Don’t use ‘brute force’ on #EndSARS protesters’ 

Following the unending #EndSARS protest, the governments have been advised against deploying “brute force” to quell the nationwide protest.

A youth advocate and the Managing Director/CEO of Cantagali Limited, Tosin Ashafa stated that the protest has shown that sovereignty belongs to the people and that those in government who derive their power and authority from the constitution only hold it in trust.

In a chat with newsmen in Lagos, he said, “The letters of the constitution based solely on the principles of democracy and social justice have found expression on the streets of Lagos, down to the hilly and rocky terrain of Minna.

“Pushed to the wall, young Nigerians, many of whom have been derided as docile, are vociferously reminding those in authority where true power resides in a democracy.

“Their grouse is legitimate. The frustration they experience and the pain they feel cannot be exaggerated. The hard truth is that the system has not only failed them but is now threatening to consume them.

“And now that it has become a matter of life and death, they are left with no better option than to push back at the system. For this, I’m incredibly proud that a generation of young Nigerians have not only recognized that they deserve better but are brave enough to demand better from the government they elected.”

According to him, dialogue should be the option in addressing the current issues. He said the government should “restrain themselves from giving in to the temptation of deploying brute force.”

“Allow them to grieve their loved ones who were recklessly killed by trigger-happy policemen. Allow them to vent their anger and frustration with a system that has made it difficult for them to fulfil their potential. Your job is to constantly reassure them and commit to fixing what is broken. Remember, that you cannot slap a man and also determine for him how he should react.

“It should be clear to everyone, especially those in authority, that there is now a generation of Nigerians who will not tolerate the abuse and dysfunction that has characterized our national life since independence.

“Not in their wildest dream did they ever think that a group of young school leaving, Naira Marley loving and Big Brother watching generation would challenge their ‘authority.’ They would get tired after two days, some of them thought, but the grit and discipline that has been demonstrated by these protesters have proven the assumptions to be fatally wrong,” Ashafa added.