CHAPTERTWO

INTRODUCTION
The issue of insecurity has become a persistently worrying one for Nigeria. In Nigeria, no
place is apparently secured. This obnoxious situation has grown to the extent that many,
especially the government, are befuddled and at loss of insight of what meaningfully could
be done to avert the menace of insecurity. Yet, the Nigerian constitution (1999) expressly
stated that the government is primarily responsible for the security of lives and property of
the citizens of Nigeria. Every day we wake up to the news of petty crimes, armed
robberies, ethnic/religious killings, armed insurgency, the Niger Delta problem, which
appears to have died down after the hullabaloo of amnesty, terrorism, Boko Haram
massacres and bombings in Abuja, Maiduguri and other Northern cities. In fact, insecurity
has assumed a pervading form in the country. The cause of this insecurity, now
sophisticated and seemingly intractable, has been attributed to the government’s
nonchalant attitude. Adejumo (2011) observed this nonchalant attitude of the Nigerian
government in the discharge of its primary responsibility of ensuring security over the
years. Little wonder, Bankong-Obi (2012) attributed Nigeria’s intractable security
challenges to government’s apathy and inefficiency of the security agencies. Nonetheless,
it is instructive to note that insecurity, which has been sophisticated for the Nigerian
government to handle, is not peculiar to Nigeria alone. Advanced countries of the world
like France, Britain, Switzerland, Germany, Russia and United States of America are faced
with challenges of security on a daily basis.

Shortly after Nigeria’s 60 Independence Anniversary celebration on October 1, 2020, nationwide

protests fueled by demands to reform a dreaded unit of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), the
Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), broke out in several major cities across the country. Largely
staged by the youth, and trending on social media, the #EndSARS protests started on October 5,
2020 following the killing of a young man in Ughelli, Delta State by operatives of SARS. By
October 10, 2020, the street protests had spread across the country. The protests have also gone
global with solidarity protests held in Accra, Frankfurt, London, Toronto, and Washington DC,
attracting Nigerians in the diaspora and persons of note, including music and sports stars like
Wizkid, Drake, Kanye West, Mesut Özil, and Alexander Iwobi, among others, demanding an end
to police brutality in Nigeria.
The protests are the result of pent up frustrations following years of human rights violations,
extortion, torture, brutality, and extra-judicial killings by SARS operatives and the police in
general. Established as a special unit of the NPF under the Force Criminal Investigation and
Intelligence Department (FCIID) in September 1992, SARS was formed to investigate, detain, and
prosecute people suspected of involvement in high caliber crimes such as armed robbery, motor
vehicle theft, kidnapping, cattle rustling, and illegal possession of firearms. In 2018, its
operational jurisdiction was expanded to include cybercrime.
Typical of the NPF, which is pejoratively referred to by some as “No Permanent Friend”, SARS
became notorious for its alleged links to extrajudicial killings, extortion, torture, and acts of
intimidation. In 2016, an online news media organization described SARS as a “police unit with
license to kill.” Between January 2017 and May 2020, Amnesty International documented more
than 82 cases of abuse and extrajudicial killings by officers of SARS. With many of the victims
aged between 18 and 35 years, Amnesty International noted that “Nigerians are outraged by the
impunity with which SARS perpetrates horrific human rights violations.”
Acts of impunity came to a climax during the lockdown declared by the federal government to
stem the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country. The National Human Rights
Commission (NHRC) reported that within the first 14 days of the lockdown, which began on
March 29, 2020, SARS operatives were responsible for the extra-judicial killing of 18 young
Nigerians in Abia, Delta, Kaduna, Katsina, and Niger states, with “105 complaints of incidents of
human rights violations perpetuated in 24 of Nigeria‘s 36 states and Abuja.” Between April 15
and 23, 2020, SARS operatives reportedly killed an additional seven people in Abia, Anambra,
and Rivers states.
Thus, a police unit responsible for protecting citizens from extortion, torture, extrajudicial killings,
and other forms of violence, has drawn public criticism for violating human rights with impunity.
While on face value, the on-going protests seek an end to police brutality, and justice for victims,
at a deeper level, they are driven by a more fundamental demand for accountability and good
governance.

