LEKKI TOLL GATE MASSACRE – A MANIFESTATION OF CORRUPT AND FAILED LEADERSHIP IN NIGERIA

In the words of Lord Acton, “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely”

I’m dazed and puzzled by the violent crackdown of peaceful protestors in Nigeria by the military and police.

To trap peaceful protestors at the Lekki toll gate following a 4 – hour short notice of curfew and shooting at them in the dark, is not just an act of sheer wickedness but a clear indication of corrupt and failed leadership on the continent.

Is it wrong to demand for what is right? Is it wrong to exercise your right in calling for a reformation of a failed institution that has outlived its relevance? I certainly do not think so because, it is in their own right to do so.

The incident that ensued on 20-10-2020 following the 12 – day peaceful protests by the youths and future leaders of Nigeria is not only a sign of a revolution but a manifestation of how weak and threatening our institutions have become a bane to our democratic advancement.

Clearly, it demonstrates how unlearning our leaders and institutions are; when the international community has and still bastardizes the likes of Bashar al-Asaad of Syria and Donald Trump of the US for using unlawful force to crack down on peaceful protestors, you also decided to add up to the list. Congratulations Mr. Buhari! Certainly, if you are not guided by history, mistakes of the future are inevitable.

Although what happened in Nigeria can never be forgotten, it is just prudent and wise that the needful is done ASAP by dissolving SARS who have for long, abused the same power entrusted to them by the same citizens.

There’s much evidence that corroborates various reports of how corrupt, insensitive and irrelevant the Special Anti-Robbery Squad has been in Nigeria.

It is therefore expedient that, all youths across the globe add their voices and join hands in Solidarity with the Nigerian Youths to achieve the objective of the course for which they are being killed.

Don’t forget, silence is a loud voice that supports the actions of the oppressor. Let’s speak up in support of #endsarsnow because, injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. In the voice of Kwame Nkrumah, “the independence and freedom of the African Youth is meaningless, until it is linked to the total liberation of the Nigerian Youth”.