Protests in the US and Nigeria: Adult Problem, Young Leaders
Modern youth-led protests in black communities around the world are signs of a widening call for liberation and governmental restructure. It is important to take note of these movements because the implications will largely affect and, in some cases, be the beginning of future societies. The EndSARS in Nigeria and Black Lives Matter protests in the United States and around the world underscore the furious mobilization of political youth. One should view these growing movements as worthy paths to revolution and regard involvement as one of the highest forms of political expression. The number of stars in the sky is equal to the amount of reasons people can wake up feeling like they have stones on their chest. Even before the tumultuous quarantine, I felt pinned down by notifications of black murder, disdain for harmful police conduct and the desire to reimagine oppressive institutions. As one of my community, I am inseparable from the successes as well as the perils. I am tied to my community in the same way a leaf is tied to a tree. A person identifying a tree in a luscious forest, is also identifying the formation of individual leaves that make up the tree. They must accept that the leaves are a small part of a bigger organism and exist in an environment of the forest around them. The global black community is linked through historical origin, culture, and most heavily by the effects of marginalization.
Thousands of black fists moved in synchronization as young Nigerians chanted “enough is enough” in Lagos all through the month of October. The viral videos of Nigerian protests mirrored the ones I was in during the summer and the calls for revolution felt familiar. If one were to juxtapose accounts, pictures and videos of US and Nigerian protests, the indistinguishable aspects manifest in protestors requests for a reevaluation of its law enforcement arms. The global community suffers from a multitude of problems and attending to these issues involve a calculated approach of civil service and disobedience. The historical and modern systemic oppressions perpetrated by governments on dark-skinned people is one of the biggest unifiers because it forces a similar societal experience. My skin color matches my grandmother's mahogany dining room table and every person who looks like me can tell a story of lived or perceived racism. My perception can differ greatly from the majority because the majority is oppressing me.
My view of modern Black-led youth movements comes from a place of sadness and admiration. I hate that people my age are forced to fight the battles of corruption but I am extremely humbled by the acts of courage I’ve seen. The hands of white supremacy have twisted our ideals to value money over people, production over product and individuals over communities. The EndSARS protests started as a call for the disbanding of the police force but turned into a multi-dimensional demand for a more equitable government. Systems fail for a variety of reasons.
The proliferation of Black youth-led movements would not be possible without a system or government apparatus to oppress them. Black social movements are motivated by the problematic culmination of economic, social and law-enforcement related shortcomings. With a population where about half of all citizens are under 24, Nigeria is in very dire levels of poverty. In 2019, Oxfam reported that 70% of the country’s population is living below the poverty line [1]. Symptoms of poverty represent government failings and can have detrimental effects on the populace. This can result in increased crime or violence, but the most productive outcome would be a coordinated effort to improve the standard of living by petitioning the government. This is a growing trend and should be respected as the path to improve the lives of the citizenry.
When brutalized civilians feel unheard, their only way to curb government action is to exert a physical presence. This was the case for the US and Nigeria, in addition to the entirety of uprisings around the world. The 60th anniversary of Nigerian independence was marked by tens of thousands of angry Nigerians demanding the dissolve of the controversial and brutal police force known as the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). The African nation is trying to pacify resentment for the police unit after backlash when many reported issues of corruption, brutality and harassment by the task force. Fulani Kwajafa, a former Commissioner of police, founded the law enforcement group in 1984 to combat violent crimes like armed robbery or kidnappings. Since its conception it has conducted extrajudicial killings with impunity. Kwajafa has recently apologized for its development. He said the unit has turned to “banditry” and no longer stands for the original principles of which it was founded [1]. On October 22nd, The Nigerian president addressed the nation to disband the police unit, but has not responded to military force against protestors. He was criticized for silence after weeks of protest.
To conclude this piece, I will say prayers for the 12 unarmed people killed at the hands of Nigerian police for peaceful demonstrations [2]. Liberation is violent. Black peril is public and these are the movements working to remedy the systems. The black-led social movements are emblematic of the necessity for deep integral additions to the systems despite being guised under one issue.
Sources
1. “End Sars: Hated Nigerian Police Unit's Founder 'Feels Guilty'.” BBC News, BBC, 16 Oct. 2020, www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-54567419.
2. Gladstone, Rick, and Megan Specia. “Why Nigeria Is Now Erupting.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 21 Oct. 2020, www.nytimes.com/article/sars-nigeria-police.html.