CONCEPTUAL CLARIFICATION
A most rewarding approach to this paper is to place certain basic concepts in their
correct perspective. Hence, the subsequent understanding of concepts such as security,
insecurity and national stability. Security, as seen in the Wikipedia, “is the degree of
resistance to, or protection from, harm. It applies to any vulnerable and valuable asset,
such as a person, dwelling, community, nation, or organization. ” According to Adebayo
(2011), security could be referred to as a measure that ensures peaceful co-existence and
development at large. It is implied from Adebayo’s view that with the existence of
security, there is absence of fear, threat, anxiety, tension, and apprehension over the loss of
life, liberty, property, goals and values, among others. And as Akhakpe (2013) rightly
pointed out, security could mean different things at different times to different people. It
is perhaps imperative in this paper to come to certain terms with what sort of security is
deliberated here. This is so because by the term security, one could mean food security,
financial security, personal security, energy security, environmental security, cyber security,
national security, among others. But for the purpose of this paper, the concern here is
about the national security of Nigerians as far as lives and property, and indeed, general
wellbeing. As such, proffering an understanding of the concept, national security that
offers the sense of security this paper is concerned about, cannot be out of place. The
term, security as used here can be understood as national security. As national security,
Oriakhi and Osemwingie (2012) viewed it as referring to “a state where the unity, well-
being, values, and beliefs, democratic process, mechanism of governance and welfare of
the nation and her people are perpetually improved and secured through military, political
and economic resources. Held and McGrew (1998:226) traditionally understood national
security as the acquisition, deployment and use of military force to achieve national goals.
For Ogbonnaya and Ehigiamusoe (2013), the concept of national security cut across many
disciplines covering military protection, surveillance, protection and human rights. Romm
(1993), in providing an implicit sense, saw national security as the ability of a nation to
preserve its internal values from external threats. Hence, “national security implies the
appropriation and deployment of state apparatii of coercive force to deal with situation of
crisis, nationally or internationally” (Akhakpe, 2012). Next to the concept of security is
the concept of insecurity. Insecurity only portrays the absence of security. Achumba,
Ighomereho and Akpor-Robaro (2013) would term insecurity as “the antithesis of
security.” They further acknowledged that due to the many ways insecurity affects human
life and existence, the concept of insecurity has been variously interpreted. There are some
common descriptors used to define insecurity, they include: “want of safety; danger;
hazard; uncertainty; want of confidence; doubtful; inadequately guarded or protected;
lacking stability; troubled; lack of protection; and unsafe, to mention but a few ”
(Achumba et al, 2013). Beland (2005) would describe insecurity as “the state of fear and
anxiety stemming from a concrete or alleged lack of protection.” This description
notwithstanding, Achumba et al (2013) gave a working description of insecurity that was
adopted by this paper, as: “not knowing, a lack of control, and inability to take
defensive action against forces that portend harm or danger to an individual or group, or
what make them vulnerable.”This insecurity nurtures the phenomenon of terrorism. Little
wonder, Oriakhi and Osemwingie (2012) purported that insecurity and terrorism are two
inseparable phenomena. They argued that domestic terror and other social vices are
perpetrated in the absence of strong security structure. This has been the case of Nigeria
for some time now. Not only that terrorism had held sway in the country, it had
progressed from Niger Delta militancy to the present seemingly intractable Boko Haram
insurgency. Consequently, insecurity threatens the stability of any nation. As regards the
concept of national stability, Cole (2014) opines that the concept signifies a feeling of well
being or contentment among the citizens of any country; a contentment driven by the level
of the citizens’ engagement with the system that governs them. Such stability, according
to Cole (2014), must “be built on a re-established relationship of trust between our
politicians and the people they serve.” In this regard, this paper understands the concept
of national stability as referring to a nation being firmly fixed; not likely to give way or
overturn. Stability is essential for any nation embarking on the process of development.
Having said the foregoing, which portrays the working knowledge of concepts used within
the work, an exploration of some studies on insecurity in Nigeria becomes imperative in
order to drive home the central idea of this paper.

