An interview with Ahmed Yusuf - 25 years old student of agriculture
#EndSARS campaign of the Nigerian youths
A paceful protest or a civil rebellion?
October 2020
vol. 5
A paceful protest or a civil rebellion?
October 2020
vol. 5
HOW THE PEACEFUL PROTEST WAS HIJACKED BY HOODLUMS
CECYLIA BUCZKO:
Why did you attend the protest?
AHMED YUSUF:
I love my country but I am not happy with the government, that’s why I attended the protest. It seemed we: as a large group of protesters, had power to get some changes.
Were there any results of the protest?
10th October president Buhari ensured the nation that he wanted to reform the police force and put into justice each police officer who abused their power. Also the SARS were banned from setting up the roadblocks and stopping cars and searching people. They were obliged to wear uniforms. The Inspector General of the police promised that the unit was to be investigated.
Weren’t you satisfied with what the President announced?
We just didn’t believe him. That’s only an empty promise as always. They tried to do this in the past without any result. That’s why we wanted the SARS unit of the Nigeria Police Force not to be reformed, but to be disbanded and dissolved.
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How much was your involvement in the campaign?
We were very engaged in the protest, it inflamed our emotions. We identified ourselves with all the young people in Nigeria who were wrongly profiled by the SARS as the criminals or scammers and sentenced to prison or even killed. We heard many testimonies of people who were hurt or whose family members were killed. We were fully engaged until the protest was hijacked by mobs. Then things just started going bad.
How did it happen?
I am sure our authorities sponsored the armed thugs to promote violence during the campaigns. We were outraged – it was clear that after brutally assaulting some policemen, their police stations or destroying the cars, the government was going to send the military to quell the protests. And they would be totally justified. And this just happened.
Did your government command the army to fire the protest?
Yes, they did. First young protesters were fired at the Lagos Lekki toll gate on the night 20th October and just a day later uniformed soldiers and the police started to shoot several protesters in the commercial hub of Lagos and the shopping centre was ablazed.
Did anyone react?
Some politicians and celebrities all around the world have condemned the shooting as a crime and as an act against humanitarian action, they addressed the president to stop killing youths and it was really nice. We felt a little conformed.
Did you continue taking part in the protest?
No, I didn’t. After hijacking the protest by hoodlums and some acts of violence here and there I lost track of the importance of the protest. I just didn’t want to attend any act of ferocity. I didn’t want to be a part of what we were protesting against – the brutality – the same we hated so much in the SARS behavior. The protesters were organised as peaceful and hopeful for the future of their country. But sadly this is no more.
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| Protesters in Lagos
built barricades, blocking roads in Nigeria’s commercial hub (REUTERS) |
The other parts of the article you can read here:
Part 2 - IT WAS A MODERN PROTEST WHICH STARTED IN SOCIAL MEDIA
Part 5 - HOW THE PEACEFUL PROTEST WAS HIJACKED BY HOODLUMS?
Part 6 - THE POWER OF PEOPLE IS STRONGER THAN THE PEOPLE IN POWER
Part 7 - OUR GOVERNMENT KILLS US – THE MASSACRE AT THE LEKKI TOLL GATE IN LAGOS
Part 8 - IT WAS NEVER MORE DANGEROUS TO BE A POLICEMAN HERE
Written by: Cecylia Buczko
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| Cecylia Buczko |
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