As a social scientist, I’ve followed the trajectory of #EndSARS from its peaceful beginning to the looting stage with keen interest and I’m still struggling to construct an empirical, logical, and valid explanations for the whole saga.
I wish to pose seven questions:
- Why was northern youths’ involvement in #EndSARS not pronounced, while the northern masses, generally, are prominent in the looting of the warehouses for food?
- Why were the attacks on individuals directed primarily at nationally prominent politicians in the various geo-political zones?
- Has the limitation of the peaceful, well-organised #EndSARS to the entire South and the North Central ( Kwara, Niger, FCT, Plateau) – even Kaduna – anything to do with Restructuring?
- Why, in your view, did violent protesters (aka hoodlums, miscreants, touts, agbero, street urchins) join or, to use the media choice of word, “hijack” the #EndSARS protest?: (Anger, Poverty, Political-Instigation, Vengeance)
- How would you rate the response of the individual State Governments to the entire #EndSARS saga (Poor, Fair, Good, Excellent)?
6.How would you rate the response of the Federal Government to the entire #EndSARS saga (Poor, Fair, Good, Excellent)?
- Given the cross-ethnic, cross-regional, cross-religious, and cross-gender character of #EndSARS, does it hold any potential for a nationalistic and truly progressive politics and good governance in Nigeria, powered by the youths?
- Prof. ‘Femi Olufunmilade
