ENDSARS Protest: a Means of Promoting Insecurity in Nigeria
Chapter One
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The primary objective of the study is as follows
- To examine the cause of the EndSars protest in Nigeria.
- To examine the impact of the EndSars protest on the security of lives and property in Nigeria.
- To find out if the protest was used to promote insecurity in Nigeria
- To proffer a probable solution to the insecurity in Nigeria.
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
INTRODUCTION
Our focus in this chapter is to critically examine relevant literature that would assist in explaining the research problem and furthermore recognize the efforts of scholars who had previously contributed immensely to similar research. The chapter intends to deepen the understanding of the study and close the perceived gaps.
Precisely, the chapter will be considered in three sub-headings:
- Conceptual Framework
- Theoretical Framework
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
HISTORY OF PROTESTS IN NIGERIA
Nigerians are no strangers to activism. Social unrest was common before the1960. Social issues such as colonialism, slavery, rising inflation, unemployment, and corruption were challenged by activists. Print, radio, music, and, of course, the streets were all used in these protests. For example, during the colonial period, a local newspaper called Iwe Irohin(1859–1867) set out to promote a reading culture among Nigerians but instead became a vocal opponent of the slave trade. The British Colonial Office reprimanded the newspaper for supporting indigenous causes, which was expected (Stears Business, 2020). Despite this, the paper was a success in several ways. Iwe Irohin’s journalism was a powerful weapon in the fight to free the Egba people from the rulers of the Dahomey Kingdom, which was a major player in the British slave trade. As a result, Iwe Irohin was proof of the transformative power of citizen-driven protests in the form of journalism as early as the nineteenth century. We saw ‘sitting’ as a major protest tactic decades later, during the 1929 Aba Women’s Riots (as the British called it). Outside the homes of warrant chiefs and Native court officials, the female protesters would dance and sing about their grievances. They would go so far as to mud-plaster the properties in some cases (Oshinnaike, 2020).
These demonstrations relied heavily on the Aba women’s perseverance, cultural knowledge, and commitment to nonviolence, at least on their part. These riots were not in vain, and they are remembered as important milestones in the country’s history of women-led protests. They resulted in significant victories against the British government, including the reduction of taxes and the resignation of a number of colonial stooges. Iwe Irohin and the Aba Women’s Riots, in particular, are renowned for being successful and non-violent demonstrations. In the instance of Aba, the police, despite their calm attitude, murdered nearly 50 women. Still, these two instances demonstrated that audiences are more sympathetic to nonviolent demonstrators since they do not inflict the collateral harm that violent demonstrations have caused in Nigeria’s past (Stears Business, 2020). Nigeria’s first coup d’etat occurred in 1966, when the military took action. Regional leaders Tafawa Balewa, Ahmadu Bello, and Festus Okotie-Eboh were killed in this violent demonstration.
The protesters reasoned that military commanders would do a better job of managing the newly independent nation. Regrettably, coups follow coups, and peace was soon consigned to history. Nigeria saw a number of coups between 1966 and 1999. However, the original promise to rid the nation of bribe-seeking individuals in high and low positions who wanted 10% seemed to be forgotten. Other protests include labor union demonstrations, student union demonstrations, and the most recent ENDSARS demonstration K. (Oshinnaike, 2020).
CAUSES OF ENDSARS PROTEST IN NIGERIA
Ortiz, Saenz, Burke, and Berrada (2013) discovered that a significant percentage of world protests, particularly in Third World countries, were against Neo-liberal reforms such as privatization of public enterprises, full-scale deregulation of public utilities, and the implementation of various forms of austerity measures between 2006 and 2013. According to Rao (2010), protesters in Third World countries opposed to Neo-liberal reforms wished for a strong state capable of standing up to and refusing the dictates of powerful international financial institutions (IFIs) such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, whose structural adjustment prescriptions had stripped away the minimalist sacrosanct of the state. According to Ortiz et al (2013), protests against Neo-liberal reforms demanded reforms such as increased government funding of social services and public utilities, as well as a reduction in corruption, particularly in the petroleum industry, which is dominated by shy lock and oligarchic marketers. As a result, protest serves to remind those in power of the inconsistencies and horrors that exist in the lives of marginalized people. The emergence of the ENDSARS protest has been attributed to a number of factors, including the fact that, while SARS is notorious for its brutality, human rights violations by security forces are not limited to the NPF. Amnesty International released a report in 2015 detailing a series of atrocities perpetrated by the Nigerian military. Human rights violations by security forces can be traced back to Nigeria’s military dictatorships, when security agencies like the police were created to protect and serve military regimes rather than communities. Despite the fact that democratic rule was established in 1999, this mindset persists. To intimidate peaceful protesters and arrest journalists and other government critics, police and military personnel have been deployed (Nkasi, 2020). Human rights abuses committed by SARS and other security operatives, as well as a lack of accountability for their actions, are another major driver of the ENDSARS protests. Security personnel who violate human rights are frequently shielded by the police hierarchy, and victims are afraid to speak out for fear of being targeted again. Since the National Assembly passed the Anti-Torture Act of 2017, the government has failed to prosecute a single SARS operative, according to an Amnesty International report released in June 2020. (Amnesty International June Report, 2020). The NPF’s enabling legislation, the Police Act, is also out of date. The act, which went into effect in 1943, gives police officers broad discretionary powers. These empower officers to conduct warrant less searches and arrests based on a mere suspicion of guilt or even the intent to commit a crime. Many accusations against SARS center on the seizure of victims’ phones without a warrant, while others have been detained because of tattoos or dreadlocks. Many demonstrations have happened in the last decade, according to scholars, and social media has been crucial to many of them (Silva, 2015). Because it enables access to huge numbers of contacts, creates collective identities, and serves as a venue for information dissemination, social media may play a significant role in mobilization (Valenzuela, Arriagada and Scherman, 2012). Scholars are quick to point out, however, that social media does not always result in new forms of protest or fundamentally change conventional organization. Activists should not be limited to the online world, according to Valenzuela et al (2012). In other words, conventional protest modes tend to be supported or facilitated by social media. Protesters utilized social media as an alternative information source, a place to post a counter narrative to the one being presented in pro-government propaganda outlets, in addition to utilizing Twitter and Facebook to organize demonstrations and condemn police brutality.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
INTRODUCTION
In this chapter, we described the research procedure for this study. A research methodology is a research process adopted or employed to systematically and scientifically present the results of a study to the research audience viz. a vis, the study beneficiaries.
