Nigerian protests

Since early October, Nigerians – mostly in their 20s and 30s – have taken to the streets to voice their anger over police brutality, corruption and the incompetence of the ruling elite. The demonstrations were first triggered by anger at the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, better known as SARS. This is a branch of the police notorious for its track record of human rights abuses: kidnappings, extortion, harassment and killings.

Almost everyone in Nigeria has a story about SARS abuse, including me. In June this year, a friend of mine was arrested after breaking curfew to buy medicine for his ill wife. After he called me for help, I went to see him with a police officer friend of mine, hoping his job and my fame could offer some protection.

When we arrived at the scene, SARS officers had stopped close to 30 cars and confiscated everyone’s phones so they could not call for help. We saw how officers blatantly planted drugs in one of the cars, and then made everyone else line up at a nearby ATM to take out anything between $3 and $50 cash for their bribes.

SARS is also notorious for targeting young people on the flimsiest suspicion of involvement in gangs. I have friends in the music industry who have been arrested for nothing but their tattoos or their dreadlocks. It usually takes two or three days in jail and a well-placed bribe, before they are released. No wonder that #EndSARS has trended on Twitter for weeks.

The terror spread by security forces is, however, just the tip of the iceberg. Young people are protesting against a system that for decades has protected and enriched those in power. Elections have become a charade with rampant vote buying and a sense of apathy and hopelessness has defined many Nigerians – until now.

The response by the authorities has been brutal. Police have used beatings, tear gas and – as they did in Lekki – live ammunition to break up demonstrations, resulting in many deaths.

On October 11, the government pledged to disband SARS, but we have heard similar promises before. In fact, there is every chance the situation could escalate. In his address to the nation, President Muhammadu Buhari refused to even acknowledge the massacre in Lekki. He also called the government’s initial willingness to listen to protesters a “sign of weakness”, and issued thinly veiled threats of more violence.

For us protesters, it is clear that we are fighting against a government that is willing to kill you and then blame you for your own death. The authorities are intent on creating chaos as a pretext to intensify their crackdown. One politician has even tried to whip up ethnic hatred – suggesting that the demonstrations are the South trying to plan a coup.

Excerpted: ‘Nigerian protests: A once-in-a-generation moment for change’

Aljazeera.com