Sabotage was the Order of the day.
Someone seems to be doing everything possible to disrupt the protests.
“If there is one thing that has become evident, it is that the Nigerian government is disbursing more effort towards sabotaging the youths than they are actually working on our demands to simply show accountability towards a better Nigeria.”
So far, we have seen everything from killings and arrests by the police and military, to unleashing tear gas, water cannons, trucks, thugs to damage our cars, batons, and rumour has it that they even ‘sent’ rain (don’t ask me how) to disrupt the protests.
It’s a pity, they forget that we did NYSC parades and sang “Under the sun and in the rain.”
People observed that the Nigerian government seems to be getting desperate at thwarting our attempts, as they have been trying every known trick in the history books.
This certainly rings true as the morning of the 15th of October came with its own new adversary.
The day before, we got a tip-off that people were sending thugs to disrupt the protests. We didn’t have to think too long and hard about who was behind it though, the alleged sponsors made sure to drop off their surprises with a message that was hard to miss.
The thugs were seen to have been dropped off at the Alausa Protest Grounds by a fleet of BRT buses owned by the Lagos State Government. Twenty buses in total, filled with hoodlums wielding brand new machetes, and deadly scowls drawn across their faces.
No doubt, it speaks volumes that they had used the official transport system of the state. Especially since their objective was clearly to cause chaos and endanger the lives of Nigerian citizens that were headed for the protest grounds that morning.
These particular buses were reported to be almost impossible to charter on a normal day without a bus card. The cost of this which is rumoured to be around N150,000 - N200,000. It was evident that these armed thugs were sponsored by people in high places.
Unfortunately, they attacked several unsuspecting protesters, inflicting major injuries in the process.
What was even more daunting is the fact that the police officers that were normally available at the Secretariat seemed to purposely make themselves scarce, and those that were present stood by to watch as unarmed civilians who were protesting peacefully for their rights got brutalised by these armed thugs.
When asked why the Officers refused to perform their civil duty, one of them responded as follows:
This, coming from officers that try to justify the violation of people’s rights by the mere possession of an iPhone.
Protesters also observed that these officers not only stood by to watch but some were protecting the hoodlums from harm as opposed to stopping them from wreaking havoc on the rest of the unarmed Nigerian citizens.
Are you surprised as well? Needless to say, it was obvious that this recent bout of attacks had a mastermind behind the scenes.
Protesters put two and two together and called out the Lagos State Governor, Sanwo Olu to address his sugar daddy to immediately order his mercenaries to stand down.
There were also speculations that the attack could have been facilitated by one MC Oluomo who was rumoured to be the grand patron of the Agege boys.
Nigerians, however, deduced that whoever it is was desperately trying to force our hands into violence.
Perhaps an agenda to incite a protest so violent, that the government could have enough justification to bring in the Army to disrupt the protest.
Luckily, the Feminist Coalition quickly swung into action and saved all our asses by hiring an independent private security agency to level the playing field at the various Lagos protest grounds.
Ambulances were also promptly deployed to attend to the injured protesters at the various locations.
With the crisis seemingly averted, various protesters trooped in once more to take their stance with renewed vigour.
If anything, it is clear to all that the government’s increasing desperation is an indication that we are at the most important stage of the protests: defying the violence.
Once we get through this stage, it's all over for them.
We must get through this stage.