On the global stage, the storm had been gathering. From the resurgence of the #BlackLivesMatter movement in the United States, to the anti-Maduro protests in Venezuela and the Sudanese democracy protests, the expectation that a global pandemic and the accompanying lockdowns would hamper such events proved to be false.
Social media was a rallying force. The hashtag, #ENDSARS, was launched in 2016 and had been deployed at different times in the past. But it was not until last October that matters came to a head. Protesters in Abuja marched on the police command, where they were treated with contempt and dispersed with tear-gas and water cannons.
A common narrative was that the protesters did not know what they wanted. That is a ludicrous claim. The group not only repeated its demands for an end to police brutality, justice for victims and for greater accountability, these demands were acknowledged by some state governors who seemed only interested in deflecting responsibility.
#ENDSARS has fundamentally challenged our democracy. While we might have celebrated with much fanfare the transfer of power between two competing parties for the first time in the country’s history in 2015, we’re still a long way from honouring citizens’ democratic rights, including the right to protest.
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