#EndSARS protests: The government perspective

The leadership of Nigeria has handled this entire episode very poorly. This has been a lesson in excellence of poor leadership. They have been slow to react, they have been reluctant to address relevant issues, they have refused to consider how the citizens feel or understand their frustrations.

RECENTLY I listened to three speeches/addresses concerning the #EndSARS protests: the first one was from the meeting between the Inspector-General of Police and famous Nigerian musician, Davido with his entourage, the second was the statement of the position of the Nigerian Army on the protests, and the last was the address by the President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari.

Of the latter speech, a lot has been made of the President’s state of health, coherence and clarity, whether it was a speech imposed on him, or even if he was actually the one giving the speech. I would like to use this article to address what I believe is the position of the government on these ongoing protests.

President Buhari addresses the nation on the #EndSARS protests Nigerians are upset. The feelings of anger, tiredness, resentment and a desire for change have replaced those of fear, timidity and maintaining the status quo.

They want action, they want change, they want accountability, and justice. The government claims they have made some changes, and would appreciate it if Nigerians would be satisfied with their efforts. But Nigerians are not. Why? The answers are contained in these speeches given by these men.

By the way, the reason I chose these speeches is because the police is at the heart of these protests; it was one of their units, the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) whose members have been declared to have gone rogue, the Army was responsible for shooting at protesters at the Lekki toll gate, injuring and even killing some people, and then the President because, well, because he is the President of the country, and it is not an issue he can be silent on.

The first thing that stood out to me listening to these speeches is that NOBODY HAS TAKEN RESPONSIBILITY, both for the actions of SARS and how the protesters have been treated. No one has come out and said, ‘We take responsibility for what has happened’. No one. Everyone is trying to absolve themselves of responsibility/culpability in what is going on.

The Inspector-General seemed to want to move on to what next could be done without properly acknowledging what has happened, or the impact it has had on people. They have failed to acknowledge the fact that people need to heal first before they can move forward. It almost seems like they feel that to acknowledge responsibility is to show weakness, which is very short-sighted.

The next thing I observed, which I think could be linked with the first reason, is that NOBODY HAS APOLOGISED for what happened. We are dealing with a dicey situation where people have died, and a certain demographic of the country has been singled out for discrimination and abuse. When you, or people under your command have offended someone, the first thing you do is to acknowledge that wrong has been done, apologise AND THEN suggest ways that reparation can be made. If you ignore making an apology, what you are saying in effect is either you are not comfortable with addressing what has happened, or you don’t think it is important enough to bring it up.

This comes on the heels of a country that has been poorly run for a long time, and the welfare of people has not been made a priority. Do you know how much violence and angst would have been avoided if, for example, the President, after a week of the protests, would have come out on TV, and apologised for what had happened, with a promise to compensate victims as well as bring the perpetrators to justice? The protests would have been greatly reduced or put on hold, and the focus would not have shifted from unruly police officers to inefficient governance.

More disturbing, especially when listening to the President and the Army representative is the fact that NOW THE PROTESTERS ARE THE ENEMY. From the speeches of the President, as well as his Inspector-General, the focus seemed to be on dealing with protesters, especially those who were taking advantage of the protests to loot, steal and destroy property, as well as threaten the lives of police men and soldiers. I do not support any of these vices, but you have to be absolutely ignorant to believe that some unscrupulous elements wouldn’t have taken advantage of these peaceful protests for their own selfish needs. Even if it wasn’t for selfish needs, this is what people do when they are angry: they react emotionally, and not everyone has the emotional stability to not do something stupid. Focusing on actions of this minority, and blaming all of the protesters will not result in anything less than more violence, guaranteed. The address of the Army spokesperson was basically the reading of the riot act to protesters, threatening them with brutality if they go out to protest. Now the police are seen as the victims, while people exercising their civil responsibilities to protest are now the instigators.

The last thing I want to talk about is HOW MUCH THE GOVERNMENT IS TRYING TO CHANGE THE NARRATIVE/FOCUS. When the IG was addressing Davido and his entourage, he was so keen to spend more time talking about the training efforts for the redeployment of officers from SARS to the newly created unit, Special Weapons And Tactics (SWAT); the Army spokesperson did not even address the reason behind the protests, but the mischief a small section of people had caused; the President seemed to want to use this medium to promote his government’s programs/initiatives aimed at making better the lives of the citizens.

They are trying so hard but Nigerians have gotten to the point where they want to see results, and they want to see this through.

No amount of distraction should work.
The leadership of Nigeria has handled this entire episode very poorly. This has been a lesson in excellence of poor leadership.

They have been slow to react, they have been reluctant to address relevant issues, they have refused to consider how the citizens feel or understand their frustrations. These issues should have been comprehensively acknowledged, addressed and handled to prevent things from devolving into these ugly scenes, but because of their shortcomings, now they are employing force and distractions as ways to handle the problem. I really hope they are only successful when they face the issues, handle them efficiently, and give Nigerians the good quality of life that they are demanding.

• Ononiwu is Naija Times contributor from Hungary