese-mines
- Namibia #ShutItAllDown: https://femnet.org/2020/10/namibia-shut-it-all-down/
- South Africa #AmINext: https://aminext.news24.com/
- Cameroon #AnglophoneCrisis: https://qz.com/africa/1922580/cameroons-anglophone-crisis-sees-six-school-children-killed/ https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2020/10/cameroon-killing-of-eight-schoolchildren-is-a-new-low-in-devastating-anglophone-crisis/
- Liberia #RapeNationalEmergency: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/9/12/liberia-declares-rape-a-national-emergency-after-spike-in-cases
