An interview with Tunde Akanbi - 38 years old farmer
A paceful protest or a civil rebellion?
October 2020
vol. 7
OUR GOVERNMENT KILLS US – THE MASSACRE AT THE LEKKI TOLL GATE IN LAGOS
CECYLIA BUCZKO:
Was it safe to attend the protest?
TUNDE AKANBI:
At the beginning it was very safe. After a week of protests the Nigerian army has issued a warning to end campaigns in order to avoid any troubles. Also the government stated that the protests in Abuja were not safe according to the need of keeping social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic which simply suggested that the campaigns were illegal.
Was the coronavirus the only danger which threatened you?
Sadly not. Later somehow everything started to go wrong. First the protest was hijacked by hoodlums and the riots started. Then there were some attacks on police stations and government places. On 20th October the curfew in Lagos was declared. And on that day exactly, just two hours after the curfew began the worst happened and people were shot by the uniform men. As a matter of fact, the violence, killing of Police and burning of Police stations started after the military opened fire on peaceful protesters on the 20th October. It was that singular act that triggered the violence amongst protesters and the government seized the opportunity to involve hoodlums and their political thugs to cause more unrest in the society. This makes it possible for the government to label the peaceful protesters as bad and as a yardstick for the military to start killing unarmed civilians.
How did it come?
The protesters blocked the Lekki toll gate in Lagos to make it impossible for cars to use the motorway. It was still just a part of a peaceful protest, nobody wanted any troubles. By some time all the lights were turned off and it got totally dark. People stood there or sat on the ground wrapped in the green and white national Nigeria flags. To unite and show their engagement they started to sing the national anthem. And then, unexpectedly, they were fired by the platoon of several armed men. It was a shock for protesters who intended to run a peaceful protest.
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| The protesters at the Lagos Lekki toll gate (Lailasnews.com) |
Did anybody died during the fire?
Dozens or so of people were hit and the chaos started within the crowd as peaceful protesters were running for safety, while others were calling for help. Some of them were taken to the hospital, but some died there. Their bodies were lying on the ground covered in green and white flags stained with blood.
Who shot the protesters?
It is unclear who opened fire. Of course the Nigerian army, the police and the Nigerian government denied being responsible for that massacre. But all the world got known about what happened, the videos and pictures are around the world shared on Facebook and Twitter.
What was the result of the protesters killings?
That day changed everything and also the protest totally changed. The curfew was introduced in several states and the protesters started to act in grievance full of regret towards the government who, in their opinion, betrayed them. People feel sold out and ask themselves: who was behind the massacre in Lekki? Every next day of the ongoing protest was marked with a new postulate – make the Nigerian president to resign and make the Nigerian government to end bad country ruling and improve poor economic conditions. It was no longer just a protest, it felt like a war. And it became terrifying.
Did your government explain who was responsible for shooting the protesters?
On 22nd October at exactly 19:00, the Nigerian President addressed the nation via a live broadcast to end the protest and promised to verify the police work (SARS was already ended) and consider the social changes. But he didn’t mention the shooting carried out by the military on protesters in Lagos which led to global condemnation and criticism. The speech was more like a threat to the citizens rather than an appeal.
What was the protesters reaction?
This made us so disappointed and regretful. All our effort, all the protest, it seemed to be a vain bid. But even so we were still at our posts and the protest is still carried on. It has already changed our country, I mean the people's awareness of what is important here and that we young people really care for our country. Never before had we had such a loud voice as we have it now in social media all around the world. We pray the changes would come and our government would start to upgrade our country and make it safe to live here for us and our children.
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| Wounded
at the Lekki toll gate in Lagos (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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