“In keeping silent about evil, in burying it so deep within us that no sign of it appears on the surface, we are implanting it, and it will rise up a thousand fold in the future. When we neither push nor reproach evil doers, we are simply protecting their trivial old age, we are thereby ripping the foundations of justice from beneath new generations” – Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.
Tuesday, 20 October 2020, was a Black Tuesday in the history of Lagos and indeed Nigeria. It was a day when the lives of the average Nigerian was declared as having no worth by its own Government. A time where the blood of innocent Nigerians flowed on the streets of Lagos.
The Lekki Toll Gate massacre capped off one of the most dreadful days in the history of Nigeria, where the lives of future leaders were snatched by those who swore to protect lives and properties.
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The #EndSARS protest at Lekki Toll Gate has been the most peaceful in the country, yet it was at this very ground that mayhem was unleashed in Lagos with the cries of the youths and chants of the National Anthem the last words uttered by some of the victims.
The light at Lekki Toll Gate was turned off, CCTV cameras were uninstalled and the Nigeriam Army opened fire at unarmed civilians in Lagos.
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It is unfortunate that we live in a country where known terrorist groups are being reabsorbed into the society, while unarmed civilians are being gunned down by the Nigerian Army under the government of Muhammadu Buhari.
The Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu reacting to the barbaric crimes against humanity said: “this is the toughest night of our lives as forces beyond our direct control have moved to make dark notes in our history, but we will face it and come back stronger”
The Nigerian Army has also denied any involvement in the killing of unarmed civilians in Lekki, labeling it “fake news”. Though there was evidence of their operation at Lekki Toll Gate yesterday with their name tags and rank badges at the site of the mayhem.
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I’d like you to contemplate on these questions begging for answers:
- Who ordered for the removal of the CCTV cameras at Lekki Toll Gate?
- Who gave the order for lights to be switched off?
- Who turned off the billboard?
- Who gave the order to the military to open fire at unarmed civilians?
- If those aren’t military men as the Nigerian Army claims, how did they get access to military grade arms?
- Who else has control over the military besides the Commander-in-Chief?
- Is it true that the Governor of a state has no control over the Nigerian Army rules of engagement even in his state as was suggested by Babajide Sanwo-Olu?
The Lagos State Government, and Lekki Construction Company who are in charge of Lekki Toll Gate needs to provide Nigerians with reasonable answers and the perpetrators be made to pay for their crimes.
In the thick of this unrest, President Muhammadu Buhari is yet to address the nation. The Government has no other cards to play. Though they might try to spin the narrative in their favour as they’ve done in the past, the presence of social media gives the Nigerian youths a fighting chance this time around.
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“When a people are used as mere instruments for firing cannons or thrusting bayonets, in the service and for the selfish purposes of a master, such war degrades a people” – John Stuart Mill.
Nigeria is really a country at war with its future. If the youths will be rounded up and massacred in 2020 for demanding an end to police brutality, then it’s time to ask and address critical leadership questions and shortcomings in Nigeria.
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