RECENT STUDIES ON INSECURITY IN NIGERIA

For some time now, as Nwadialor (2011) rightly observed, the problem of insecurity,
which used to be one of the lowest in the hierarchy of social problems facing Nigeria,
seems to have assumed an alarming proportion since the end of the Nigerian civil war
which ended in 1970. So high is the rate of insecurity in Nigeria now that every facet of
Nigerian life has been badly affected. Fear and distrust of the other person loom large in
the polity and these have bedeviled our developmental exploits as a country. The current
state of insecurity has posed serious challenges and menace to Nigeria’s macroeconomic
environment. Not only has the country suffered colossal losses in terms of infrastructure,
properties and human lives, her economic development has also experienced retardation.
For any sustainable development, there must be security, which is not just an intrinsic
aspect of development but an essential precondition for one. Most studies have granted
evidence to this fact. Nonetheless, what remains a chagrin is that the government of the
country who is supposed to be the driver of the economic development of the country and
do possess the fundamental right, as granted by the Nigerian constitution, to provide
security, seems to be lacking ideas of what to do. At this juncture, let us examine some
studies. To this, we shall now turn to. Ujah and Eboh (2006) in their study examined
security as an important element of business environment across Nigerian states. The study
was of the view that crime and insecurity are bad for business. It also argued that
perceptions of security greatly influence business and investment decisions and that
adequate emphasis needs to be given to perceptions about security threat in the business
environment. The study recognized the security benchmark as comprising of six measures,
namely major crimes (crimes with violence); minor crimes (crimes without violence); police
resources, cost and availability; perception of security situation by business enterprises;
emergency preparedness and insurance; and security strategies and programmes. These
measures reflect different dimensions of the security challenges in the business
environment. Each measure is operationalised by a set of indicators, which the study
empirically evaluated using verified quantitative data collected from public sector agency or
qualitative data obtained through perceptions-based survey of firms. The study observed the
continued debate on security about the sharing of responsibility between the federal state
and local governments. As such, the study sought to drive public debate on security
policies, particularly the question of responsibilities between the three tiers of government
in ensuring security.
Oladeji and Folorunsho (2007) in their study examined the relationship between economic
growth and political instability during the period 1970-2003 in Nigeria. By political
instability here, the study implied violence, lack of property, and other forms of disorder
that led to the risk of loss for which economic agents were employed. This political
instability was measured by a combination of four variables namely: number of political
assassination, coup attempts, ethnic disturbances and most importantly, violence. The causal
relationship between political instability and macroeconomic instability was investigated
using Ganger-Causality tests. Data employed for the analysis were gathered from the
statistical bulletin of the CBN complemented by the world development indicators of World
Bank. The study found that there was a negative link between political and macroeconomic
instability and economic growth and investment rate. The study is of the view that the
transition to civil rule is yet to make positive impact on national security and stability,
hence the poor economic performance in Nigeria during 1970-2003. The study portrayed
the dynamics of the higher the level of political and macroeconomic instability, the lower
is the economic growth and investment rate. This being the case, the study recommended
the prevention of insecurity and any form of instability by the political leaders in Nigeria
and the strategies of prevention must clearly address the root causes of conflicts. The
study further recommended that the Nigerian government should review the current
stabilization programme in order to restore macroeconomic stability. Oriahki and
Osemwingie (2012) in their study investigated the impact of national security on foreign
direct investment in Nigeria using Least Square method. They observed that national
security proxy by defense and security vote (annual expenditure on security) crowd out
foreign direct investment in Nigeria. Foreign direct investment, as we know, is a vital
source of savings for any developing country and thus, an engine for growth, however, it
is a paramount source of concern when the FDI is being crowded out and impacted
negatively by issues of insecurity as it is the case of Nigeria. To provide solution, the
study recommended that the government, the major player in security, should adopt strong
policy measures by devising a more holistic approach to tackling the state of insecurity by
entrenching the culture of transparency such that funds allocated to the sector (security) are
effectively utilized for equipping the security system to meet the 21st century's standard.
Also, it recommended that the government should seek technical assistance in the area of
intelligence from advanced countries. Finally, the study was of the view that proactive
measures be adopted by the government. Akhakpe (2012) on his own part, tried to point
out in his study, the recurring election crises under liberal democratic system and the
threat they pose to national security in Nigeria. Of great concern to the study is election,
the major instrument for selecting political office holders and the means of ensuring
accountability and mobilization of the citizenry for political participation. Yet, elections in
Nigeria have always been marked by malpractices, which has often brought about
unpopular governments to power with the resultant legitimacy crisis, breakdown of law and
order and general threat to security. For instance, as Akhakpe (2012) observed, the
aftermath of the 2011 general elections in Nigeria threatened the very existence of the
Nigerian state. The Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) came out openly to reject the
result of the presidential elections, which it alleged that its candidate, retired General
Buhari won. While the case was in court, political jobbers and miscreants seized the
opportunity to create a state of insecurity in the country through the spate of bombing
and communal violence in several parts of the north. The political uncertainties in the
country created avenues for aggrieved groups to revive their hitherto latent agitations for
all manners of things. The study therefore contended, using the structure agency theory,
that election in which ‘the winner takes all’ is suitable for a plural society like Nigeria.
The study also argued that the endemic problem of electoral conflicts and crises within
the Nigerian state can be resolved by the enthronement of genuine democracy based on
the people’s cultural values, which contain the universal ideals of democracy.

