EDITORIAL: President Buhari’s #EndSARS broadcast
Nigerians listened to President Muhammadu Buhari’s much-awaited national address broadcast on October 22nd, 2020 with surprise.
The address came two weeks after the #EndSARS protest began, two days after the Lagos State Lekki tollgate shootings and a day after widespread vandalism, looting and killings had escalated in various states in the country.
The President said among other things that “as a democratic government, we listened to, and carefully evaluated the five-point demands of the protesters.
And having accepted them, we immediately scrapped SARS…”
This response to the first demand was questionable. The government disbanded SARS (Special Anti-Robbery Squad) only to “introduce” a SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) team within 48hours.
What was insulting was the idea of populating the new unit with some of the same personnel from SARS! This ill-thought move further decimated the already low level of trust in the government.
Many youths or parents who have experienced violation over the years attest that the outrage against police brutality is valid.
It should be treated with urgency. The overwhelming reaction to the President’s speech was one of disappointment.
It was delivered without any empathy. It came across as highhanded, detached and threatening in the tradition of military regimes.
The most glaring deficiency was the absence of any mention or acknowledgement of the Lekki shootings.
The shooting was a significant escalation trigger for the mayhem that ensued across Lagos and the nation afterwards. Why does this matter?
Primarily, this matters because as President of the nation, he is seen as a father-figure.
A father makes peace when his children are in distress; he does not provoke them to anger or despair.
We expect that when there is tension in the country, he would seek to calm nerves by words of comfort and hope.
Government, we remind the President, is all about giving the people hope.
The most prominent issue at the time of his address was the Lekki shootings.
It was a surprise and disappointment that he did not mention, acknowledge or address the incident.
It is instructive that the matter has refused to go away after the fiasco of denials and confession by Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the military high command.
The statement by the President saying “the promptness with which we have acted seemed to have been misconstrued as a sign of weakness” was unnecessary and revealed the military mindset of our supposedly democratically-elected leader.
Engaging in dialogue or being responsive to people you lead is not weakness; in fact, in modern, democratic societies, it is expected that elected leaders should interact with and respond to the demands of the citizenry.
The disorder and mayhem which followed the Lekki shootings erupted because of a poor engagement or prompt response by the government.
Indeed, the populace was outraged at the government for allowing the military (as confirmed by the Lagos State Governor) to open fire at unarmed protesters.
This is unacceptable, brutish, barbaric and antithetical to the ideals and practice of democracy. The Nigerian people deserve an apology.
The victims deserve compensation. We thank the President that he finally addressed the nation, albeit late.
We want to use this opportunity to call on him to address the issues raised by the youth more promptly and transparently to build trust.
A modern president never fiddles like Nero when the empire is aflame. He is obliged and must be seen to make every effort to douse the flame of anger and destruction in the land.
The looting, violence and destruction after the Lekki shootings shook our homeland to its foundations.
It is unfortunate and that two weeks after the commencement of the protests, looting continued in certain parts of the country.
This must stop. It is the duty of the state to restore order. As the head of our “home” that is Nigeria, we enjoin the President to engage with citizens more.
The anarchy that ensued is merely a symptom of the underlying disenfranchisement of the citizenry.
We call on the youths to engage and dialogue with the Government. While the protests started and gained traction without leaders, now that the youths have appointed them, we expect them to engage the authorities legally and through the laid down framework.
READ ALSO: EndSARS protests: Buhari sends CoS, others to states
We also expect the youths to exercise their right to demand and have better governance, which includes but is not limited to preparing for and actively participating in the 2023 elections by fielding and supporting candidates of their choice.
In sum, handlers of the president should be alive to their responsibilities.
Although the buck stops at the President’s desk, his aides have an obligation to craft speeches that sync with the mood of the country even if the Number One Citizen appears detached from contemporary realities.
