By Oladimeji Odeyemi
I‘ve been reflecting on the events of the past few weeks as regards the #EndSARS protest and I can only quiver about the disposition and the character of some people we prime as leaders in this country.
One of the characters whose role in the #EndSARS tale bellies his supposed outlook as a refined individual is the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu. For the pedigree that Lagos, the centre of excellence, carries as the melting point of Nigeria, it is expected that whoever holds the mandate of the people as governor of the state must be upright, impeccable, and almost infallible with truth and excellence.
Sadly, these lofty attributes seen and admired in previous governors of the state like Alhaji Lateef Jakande, are glaringly missing in Sanwo-Olu, the 15th governor of Lagos State. Unfortunately, it took only more than one year in the saddle before Lagosians discovered the two-face character the governor brought into leadership.
While Lagosians decided to give him a chance despite the manner he emerged as All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the 2019 election, the people are perhaps hitting themselves hard for discountenancing the warnings of some patriotic Lagosians, on the personality of the then governorship aspirant.
The back and forth movements of the governor since the commencement of the #EndSARS protests in the state eventually culminated to his public show of hypocrisy at the October 20 Lekki toll gate incident.
For 13 days or thereabout, youths in Lagos and other parts of the country poured into the streets to protest against the brutality of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), but all the governor could do was to escalate confusion by jumping up and down, feeding different people with different narratives, including President Muhammadu Buhari.
First on the governor’s timeline of error and mismanagement was his decision to sit back in Ondo State as APC chairman of the governorship election in the Sunshine State while his home was burning. In fact, it was said that pictures of him clinking glasses of wine to celebrate Governor Rotimi Akeredolu’s victory when youths are protesting in his office drew the ire of Lagosians.
Prior to the culmination of the whole episode, the governor was seen literally begging the #EndSARS protesters at Alausa and he tried to woo them with a particular N200 million fund for victims of police brutality, but in video evidence, the protesters chose not to believe him but even booed him right in front of the seat of power in Alausa, Ikeja.
Looking lost when he should be providing leadership, Sanwo-Olu quickly rushed to President Buhari in Aso Rock to present the demands of the protesters to the Commander-in-Chief who gleefully welcomed him and assured of his support for a better police system. But the governor, perhaps, had other ideas.
Without boring this write-up with issues already in the public domain, the governor apparently started his engagement with the protesters on false ground and like it is said, you need lies to cover-up a lie, it later degenerated to a web of lies that have now showed the true colors of the man Lagosians picked to lead them.
What was the governor thinking when he declared a curfew after midday in a city where even at the best of times commuting is a nightmare? Why would he unilaterally begged the military for enforcement and later changed his words?
On the event that led to the ” Lekki shooting”, Sanwo-Olu misled the public many times with open lies. He first denied the Lekki shootings and then blamed it on the Nigerian Army. In one breath, he said there was no fatality; he later turned around to say he sighted two victims receiving treatment at the hospital, he visited.
With no clarity as to how and who ordered the removal of CCTV cameras as well as the switching off of all the lights at the toll gate, it is safe to say those who directed the proceedings of the shootings were deliberate with their plans.
The inconsistency dripping from the mouth of the governor gave him out already as saying less than he knows and he should be asked to step aside for an independent investigation to take place.
Nigerians must come to terms with the invaluable contributions of the Nigerian Army in Internal Security Operations in the country, which by and large is an added responsibility in the event where the police are overwhelmed as it was in the case with the violence that erupted in the aftermath of the EndSARS protest.
Another major hidden retrogressive scheme of the governor is the moves to paint the army as the wolves that ate innocent protesters at Lekki toll gate. Of course, this is manifest in the working to an answer tactic of the panel which ought to have summoned Sanwo-Olu himself before any other person.
From its activities, it is safe to conclude that the panel is acting from a script written by Governor Sanwo-Olu when expanding its terms of reference to the Lekki toll gate incident.
If the panel is objective and sincere, Sanwo-Olu is a person of interest in the Panel’s investigation because he is also an accused person. Several accusing fingers are on him for contriving the situations that led to the pandemonium and the consequent injury and reported deaths from the incident.
If allowed to proceed, a miscarriage of justice is imminent from the Judicial Panel of Inquiry in Lagos, and the first target is the Nigerian Army, while the victim could be Governor Sanwo-Olu, who is desperate to wash off his self-inflicted predicament to gain ascendancy for the 2023 election.
The haste at which the panel rushed to the Nigerian Army Reference Hospital on Friday October 30 allegedly to find corpses of #EndSARS victims smacks of a grand design to desperately indict the Nigeria Army in order to cover up the mishandling of the protests by the state government.
Its clear that the panel is trying to manufacture evidence to indict the Army. This is nothing but mischief and sheer politics which all Nigerians must try as much as possible to insulate the Army from.
Governor Sanwo-Olu must toe the path of honour by removing the “Lekki shootings”, from the terms of reference of the judicial panel. A new panel should be constituted with membership from the judiciary, National Human Rights Commission, media and other major stakeholders.
The Nigerian Army has remained committed to the protection of the territorial integrity of the country and the sustenance of our nascent democracy, it is dependent on Nigerians to provide cover for the General Tukur Buratai-led Army from sheer irresponsible politicking and distraction from any kangaroo panel that has lost its track.
Oladimeji Odeyemi writes from Lagos.