CAUSE OF THE ENDSARS PROTEST IN NIGERIA

Oct. 20, 2020, will forever be known as Black Tuesday in Nigeria. In a darkness broken only by
the blue light of cellphone screens, the sound of gunshots rang out as the army and police fired
into a crowd of young people who had gathered at Lagos’s Lekki toll gate to protest the Special
Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a notoriously abusive arm of the police
The massacre at Lekki punctuated more than two weeks of protest of police brutality in Nigeria.
The hashtag #EndSARS began trending (again) on social media on Oct. 4. The immediate trigger
was a video that showed a SARS officer shooting a young motorist in Ughelli, in Delta state, then
pushing his body out of the car and driving off with the dead man’s Lexus SUV. Within days,
crowds of young people gathered in Nigerian cities to demand the abolition of SARS.
This year’s protests follow on previous activism and government announcements that SARS
would be demobilized in 2014, 2015 and 2017. And yet, SARS officers continued to act with
impunity, committing armed robberies, rapes, other acts of torture and extrajudicial killings like
the one in Delta State. On Oct. 11, leaders announced that SARS would be disbanded, but crowds
of protesters grew bigger — even in the face of violence and intimidation. Since the protests
began, estimates are that at least 100 individuals have lost their lives; 48 of whom were killed on
Black Tuesday alone.
Black Tuesday is the latest in a long history of police and military campaigns in Nigeria against
the civilian population. For half of the republic’s 60-year history and for the century of colonial
rule before independence there have been quasi-military police forces and outright military police
charged with repressing dissent from the civilian population. The history of Nigeria’s police
abuses helps us see the continuities in the misuse of state power against citizens. But it also shows
that through it all, Nigerians have resisted the negation of their basic humanity.
Modern policing in what would become Nigeria started in 1861 with the annexation of Lagos by
British colonial forces. The colonial governor established an armed police force to “protect” the
European-occupied parts of the city from recalcitrant local rulers. As a force composed of 25
newly freed Hausa men (from the northern part of the country), their salaries were low and
undoubtedly inspired members of the force to supplement their earnings from the local population.
Because they were Hausa men relocated to a largely non-Hausa Lagos (in southwestern Nigeria),
their loyalty to the British as opposed to the local indigenous community was virtually guaranteed.
Beyond Lagos, the arrival of modern police forces accompanied the spread of British colonial
power. Quasi-military police forces participated in the key punitive expeditions that brought
defiant local communities under British control. In 1891, a British colonial official, Acting Consul
George Annesley, assembled and armed a small group of men to subdue chiefs in the upper Cross
River region, who were seen as obstacles to the expansion of British economic power. Annesley
reportedly planned to pay his agents out of fines extracted from subdued native chiefs. Within a
year, this force, which other colonial officials privately referred to as “Annesley Baba and his 40
thieves,” was disbanded following the revelation of atrocities against local people.
The pattern of assembling policing forces to protect government over the people, to prey on local
communities and suppress dissent continued well into the 20th century. The Aba Women’s War
of 1929, the General Strike of 1945 and the Enugu Colliery Strike of 1949 were instances where
anti-colonial resistance was met with a quasi-military policing force deployed to subjugate
citizens.
At Nigeria’s 1960 independence, the major political question regarding policing was whether the
three regions that formed the country at the time should have their own police forces or if the
federation should direct the police. Anxieties from this period motivated the current structure of
the Nigerian Police Force, which is controlled by the federal government. The organization also
stemmed from the widespread fear that regional leaders would deploy police forces against their
political enemies. Such fears were not unfounded; politicians in the 1940s and even now have
routinely employed and armed hooligans to intimidate political opponents and voters.
Yet centralizing power over police did not protect Nigerians from abuse. For example, when the
musician Fela Kuti criticized the military government in the 1970s, a joint police and military
operation invaded his commune in 1977. During the raid, his mother, the celebrated activist
Funmilayo Kuti, was thrown from a second-story window, sustaining injuries that caused her
death.
Today, the deployment of the army in the Lekki toll gate massacre has a particular symbolic
meaning because Nigeria was under military rule for half of its existence as an independent nation.
From 1966 to 1999, one coup leader took over from another in a seemingly endless stream of
khaki-clad men. For decades, armed men from the military and police ruled the nation, governed
the states and patrolled the streets, indiscriminately meting out unchecked violence upon ordinary
people. The only check on their unpredictable violence became other armed uniformed men. All
governments are susceptible to authoritarianism, but when the military and the executive become
one and the same, the judiciary and the legislature tend to fall in line; this was military rule in
Nigeria as in most of Africa, Asia and Latin America during the Cold War.
Despite a system that has been unresponsive to their needs, the youth of Nigeria have spoken up.
There is a poetry to the fact that #EndSARs erupted in October 2020; Oct. 1, 1960 marked the
official date of Nigeria’s independence from British rule. Sixty years later, young Nigerians are
still demanding freedom from repression. The #EndSARS protests began with a focus on police
brutality, but have extended to other dimensions of corruption, human rights violations and
underdevelopment in Nigeria. Not necessarily seeking to topple Nigeria or even the Buhari
regime, (there are other groups in the country much more focused on this) the #EndSARS protests
sought to make Nigerian citizenship mean something tangible and worthwhile for young people.
Comparisons and connections can be drawn between the movement for Black lives in the United
States and the #EndSars protests in Nigeria — both are triggered by the impunity of police
violence upon marginalized communities; both movements featured dramatic outpourings of
young people who had been written off by establishment politicians as disaffected or lazy; both
movements made savvy use of social media.
But there are important contrasts as well. Police brutality in the United States upholds a White
supremacist racial order. Police brutality in Nigeria upholds whoever is paying the policing forces
— the regime in power. Just as the color line is still the fundamental dividing line of the societies
of the Americas, religious divides, ethnic, caste and economic divides are fundamental to
understanding social difference in other parts of the world.
Police brutality is the common tool used to maintain a variety of systems of inequality and
oppression in different societies. And it is a tool that gets turned systematically on the most
vulnerable members of society. But the protests against police brutality that have crystallized in
2020 insist that new and just societies in which young people can imagine meaningful futures are
still, for the moment, possible.

