Silence is Not Golden....
This is for those who because of interests, faux loyalty, hidden agendas or any other reason have kept quiet and sat on the sidelines. People are dying, and they may just continue to because of you.
This is not about the global trend of the #EndSars movement. This is not about the news and the constant feeds coming out of Nigeria, this is about the complicity of the silent. This is for those who because of interests, faux loyalty, hidden agendas or any other reason have kept quiet and sat on the sidelines. People are dying, and they may just continue to because of you.
One of the highlights of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun was the story that the main character “Ugwu” captured. The story documented the atrocities of the Nigerian Civil War and talked about the actions and inactions of relevant actors concerning the war.
Over the past week, as Nigerian youths took to the streets peacefully to protest against police brutality and call for the disbandment of the rogue police unit SARS (Special Anti-Robbery Squad), the state through its actors have turned against the people reminding young Nigerians of Ugwu’s story. Protesters continue to defy the undemocratic sanctions on their human rights by the government and daily, they face the threat of annihilation at the hands of those who were charged with protecting them.
Not only did this young generation of Nigerians try to advocate against brutality, but they have also encountered same by the police and the government, risked their wellbeing in the face of live ammunition, teargas and water cannons, been threatened by thugs hired with political resources yet they continue to support and organize. This generation of Nigerians that was once accused of being lackadaisical and unproductive has shown the world what true leadership is like even in the midst of turmoil. Once classified with words like lazy and unserious, these youths have mobilized their own security, facilitated transport, feeding plans and even provided medical services and legal representation to protesters in need.
Beyond the protests, recent events have proved the resilience and brilliance of Nigerian millennials. From the tech and design space to entertainment, fashion and business, young Nigerians have flourished despite being ignored by their own government and having to live as if the government never existed. But the Nigerian cry is still unheard, within the country the older generation fold their arms and watch as the country boils its own people like frogs, perhaps too uninterested and distant from the reality of the danger which they face. A small fraction of the youth still needs education and orientation that this struggle goes beyond placards and hashtags to the very fibre of our existence as a people.
The young will continue to ring their voices in the streets and shut the roads until the government decides to listen, their demands are simple; that justice is served for erring officers, that the rogue unit is totally proscribed and that the entire police force is reformed so that the lives of citizens will be guaranteed beyond a doubt. These are simple but continue to fall on deaf ears.
The international community sits quietly and the world remains still, watching and waiting for whatever to continue, Nigerians observe this like the title of Ugwu’s story “The World Was Silent While We Died” and wonder when the conditions will change. Nevertheless, we will keep on marching in the streets, hand in hand with body and soul united, we have been ignored for too long and have come too far to stop now. The only choice is to fight and to win.