Protests have changed Nigeria for good

#EndSARS protests have changed Nigeria for good

By John Eche

Though its full outline is yet to be determined, feelers are that the #EndSARS protests may have changed Nigeria for good in several critical respects.

A wholly youth initiative, the protests which have consistently gone on daily for two weeks now is being seen as one expression of civic power that though initially unexpected, has however since come to fundamentally demonstrate the great potential that on a good day, power yet resides with the people.

Most impressively, one of the very commendable elements observed in the course of the protest has been the extreme show of empathy and humanity displayed by the protesters Against all odds, they fed each other and even security personnel, hired ambulances to evacuate and treat the wounded and raised money for indigent members of the population.

They reached across ethnic and religious cleavages, exhibited such high levels of composure, maturity and charity and even when the authorities, politicians and other beneficiaries of the present decadence in the country came against them in several provocative formats, they would not be provoked into violence and hate. Even taking it a notch higher, they even set up and launched a radio station in such record time!

Observers say that at the centre of it all is the expression of youth power and ability to focus on causes as had never been contemplated or envisaged before. For them, it has indeed been a marvel seeing the same youth that has been so vilified as lazy and unserious lending themselves to high-level engagements as police and societal overhaul.

The thinking out there at the moment then is if the young people have done so much on the spur of the moment, what would they next do when they sit down and very holistically plot out more grand objectives. Indeed, the future waits, but one takeaway today is that the #EndSARS protests have changed Nigeria for good.