STATE RESPONSES TO THE PROTESTS

Earlier on, the protests were met with resistance and violent crackdowns by state security forces.
Over 10 people were killed in the demonstrations across the country while media sources reported
security operatives arresting of protesters and journalists in Abuja. In Rivers state, the government
initially banned the protest. The ban was defied with protesters marching to the state house in Port
Harcourt. Governor Nyesom Wike retracted his initial position and addressed the protesters. The
Nigerian Army has also declared its readiness to quell the protests. But the protests have continued
to grow. From one major city to another within and outside Nigeria, the protesters have refused to
bulge to appeals to stop or be intimidated.
The resilience of the protesters has drawn the attention of state authorities. In a broadcast on
Friday October 9, 2020, President Muhammad Buhari promised to disband SARS and to reform
the police service. In his words, “the disbanding of SARS is only the first step in our
commitment to extensive police reforms. We will also ensure that all those responsible for
misconduct are brought to justice.” He also granted the five-point demand of the protesters,
namely:
Immediate release of all arrested protesters.
Justice for all deceased victims of police brutality and appropriate compensations for their
families.
Setting up an independent body to oversee the investigation and prosecution of all reports of
police misconduct within 10 days.
In line with the new Police Act, psychological evaluation and retraining (to be confirmed by an
independent body) of all disbanded SARS officers before they can be redeployed.
Increase police salary so that they are adequately compensated for protecting lives and property of
citizens.
Following the President’s broadcast, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu,
on Sunday October 11, 2020, disbanded SARS. In a statement, the IGP declared, “I assure the
nation of our firm determination to advance our police reform agenda, with a view to bequeathing
to our beloved nation, a police institution and system that are not only accountable to the citizens,
but professional in all components of its service delivery.” The IGP also ordered SARS personnel
to report at the Force Headquarters in Abuja for debriefing and medical examination. In place of
SARS, the leadership of the police established the Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT) to
fill the gap created by the dissolution of SARS.
In a similar response, Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, ordered the release of arrested
protesters and promised to pay N200 million as compensation to the families of victims of police
brutality. This was followed by a written statement by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, in which he
apologized to Nigerians, admitting state failure to protect the citizens “even from those who are
paid to protect them.” Despite the acceptance of their demands, protesters have refused to leave
the streets and public spaces. Their argument is that the government has not proved itself worthy
of trust by the citizens, having failed to keep similar promises in the past. Between 2017 and 2019,
the government once again declared its commitment to disband SARS on the strength of the
recommendations of a Presidential Panel on the Reform of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad. Until
the current protests started, the government failed to act in line with its commitment. Repeated
failures by Nigerian state officials to keep their promises have remained a major characteristic of
governance in the country since its return to democracy 21 years ago.

