The EndSARS protest, engineered by some youths across the country was one national event that would remain epochal in the Nigerian history. It was one event that caught the federal government napping and shook the foundation of the nation in such a way that rattled the citizens and governments.
Though, the protest started with a narrow prism that police brutalities being perpetrated by men of the disbanded Special Anti-Rubbery Squad, leading to untimely death of many youth population must be halted to save Nigeria from impending doom. It later escalated to the level that the protesters had to widen the scope of their demands to include: good governance, inclusion of youth population in governance and even distribution of wealth among all Nigerians.
The protests, which started as a child’s play with little or no attention from government was first accepted with mixed feelings. Some Nigerians had the impression that it was being financed by people perceived to be ICT fraudsters fondly called Yahoo boys, who had predominantly fallen victims in the hands of SARS operatives. The political class even thought it was politically motivated to mobilize Nigerians against the government of President Muhammadu Buhari. But later, sanity prevailed going by the participation of great personalities in the celebrity and entertainment world and it was a general consensus that something urgent needed to be done to safeguard the nation from the verge of total collapse. It is no gain saying the fact that the EndSARS protest had brought a common front among diverse Nigerian populace. From the South to the North, politicians and non-partisan individuals, the civil society groups, private sector and even the leaders, it has been a unanimous verdict that Nigeria needs urgent restructuring and national rebirth.
From Independence era in 1960, the country had been so much enmeshed in corruption and all forms of lopsidedness. Nigerians had for long been angry over the poor governance style across party lines. The EndSARS protests corroborated the fact that the situation had reached a saturated point and something urgent needed to be done to pacify the citizens. In actual facts, the end result of the protests was not palatable. The reported cases of killings, looting and arson attacks were demoralizing. But these didn’t erode the fact that the kernel of the demands, which revolves around good governance and even distribution of wealth as well as running of all-inclusive governance, could not be despised or over-emphasized. A deep deconstruction of the level of unemployment in the Country would convey a vivid understanding that the nation is sitting on a keg of gun powder.
Without much ado, time has come for the government to be pragmatic in tackling all the multi-faceted and hydra-headed issues confronting the youths. Though, empirical analysis has shown that the civil service can only contain between 15-25 percent of the total population, the government at all levels must encourage self-employment through training by Small and Medium Enterprises Agency (SMEDAN) and National Directorate of Employment. These are agencies that can expose youths to varieties of opportunities in vocational and skill acquisition, aquaculture, fabric and many others. Huge investments in these sectors would bring fruitful engagements of the youths.
It is axiomatic that devil finds jobs for an idle hand. The level of poverty among parents has impacted the level of dropouts at the secondary and tertiary levels. To nip this in the bud, the federal government should reconsider the establishment of Education Bank for youth from poor backgrounds to have access to loans to acquire education. With this, cases of ICT fraud, robbery, banditry, arson, looting and hooliganism would be tackled. A legal Icon and founder of one of the best private universities in Africa, Chief Afe Babalola, SAN, had once made this demand from the federal government. This underscores the uniqueness of Education Bank. Again, through concerted actions, women through the 1993 Beijing Declaration earned 35% inclusion in governance and this has started gaining traction in form of implementation in Nigeria. This same can be accorded to these youths between the ages of 18-35 to give them sense of belonging as citizens of this great nation.
•Dalimore Aluko, an Assistant Principal at Ikere High School, writes from Ikere-Ekiti, Ekiti State and can be reached via: 08032712451 and 08066181583