#ENDSARS anniversary: Nigerian youths conquer fear
The incidents at the Lekki Toll Gate, Lagos and the Unity Fountain Abuja on October 20, where Nigerian youths marched in commemoration of the one year of the massacre of their colleagues is a loud statement.
On October 20, 2020, at about 7.40pm, the least expected happened to turn the tide of the #EndSARS nationwide protests that had lasted about 10 days. That was the time Nigerian soldiers mobilized, arrived the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos and opened fire at peaceful protesters who were handy with Nigerian flags, banners and seated on the road.
That bloody assault came about three hours before the commencement a 10pm curfew Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu had announced.
The live videos of the gruesome massacre was recorded by many cameras showing a young, shaven Nigerian soldier on an armoured tank raining live bullets into the crowd. As he fired his guns, he would intermittently look over his shoulders and bark orders on other soldiers on their tanks to…fire…
In a matter of some 40 minutes, all had gone quite as the remaining protesters all scampered off in all directions for safety. Lifeless bodies were left on the ground which many still believe the soldiers evacuated to obliterate trace of this massacre.
After varying casualty figures, it was reported that 15 persons who were at the scene would not be found or their whereabouts accounted for.
By the following morning, the news had started flooding the social media of varying numbers of the people felled in those hot fire.
The protests had issues it wanted addressed which include an end to police brutality, extrajudicial killings, corruption in government, poor governance, unimpressive work conditions for the police and many others.
The best approach by the government should be finding ways of addressing these issues and many others.
Once a people rise in complaint against injustice, the only way to placate them is replacing the complained injustice with palpable justice and righting all wrongs cried about.
The government should do well to understand and timeously too that the issues they are up against in the hands of the young ones is not light.
