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#EndSARS: Nigerian youths have finally found a cure to government’s deafness [Pulse Contributor's Opinion]

We all knew that days like these will creep on us like a SARS officer in search of Yahoo Boys.

#EndSARS protester [Twitter/ @PreciousEme4]

We knew that days when Nigerian youth will take their destinies in their hands and demand for a better country, will come. Days when the Nigerian youth will scream in unison that they are indeed tired of the terrible conditions they are been subjected to. Days when the government will be forced to listen to them under the intense heat of a strong movement. Nigeria, her leaders, and the older generation were deaf to this prophecy.

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In just under two weeks, the young people of Nigeria have moved from just calling the attention of the world to the brutality they experience in the hands of the police on social media to taking their anger to the street to send a strong message to their leaders. Massive protests have sprung up in major cities of the country as young people speak louder for all to hear of their plight.

The current situation is interesting. Nigerian youth are known to be one of the most dogged sets of people in the world. Known to be industrious, hardworking, focus, and defiant. We flourish all over the world, outside Nigeria. In their own country they are reduced to mere nuisance. They are harassed and brutalized by the Nigeria Police Force, especially operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).

The officers in the unit are notorious. They have been accused of murder, maiming, kidnapping, harassment, extortion, rape, robbery, torture, and all other forms of human rights abuses, too unspeakable to tell. If we, indeed live in a country where justice prevails, 80 per cent of those in this unit would have lost their jobs and be locked up for their crimes. Nigerians have repeatedly cried out for an end to the excesses of SARS only for Nigeria to play deaf. Instead, the masses’ cry for the disbandment of SARS and the reform of the Nigerian Police Force is turned into a yearly plea that no one cares about.

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One wonders why the Nigerian leadership and police authorities continue to declare the disbandment of the tactical unit only on paper when the issue is such an important one. If the many stories shared by victims are anything to go by, at least two out of every four young Nigerian has had terrifying encounters with the Nigerian Police, especially SARS operatives. Therefore, a majority of youth have been victims or witnesses to the unspeakable crimes committed over the years. I have personally witnessed and heard a lot of scary stories.

What the protesters are asking for is simple:

A police force that is not corrupt, one that wouldn’t profile you for owning a laptop, an iPhone, for wearing a tattoo on or a dreadlock. Police operatives that wouldn’t kidnap you, threaten you or even rob you of your earnings. Is this too much to ask?

Nigerian Youth are now speaking at the loudest. The power of social media, especially Twitter, is amplifying their voice and the world is forced to listen. It’s high time President Muhammadu Buhari to listen and attended to all the protesters’ requests as a father would if his child faced bullying in school.

The leaders must realise that the evil perpetrated by SARS operatives is just a symptom and not the disease. A lot is wrong with the Nigerian system, particularly with the Justice system. There are cracks that allow for all forms of lawlessness and crimes committed by SARS to go unabated. The justice system is ineffective, and enabled for the highest bidder. Therefore, if reform in the police is expected to be effective, the justices system also must be looked into.

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It is exciting to see young people looking beyond the religious, political and ethno-religious sentiments placed before them by their parents. Indeed, we must give three ‘Gbosa!’ to every Nigerian youth lending a voice to end police brutality, especially those who refused to let the fears and intimidations of the older generation, whose actions and inactions brought us here, stop them.

From the look of things, this movement is just the beginning of an even bigger movement for a better Nigeria and a better future for young people. We must build on the gains by speaking out on other issues that directly and indirectly affect us. Our current demands must culminate into further demands for a better health care system, a prosperous economy, a befitting educational system and a nation where everyone can flourish without fear.

While we celebrate the most recent disbandment of SARS, let us regard it as a single win in a battle and face the long war still ahead of us. Let us also remember that at least 10 people, including an innocent bystander, Jimoh Isiaka, were gunned down by the police in Ogbomosho. The abuses we face from SARS will not stop with mere disbandment of the unit because the operatives will join other units and formations with their perverted attitude. We must demand a reform that goes beyond an end to SARS. The reform must cover every single police officer.

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If we play our cards right, the recent developments can lead to a many wins, but these wins will not lead to the ideal change that we seek if we do not go into the 2023 elections with the same #EndSARS energy. The election should mark the beginning of the revolution we need as a nation. We can use it to send a message to politicians that we are done being taken for fools. No more business as usual.

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Pulse Contributors is an initiative to highlight diverse journalistic voices. Pulse Contributors do not represent the company Pulse and contribute on their own behalf.

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About the author: Joshua Oyenigbehin is a freelance writer, book reviewer, photographer, and a content writer with published works in several top Nigerian online platforms including Bella Naija, Legit ng, Naija News, others. Joshua is a passionate introvert. He is the author of The Scepter’s Trail, a novel.

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