RESEARCH DESIGN
Research designs are perceived to be an overall strategy adopted by the researcher whereby different components of the study are integrated in a logical manner to effectively address a research problem. In this study, the researcher employed the survey research design. This is due to the nature of the study whereby the opinion and views of people are sampled. According to Singleton & Straits, (2009), Survey research can use quantitative research strategies (e.g., using questionnaires with numerically rated items), qualitative research strategies (e.g., using open-ended questions), or both strategies (i.e., mixed methods). As it is often used to describe and explore human behaviour, surveys are therefore frequently used in social and psychological research.
POPULATION OF THE STUDY
According to Udoyen (2019), a study population is a group of elements or individuals as the case may be, who share similar characteristics. These similar features can include location, gender, age, sex or specific interest. The emphasis on study population is that it constitute of individuals or elements that are homogeneous in description.
This study was carried out to examine EndSars protest: a means of promoting insecurity in Nigeria, using resident of Lekki Ajah , Lagos state as a case study. Residents of Lekki Ajah form the population of the study.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
INTRODUCTION
This chapter presents the analysis of data derived through the questionnaire and key informant interview administered on the respondents in the study area. The analysis and interpretation were derived from the findings of the study. The data analysis depicts the simple frequency and percentage of the respondents as well as interpretation of the information gathered. A total of eighty (80) questionnaires were administered to respondents of which only seventy-seven (77) were returned and validated. This was due to irregular, incomplete and inappropriate responses to some questionnaire. For this study a total of 77 was validated for the analysis.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
SUMMARY
In this study, our focus was on EndSars protest: a means of promoting insecurity in Nigeria using residents in Lagos state as a case study. The study specifically was aimed at highlighting the cause of the EndSars protest in Nigeria. The study also examine the impact of the EndSars protest on the security of lives and property in Nigeria. The study further find out if the protest was used to promote insecurity in Nigeria. Lastly, the study proffer a probable solution to the insecurity in Nigeria. A total of 77 responses were validated from the enrolled participants where all respondent are drawn from residents of Lagos state.
CONCLUSION
Based on the finding of this study, the following conclusions were made:
- Community policing is one way insecurity can be curbed.
- Need to create an economy with appropriate social infrastructure
- Empower the police and give them regular training
- Government should boost peoples living standard
- Harassment from the Sars unit in the Nigerian police was one of the reason for the EndSars protest.
- Extortion from the Sars unit in the Nigeria police is another reason for the EndSars protest
- Unlawful killings by official of Sars led to the protest.
- Unlawful arrest by the police also led to the protest.
RECOMMENDATION
Based on the responses obtained, the researcher proffers the following recommendations:
- There is a need to establishment Community Policing within each divisional police headquarters for effective management of insecurity.
- There is a need to created an economy with appropriate social, economic, and physical infrastructure for business and industrial growth.
- The EndSars protest was a way the youth could express their grievances about police harassment, assault and unlawful killings. Hence the need for reformation of the Nigerian police in other to improve the security of the populace.
REFERENCES
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- Aliyu, A. (1998). Nigeria Economic Breakthrough: The Abacha Strategies. Abuja: The Family Economic Advancement Programme.
- Amnesty International (2020) “SARS Operatives Since the National Assembly passed the AntiTorture Act of 2017”Amnesty international; June.retrieved 22nd November, 2020.www.amnesty.org
- Amnesty International. (2016).“You Have Signed Your Death Warrant, Torture and Other IllTreatment by Nigeria’s Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS)”Amnesty International: London. Retrieved 26thNovember, 2020
- Baldwin, D.A. (1997). The Concept of Security. British International Studies Association.
- Bruce R. Lindsay(2011) ,Social Media and Disasters: Current Uses, Future Options, and Policy Considerations, Congressional Research Service 7-5700 www.crs.gov R41987
