With the recent unpalatable happenings in our country, Nigeria, and the continued silence of the Nigeria’s current President, Mohammadu Buhari, I write with heavy heart and I submit that Nigeria really needs a new compass, new meaningful sense of direction, for us to achieve well planned successes.
I regard the soldiers’ shooting of the worthy protesters of #ENDSARS at the Lekki Toll Plaza, Lagos, as murder, and there is the urgent need to bring the perpetrators of the heinous crime to book.
Unlike what the Nigerian Army told us then that the soldiers who killed the revered and noble heroine, late Mama Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti (legendary Fela’s mother), were ‘unknown soldiers’, in this age and time, this is not acceptable.
The Nigerian Army is claiming that the blood thirsty men in army uniform were not its members. Then, why were the ‘real’ soldiers not deployed to counter the ‘fake’ soldiers when the evil action (shooting) was going on?
We need urgent answer now from the Chief of Army Staff, and particularly, from the President and the Commander-in-Chief.
The introduction of the ‘Crocodile Smile’ during this struggle by the youth, whether involved or not, is ill-advised. Nigerians, our authentic foreign friends and sympathizers are not smiling at all.
‘Peace is not the absence of war, but the presence of justice.’ (Pope Paul VI)
‘Power without control is nothing’ (Pirelli Tyre Advertisement). Personally, the president does not need to be begged by people and outside Nigeria before he can address the country.
When the nation is ‘burning’ and people are brutally murdered, I cannot imagine how and why the president will exhibit insensitivity in this very trying period in the history of Nigeria.
This is part of the militarization of politics in Nigeria. Tuesday, 20/10/2020 will be part of Nigeria’s history, and this must be taught to generations from generations when the History subject is finally resumed to be taught generally in Nigeria.
In 2002, a president with military background even retorted sharply: ‘I am not supposed to be here (Ikeja Military Cantonment), I just use the opportunity that I’m around when the incident happened to visit here, first thing this morning. I have been briefed’. (The Guardian, Tuesday, January 29, 2002) What a way for a president to address his citizens having such heartbreak due to the monumental disaster.
As I stated before, on the current wave of protests, tagged #ENDSARS, I would like the Federal Government of Nigeria to listen to the people’s grievances, not only against SARS and Police brutality, but also against indifferences to people’s plights, injustice, bad governance, recycled and incompetent leadership, insecurity, deceit, mistrust, with hunger and anger in Nigeria.
The Government should act promptly and should be seen doing concrete things for the good of all. I humbly appeal to the worthy protesters be decorum and civil in their utterances and actions, and never to allow people who can be using the protests to protect their criminal agenda and activities, for the protests not to be counterproductive.
For those attacking and killing police, committing arson, raping, vandalising, looting and disturbing other people’s peace and movements, including medical personnel, fire departments personnel, I plead with them to sheath their swords, allow justice to prevail and be assured that there will be true peace and development. By God’s grace, and with everybody’s concrete effort, there will be light at the end of the tunnel.
Finally, with the zeal and vigour the #ENDSARS protesters were maintained, I would like the youth in Nigeria eligible to vote to kindly register, collect their voters’ cards and use them to vote for the concrete changes the struggles are focusing. Not only, with the same spirit, attitude and orientation, we will make sure that our votes are rightfully counted.
Whether we are addressed now, late on never, life goes on. For us not to do things rightly, things will not be right with us. Every person, no matter the status, only lives once. No condition is permanent and nothing lasts forever. ‘Modern man willingly listens more to witnesses than teachers. If he listens to teachers, it because they are witnesses’ (Pope Paul VI).
With confidence in God and Christ being our strength, wherever God leads us, we FOLLOW.
Most Rev. Felix Femi Ajakaye
Bishop of Ekiti.
22 October, 2020.