When the Union Jack was being lowered on October 1, 1960 there were very high expectations for the then new nation of Nigeria. We had abundant human and natural resources. Our Judges were being exported to other African nations as well as the International Court of Justice at the Hague. Justice Udoma Udo Udoma was the Chief Justice of Uganda, Justice Akinola Aguda was the Chief Justice of Botswana, Justice Charles Daddy Onyema, the father of the current Minister for Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyema was at the Hague as well as Teslim Olawale Elias who was the nation’s pioneer Attorney-General.
It was Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe who inspired Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah to study in the United States while the former edited the widely read African Morning Post in the then Gold Coast now known as Ghana. We had vast natural resources as well. Malaysia sent a delegation to Nigeria to borrow some of our oil palm seedlings with which they used back in their country. Crude Oil had been discovered four years before independence and its global demand was set to greatly benefit the country. The curse of leadership was the greatest anti-climax. Both the civilian and military regimes had our second eleven at the helm of affairs which ensured that the majority of the citizens were boxed into a tight corner with hunger, deprivation etc as their permanent allies.
This tragic reality which was encapsulated by the late afrobeat maestro, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti in his anti-government songs have made Nigerians turn to protests to hit back at the uncaring government that has consistently shortchanged them.
Protests are raging nationwide. Nigerian youths are taking a stand against the “powers that be” to let them know that they are restless for change. They are restless and eager to realise the promise of the 21st Century world where they can realise their full potential. The internet has decentralized and diffused information faster than the speed of light and it is getting more accessible to the youths by the day. They have seen from the comfort of their bedrooms how governments take good care of the citizens of developed and some developing nations without having to physically travel there. It is no amazement that they are demanding a better deal.
Welcome to the generational shift in Nigerian political and social activism. Welcome to 21st-century activism; spontaneous, decentralised and leaderless, but not without aim. Nigerian youths, empowered by digital tools and technologies, are coordinating actions and building networks to propagate #EndSARS. How can they sustain the movement to create real change? Nigerian historians will recall that protests have always been hijacked by the government so as to thwart the aims.
During the colonial times, the railway protest spearheaded by the legendary Labour leader, Michael Imoudu and backed sturdily by Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe through his West African Pilot newspaper was thwarted by the colonialists with Azikiwe having to flee Lagos to an undisclosed location as his life was in danger. Today, with the advent of the new and social media, such hijackings cannot happen. The success of the Arab Spring was as a result of the social media which the dictatorial leaders couldn’t shut down.
The strength of a decentralised protest movement is also a weakness. Therefore, the new generation of activist must draw learnings from past efforts, such as, “Occupy Nigeria” and “Bring Back Our Girls”. We need to draw on experiences of successful movements, such as the Black Lives Matter and the American Civil Rights Movements, and seek to organise, collaborate, educate and mobilise every level of society to in order reach our goal. It is commendable that the #End SARS protest was able to take advantage of the endless possibilities of the micro blogging site: Twitter to press home its demand. The twitter protests amplified the protests from just Nigeria to the UK, US, Canada and other parts of the world with global celebrities like Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Twitter, Popular British actor, John Boyega, Tammy Abraham of Chelsea Football Club etc endorsing it.
Grassroots and civil society movements today must have the following variables working together in tandem to achieve reform: a skilled and diversified pool of human capital, a manifesto, organisation & leadership, and the relentless will to win at all costs. Judging from roadblocks in cities across Nigeria and the hashtags on social media, the will power and resilience is in abundance. There is a need to focus efforts are on the other areas.
Human capital
Demonstrations, protests, rallies, sit- ins and street marches are just one form of social activism and social movements intervention. Nigerians from all walks of life have a role to play in promoting, impeding, directing and intervening in the social, cultural, political and economic reform.
Everyone’s role is different and each must play to his or her strengths: youth journalists, political Scientists, lawyers, sociologist, historians, musicians, artist, doctors, et cetera.
Nigeria is blessed with an abundance of human capital as elucidated above but these professionals should do more to ensure that these protests work and not give into complacency. During the military era, some professionals spearheaded by Professor Pat Utomi formed the Concerned Professionals which worked in tandem with other civil society groups to demand an end to military rule. They seemed to have gone to sleep when civil rule returned as they hardly held the government to account since 1999. Professionals should coalesce into a formidable group to demand a better deal from the government.
Youth journalist, orators and communication professionals must build mandates within the local and grassroots communities by writing blogs, letter to newspapers, creating vlogs to document the movement, communicate key messages and encourage others to join.
Youth political scientists must petition and lobby elected officials to ensure enabling policies are included in political mandates, and create political youth forums to discuss and share their concerns and ideas, and ensure politicians and lawmakers deliberate on them. Artists must create artistic imagery that inspires, energises and galvanises change.
Lawyers must bring to bear their expertise in laws and statutes governing society and engage with senior lawyers and advocates to champion their cause. We recognize the efforts of the likes of Femi Falana SAN, Mike Ozekhome SAN amongst many lawyers who are doing their bit to ensure a saner society. Sociologists and historians should be actively documenting the current movement, and researching the strategic knowledge of past movements and revolutions to support the current movement. Everyone has a role to play in creating civil society organisations that harnesses diverse sets of specialisation and expertise to build and sustain the movement.
Manifesto
Moving on from street protests and demonstration, there is need to support the banners and placards with a manifesto that declares the intensions, motives or views that informs the ongoing collective action, and lays out action plans for address them. These manifestoes must critically address the challenges faced by the populace and succintly outline the solutions to them and practical ways of achieving it so that the people are not left hanging.
Organisation and leadership
For a collective action to become a social movement that is purposeful, it must be organised and sustained over a period of time. Consequently, the actors must begin to organise into collectives of youth groups and associations, and seek mentorship from the older generation who have walked that path, understand the system and its key players. Sustainability and impact require a leader or spokesperson that can articulate the message. While youth leaders play an important role in social and political movements, it is imperative that the “message” and “manifesto” is the leader, and not a person.
Leaders can be corrupted or toppled. It is important for the leaders especially the youths who have the energy to be at the vanguard to be of impeccable character and incorruptible as corruption has been the bane of the country since independence with no sector being spared especially since the Ibrahim Babangida regime where even the civil society leaders fought shamelessly for filthy lucre. Pundits will recall how the Nigerian Labour Congress under the leadership of Paschal Bafyau became a government appendage and failed to provide the much-needed backing to the June 12 mandate struggle because its leader sold out to Babangida for the Biblical mess of pottage.
The new generation of Nigerian youths at the barricades must be mindful of the words of Margaret Thatcher, the late UK Prime Minister, “You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it”. Therefore, the new fearless generation of activists must organise, plan long, work hard and not give in!
