When some people, as seen from a User Generated Content (video), purportedly members of the Nigerian armed forces decided to turn the Lekki Tollgate to an abattoir by killing and maiming peaceful protesters, we were all angry and castigated the governor of the state, Babajide Sanwo-Olu. We lashed out at him and his team for being a puppet whose strings are been pulled.
Are we justified? Well, to some extent, I think we are. Especially because the youths are fighting for all that is wrong with the Nigerian fabric, which could be summarised as a result of bad leadership. But after critical examination of the events that happened, I suddenly realised we were actually excusing the main culprit in this whole saga; the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari.
If we carefully examine the timeline of events on Tuesday, October 20, 2020 and the theatrically bizarre drama that unfolded, we may suddenly realise that there seemed to be some sort of coordinated attacks on Lagos State.
We woke up to the arson committed at the Orile Iganmu Police Command. Several reports claimed unidentified men hijacked the #EndSARS protests and set the police command on fire. Immediately after that, everything started spiraling downhill; armed confrontation in Mushin was reported and a policeman was killed while civilian causalities were also recorded.
At 11:49am on Tuesday, Sanwo-Olu reacted by announcing what I believe is an ill-advised 24hr curfew to start at 4:00pm same day. He said, “I have watched with shock how what began as a peaceful #EndSARS protest has degenerated into a monster that is threatening the well-being of our society. Lives and limbs have been lost as criminals and miscreants are now hiding under the umbrella of these protests to unleash mayhem on our state. As a government that is alive to its responsibility and has shown a commitment to the movement #ENDSARS, we will not watch and allow anarchy in our dear state.
“I, therefore, hereby impose a 24-hour curfew on all parts of the State as from 4pm today, 20th October,2020. Nobody, except essential service providers and first responders must be found on the streets,” he had warned.
Expectedly, we felt pained and agitated on how a governor who we believed was standing with us will suddenly made a U-turn and turn aggressor, ordering the shooting of young Nigerians standing up for their right? Besides taking swipes at the Governor, social commentators, public affairs analysts and Nigerians across diverse walks of life have blamed Sanwo-Olu for being inconsiderate; given the timing of the curfew. Their grouse, and justifiably so, is how people could meet up with the very short deadline given, considering that some people live quite a distance from the venues of the protests.
Possibly because of the latter argument, the governor caved in and the curfew was allegedly moved back to 9pm on the same day to provide Lagosians amble time to get home safe. Whether this was effectively communicated across, the result speaks. Obviously, the Nigerian Army didn’t get the brief.
By 7:00pm same day, the Nigerian army had moved in on the protesters at Lekki Tollgate only and started shooting. In a video shared by a popular hiphop artiste, Davido, protesters were seen running helter-skelter after the soldiers started shooting.
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Lekki Vi toll gate atm !!! This is heartbreaking !!!!!! This can’t be happening! PRAY FOR NIGERIA!!!
Aftermath of the massacre, the army has denied involvement in the shooting and had labelled the reports false on all its verified social media accounts. When contacted on Tuesday evening by one of the reputable media platform in Nigeria, the spokesperson of the military outfit, Sagir Musa, said that protest is a civil matter and the army has nothing to do with the attack. And when confronted with the multiple evidence indicating that the shooters were soldiers, Musa said;
“I am not aware.”
#LekkiMassacre #LekkiAbattoir #EndSARS pic.twitter.com/h3ugDKtIQS
— Freelanews (@freelartltd) October 21, 2020
But the Lagos State governor, in what looked like an encrypted message, blamed ‘forces beyond our direct control’ and many pundits believed he must have been referring to the military.
“This is the toughest night of our lives as forces beyond our direct control have moved to make dark notes in our history, but we will face it and come out stronger. I’ve just concluded visits to hospitals with victims of this unfortunate shooting incident at Lekki.”
The force beyond a Nigerian governor’s control could only be the Nigerian army and based on the Nigerian constitution, it is only the federal government that is empowered to deploy the military against aggression.
So, who then activated the killing machine in a civil matter? Considering that according to the same constitution, protests are categorised so.
According to Section 217, sub section 2 of the Nigerian constitution and I quote, “The Federation shall, subject to an Act of the National Assembly made in that behalf, equip and maintain the armed forces as may be considered adequate and effective for the purpose of -“(a) defending Nigeria from external aggression; (b) maintaining its territorial integrity and securing its borders from violation on land, sea, or air; (c) suppressing insurrection and acting in aid of civil authorities to restore order when called upon to do so by the President, but subject to such conditions as may be prescribed by an Act of the National Assembly; and (d) performance such other functions as may be prescribed by an Act of the National Assembly.”
It is clearly stated in the constitution that only the Nigerian President who is the Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces can deploy the army, just as in item (c), “to suppress insurrection and restore order in a civil matter and must be subject to the conditions laid down by the National Assembly!”
With this laid out background, one can then from a place of constitutional understanding enquire:
- Who ordered that the army (if indeed it was the army) to pull the trigger on protesters on October 20, 2020?
- Was it president Muhammadu Buhari or the Executive governor of Lagos, Babajide Sanwo-Olu?
- Why were institutions-not in the same proximity-suddenly going up in flames almost simultaneously if these attacked weren’t coordinated, keeping in mind that the major areas #EndSARS protesters used for their demonstrations witnessed no form of vandalization whatsoever through the days they were there?
While we may never find answers to these burning questions, I will like to advise that as youths, we need to remain focused and not allow ourselves to be used as smokescreen for some sinister plans by politicians.
A popular Yoruba adage says, ma’ja, ma’sa, la n mo akikanju l’ogun. Akikanju to maja, ti o ma’sa, iru won ma ba ogun lo ni (A true warrior learns when to fight and when to withdraw. The ones who don’t know this die foolish and unsong).
Our protests have made an indelible mark in the history of Nigeria and have shaken the politicians. The message is loud and clear that #EndSARS is a success.
It is a wise counsel to learn to sheath our swords and fight another day in order not to allow conscienceless politicians taint our agitation for a better Nigeria.
Great Nigerian youths, we shall overcome!
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