#EndSARS: Chronicles of government tyranny and half-baked cover-up lies

These days, it feels like a cruel game of subterfuge masterminded against the Nigerian citizen when one considers all that has happened throughout the #EndSARS protests in Nigeria. The politicians seem to have a bet on who makes the wildest joke of the "matters arising". They lie through their teeth and honest to God expect that millions of Nigerians would quietly embrace their poorly baked lies. They deny, provoke, denounce, and push out press releases that sound like what you'd employ with a riot of animals. They simply don't care!

Nigeria, like a lot of countries, had been gradually easing out of the COVID-19 lock-down. With the growth of disaffection towards the ruling class, a crisis had been brewing silently. We all knew that the lock-down could have been better managed. One major narrative that stuck with a lot of Nigerians was the various reports of police brutality through the lockdowns.

The government used every force available to clamp down on peaceful agitations for better welfare. People were hungry and the lockdowns witnessed shameless looting of relief funds and very little concern for the masses. The government responded with force where citizens raised concerns. They had security personnel patrolling the streets to terrorise and enforce. Even now, when huge barns of COVID-19 palliatives are discovered locked away, citizens have been killed and brutalized for taking them. The sheer inhumanity is soul-wrenching.

October 2020 brought the country to a tipping point as it became clearer that citizens would never have a voice in their home if they couldn't tackle this monster in the room. The questions of accountability, citizen engagement, and justice had to be answered. Standing between the citizens and their leaders are the security outfits including the police and especially the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). The demand to end SARS picked up on social media with twitter playing a central role.

There's almost no version of the Nigerian reality that has not found centre-stage. We have cried, hated, been angry, some have begged for their lives, we have hoped, and waited. The sad reality, as it seems, is that no one will be held accountable for all the years of damage to our communities and the dashing of Nigerian hope.

NASFAT sets up N10 million relief fund for endsars victims (VisualsbyUche) Pulse Nigeria

The police want us to believe that without shooting guns, they cannot engage the Nigerian. They want us to think that guns are the only ways to handle Nigerians. The politicians have forgotten how to make public addresses, all they do now is lie.

Meanwhile, many Nigerians have stopped sleeping in their beds, or they have slept half awake — their eyes open, their hearts racing, traumatized by the constant threatening language of the Presidency. When an inquest into police brutality is demanded, the immediate response by government is to send armoured tanks, water cannons and tear gas. Zero dialogue. Nil consideration. Yet, they wonder why dialogue was off the table for the youths.

In the 21st century, Nigerians may have come to grasp even more fully what it means to be homeless. You might have an address in the city, a nice apartment tucked away in "the abroad", yet you are never at home.

There's a soldier or policeman with a bullet that has your name etched on it.

We have watched with dismay as chaos has took over Nigerian cities, people crying for help, poorly lit videos of human tragedy at the Lekki Massacre. The trauma is tearing at us and we cannot even explain what's wrong — why our eyes have lost sleep, and our mouths are bitterly dry from exhaustion.

A great tragedy is the constant barrage of poor reportage, espionage-style engagement by government officials and blatant, naked lying. One would wonder if Nigeria is a democratic African nation or a war zone where spies and liars walk the hallways of government offices. There has hardly been a moment of cohesion between the Nigerian leaders across states and the population.

The amount of strategy and resources devoted to repression, and cover-up is simply amazing. Even when hoodlums and murderers took to the streets and began to hunt down citizens, the consistent report was that security personnel were unresponsive to calls for help. Yet, the Nigerian politician is constantly committed to PR campaigns and mind games. They have tried to blame protesters for the mayhem and violence across the country.

However, this crisis has only exposed further the ineptitude of security apparatuses. There are no non-violent protocols for citizen engagement and a dearth of emergency response to threats and criminal activities.

#EndSARS protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate, Lagos Pulse Nigeria

Young people across the country had come to agree on one thing, these hoodlums hiding behind guns and authority of government need to be conscripted. Irrespective of ethnicity, religion or ideological leanings, we want the hired guns removed so that we can protest the bag of rot that sits in federal and state offices. This is the only way forward.

As many people may believe that the spirit and resolve of the EndSars protests has been broken, they couldn’t be more mistaken. It might take more time to plan and organize but the youths have seen what needs to happen for the Nigerian dream to find space to breathe.

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About the author: Oladeji Jonathan Damilola is a Nigerian living in South Africa, where he is pursuing a Ph.D. in Real Estate at the University of Pretoria. He is co-author of Life's Chrysalis, a past winner of the Biopage International Essay Contest and founder of Creative Freelance Writerz-Africa. He has written for platforms like The Guardian News Nigeria, Sahara Reporters, Tuck Magazine and others. He plays the saxophone.