MORE THAN A CALL FOR SECURITY SECTOR REFORM

The #EndSARS protest is more than just a call for security sector reform in Nigeria. The protests
are coming amidst economic crisis occasioned by the fall in global oil demand and prices,
institutionalized corruption, and state profligacy. Existing social inequalities have been
exacerbated by the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. The cumulative effect of the pandemic on
the society in the absence of safety nets have coincided with months of closure of educational
institutions leaving many young people alienated and angry. This has been complicated by
worsening economic conditions and bleak projections for the future. Barely recovering from an
economic recession that started in 2016, President Buhari has called on Nigerians to “brace up
for another recession.” Amidst reports of high level state corruption, galloping inflation and
unprecedented levels of unemployment, the government recently announced increases in the pump
prices of fuel and a hike in electricity tariffs.
The gloomy economic outlook has been worsened by rising insecurity across the country. Since
2009, the Boko Haram insurgency has contributed to a monumental and complex humanitarian
crisis with over 30,000 deaths and the displacement of more than two million people in the north-
east region of the country. Across the north-west, rural banditry and cattle rustling continue to
pose threats to life and property while recurrent clashes between sedentary farmers and nomadic
herders in the north-central region is threatening food security and livelihoods. In the south-east
and south-south regions, secessionist agitations, militancy, farmer-herder conflicts, and kidnapping
for ransom not only threaten human security, but also the stability and territorial integrity of the
Nigerian state as well as the legitimacy of the State.
State actors in Nigeria have shown a lack of political will to creatively respond to the demands
and expectations of the citizens. Against this background, the protests have become a metaphor for
broader resentment against a dysfunctional system that has frustrated any organic development in
the country. It has opened the path for the people to vent bottled-up frustrations against a system
that has held so much promise but delivered so little. #EndSARS is a protest against a ruling elite
that has exploited and appropriated the collective patrimony to itself.
The protesters’ demands at the beginning were simple and straight forward; federal government
should abolish SARS, provide justice to victims of police brutality and reform the police. But the
demands have grown and now include a call to end insecurity and corruption, revival of the
educational and health systems, reduction in the cost of governance, and creation of jobs and
income generating opportunities for the youth. The youth are taking advantage of the protests to
demand for good governance. They have shown determination and courage despite threats of state
repression, to occupy the streets and hold the authorities to account. Worthy of note is how the
protesters have effectively used social media and digital technologies to mobilize and organize
protests across the country and how “resourceful young medical practitioners, lawyers, freelance
media startups and food vendors are offering free services to the protesters and injured.”
In a country where protests against human rights violations by state actors and agencies are rare,
the intensity and scope of the ongoing protests as well as the courage and determination of the
protesters, reflect a deep-seated resentment against an oppressive political order. They also reflect
a long-standing yearning for peaceful and positive change. As the protests continue to gain
momentum, some argue that they point to a looming revolution in Nigeria.

WHAT MAKES THESE PROTESTS DIFFERENT?

Firstly, the protest is not just about the Special Anti-Robbery Squad. It’s the result of pent-up
anger over the dehumanising policies of government, maladministration, injustice, hunger as well
as high energy and fuel prices.
The cumulative effect of these roll into one. That’s why the protesters have refused to end their
action. It seems this is seen as a once in a lifetime opportunity to address critical national
injustices.
This generation of young Nigerians are doing a good job. There is good coordination,
arrangements have been made for food and water as well as music to keep them busy. They have
medical personnel on standby, ambulances and mobile toilets for convenience. They have also
hired private security (bouncers) for protection, raised money and ensured properties are safe.
They have also made it clear that they have no leader. This could be the result of mistrust of past
leaders.
Nigeria is said to be the poverty capital of the world. Yet young Nigerians have been protesting for
over a week across the country without looting shops. They have ensured that the streets are
cleaned after the day’s protest and that there’s no violence or lawlessness.
Another key factor that makes this protest unique is the use of social media. The way this has
helped mobilise protesters is unprecedented.

