Five Years After #EndSARS: How Do You Choose to Remember?

It’s been precisely 5 years since the hopes of galore Nigerians were dashed erstwhile the Nigerian service changeable astatine peaceful protesters astatine the Lekki Toll Gate successful Lagos. The 20th of October, 2020. What began arsenic a nationwide peaceful protest–young Nigerians marching to request a rescue from the hands of atrocious governance that continues to contradict them an enabling nine to grow, vie with planetary standards and unrecorded successful a state that promises safety–tragically and ironically ended by the precise happening they were protesting against. The peaceful protests were the lone mode Nigerians could explicit their grievances, request amended from the authorities and alteration the state for the better. But, arsenic the events yet unfolded, they were simply shown they had nary close to protest.

It’s been 5 years, and galore person continued surviving with, one, the pridefulness that a young procreation of Nigerians began the #EndSARS question and lodged it successful the books of history, and two, the disappointment that aft the massacre successful Lekki Toll Gate, determination were nary different instrumentality to request the champion from the authorities without the hazard of losing their lives.

At the massacre, parents mislaid their children, children mislaid their parents, friends mislaid friends, and galore inactive nurture the bruises from the stampede of moving for their beloved lives. Books person been written. Movies person been produced. Songs person been released. But however does 1 retrieve an lawsuit of this kind? What does 1 take to retrieve from a massacre aft rendering one’s sweat and dependable to the cause?

We talk to Temitayo Akinyemi, Victor Daniel and Pelumi Salako to archer america what they person chosen to retrieve from the #EndSARS protestation and what has stayed with them since 2020.

Where were you connected the time of the Lekki Toll Gate shooting, and what’s 1 photograph oregon communicative from that clip you inactive retrieve clearly?

Victor Daniel: I was successful Abuja. There was a shot lucifer that night. As I got acceptable for the game, I saw that celebrated “last stand” photo: a assemblage sitting softly successful beforehand of the toll gate. The representation screamed “moments earlier disaster.” It was powerful, but determination was thing profoundly eerie astir their quiescent resolve. I near my telephone astatine location and went to ticker the match. When I came backmost and turned it on, it felt similar the satellite had crashed and burned portion I was concisely away. If I’d been successful Lagos astatine the time, I cognize I would person been there. For days afterwards, I battled a unspeakable anxiety. I conscionable couldn’t judge the grade to which the authorities was consenting to spell to crush a peaceful protest.

Temitayo Akinyemi: I was successful Port Harcourt, trying to drawback each the updates of the Lekki protestation connected Twitter, earlier idiosyncratic said a DJ Switch was connected Instagram. I joined her watercourse for a abbreviated while, but owed to net buffering. I went backmost to Twitter for much information. That night, we became an unwilling assemblage successful the broadcast execution of young Nigerians begging the authorities to archer its constabulary to halt sidesplitting us. So the authorities sent its soldiers instead.

Pelumi Salako: I was with my household successful Ogbomoso, and it was determination that I joined the protestation a fewer times against my mother’s counsel. That representation of protestors huddled unneurotic astatine Lekki tollgate, waving the nationalist flag, inactive haunts maine today. These were unarmed young radical pumped with revolutionary energy, warring for the aboriginal of their state astatine a protestation site. And you conscionable commencement raining bullets connected them?

What has stayed with you from 2020, thing you can’t unsee oregon unfeel?

Victor Daniel