WHY HAVE THE PROTESTS BEEN DRIVEN BY YOUNG NIGERIANS?

Over 70% of the population is under 30 years of age. Unemployment stood at 21.7 million in the
second quarter of 2020. The youth account for 13.9 million of this.
Young Nigerians are, therefore, most affected by government policies that have led to a lack of
jobs and meaningful sources for livelihood. Other triggers include the lavish lifestyle of political
leaders. The government budgets more money for the members of the National Assembly than for
health and education.
Are there important lessons from this protest?
One takeaway is that a new social contract is being written. Nigerians are creating a new
understanding of how leaders and public servants should relate to citizens.
Secondly, the youth are reinventing governance in Nigeria and bringing about a new culture of
asserting rights among the citizenry.
Most of the protesters have never experienced military rule. Is this material?
The 30% of Nigerian who are adults and have experienced military rule seem to have that etched
deep into their psyche. They are afraid of a man in uniform. This has become a part of
Nigerians’ conditioning.
However, the youth believe that the men in uniform are meant to serve the citizens and to protect
them. It is a different relationship entirely. Young people are more exposed to the fact that things
could be better and are ready to take their destiny into their own hands. They want to reinvent the
country and to be a better place to live.
Their access to the internet also informs their action. They are able to reach the world from their
bedroom.

WHAT COMES NEXT FOR THE #ENDSARS PROTESTS?

Now that the wave of street protests has subsided due to military clampdown on the protesters,
how #EndSARS unfolds—both intentionally and unintentionally—depends on its organization
and the state’s response. The role of social media in driving the #EndSARS protest is well-
documented , but that method comes with risks as the medium often struggles to mitigate fake
news that triggers violence and reprisal violence, especially along ethno-religious lines. For
example, notable Northerners (largely supporters of Buhari) hold the view that #EndSARS is
driven by Southerners looking to discredit Buhari rather than legitimate grievances of the youth.
Notably, Northern youth simultaneously have started protests tagged #SecureNorth in order to
highlight the grave security challenges in the northern regions of the country . That youth-driven
message, however, seems to have been overshadowed by #EndSARS.
There is the risk of the issue being hijacked as well: Many Nigerian politicians have not refrained
from exploiting religion and geopolitical tensions for provincial gains, and #EndSARS may
provide them another opportunity to do so. Furthermore,
hoodlums have taken advantage of the security vacuum created by the
#EndSARS protest and the anger that instigated it. The attendant action of
jail breaks potentially foreshadows dangers for overall security in the country. In addition,
simmering separatist tendencies in some regions and any misplaced response by government could
create opportunities for such groups to deepen their rhetoric and mobilization.
Then again, the energy behind the #EndSARS protest suggests the potential for comprehensive
police reform and democratic change. The government has yielded to the demands of the
#EndSARS protesters by promising to reform the police. However, if the promise of police reform
is not significantly pursued by the government ( as has been the trend in the past ), the sustained
online protests with trending hashtags might trigger yet another wave of street protests in the days
to come.
More importantly, the #EndSARS protest has shown the ingenuity of young Nigerians to organize,
and the possibility of translating #EndSARS to a political cause remains very strong. Indeed,
about half of the registered voters in Nigeria are aged between 18 and 35 —meaning the youth
will hold a lot of electoral sway in the 2023 election, in which case, if they effectively organize,
they could topple the current political establishments—both the major parties of the All
Progressive Congress and Peoples Democratic Party—and generate genuine democratic change in
Nigeria.

Prognosis for the future

While the experiences of Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia in the Arab spring provide lessons for Nigeria,
how the government manages the ongoing protests will ultimately define the future of democratic
governance in Nigeria. The disbandment of SARS and the creation of SWAT appear more of a
cosmetic approach than a genuine effort at reforming the police. The protests offer an opportunity
for genuine governance reform in Nigeria. The dilemma, however, is that government keen to
preserve its hold on power is employing different strategies to force an end to the protests
including the deployment of the military. It is not seeing the protests as an opportunity for
peaceful reforms. At this point, it is not clear if the current protests will bring about the desired
change or will spiral out of control and attract a heavy-handed response from the state. However,
it does indicate that a generational shift in the paradigm of power and governance has forced its
way on to the national agenda although it is yet early to tell how this will pan out for citizenship,
leadership, and governance in Nigeria.